Emilíana Torrini’s new album, released on June 21, is inspired by real letters received by the mysterious and rebellious “Miss Flower”, the mother of a friend. A musical ode dedicated to a woman liberated from the conventions of the 1960s and 1970s. The singer will perform on October 2 in Geneva.
Emilíana Torrini became known in 2009 with the hit “Jungle Drum”, both catchy and candid. The Icelandic and Italian singer then continued her musical path, delighting fans of pop and independent music around the world. After “Racing the Storm” in 2023, a rather pop collaboration with the collective The Colorist Orchestra, she is back with a new album in a different atmosphere, “Miss Flower”, released on June 21.
After more than ten years of career, Emilíana Torrini renews herself with this mysterious and intriguing record. Behind the name “Miss Flower” is actually Geraldine Flower, Zoe’s late mother, a close friend of Emilíana Torrini. On her website, the singer explains the birth of the record: in Geraldine Flower’s belongings, the two friends discovered a box filled with captivating letters dating from the 1960s and 1970s, testimonies of the attraction exerted by this woman freed from conventions of his time. Emilíana Torrini then decides to draw her inspiration from these letters for her new repertoire.
Fascinating letters
The letters of Geraldine Flower’s correspondents reveal an adventurous life, punctuated by nine marriage proposals. However, Miss Flower never married. Heartaches, exchanges filled with desire or humor, allusions to self-determination are all themes addressed in this correspondence. Surprises also await Emilíana Torrini and her friend, such as an ambiguous link between Miss Flower and a CIA employee.
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Still via her website, the musician says she was fascinated by this woman from the moment they met. The only problem: “All the letters were addressed to her, so we never got her point of view. I hated the fact that she was voiceless on this record, until Zoe found a love poem that her mother had written to a man she had remained close to for decades, even after leaving him at the altar.”
A bond between two women
On the record cover, a photo shows Emilíana Torrini (left) and Miss Flower sitting together in a café. A possible anachronism thanks to photomontage. Still aiming to make a connection, she moved into Geraldine Flower’s London apartment for the writing and recording of the album.
“I wanted to make a pop and electronic record, but with the vocal intimacy of Leonard Cohen’s album ‘I’m Your Man’, continues Emilíana Torrini. The making of this record was a happy and mysterious journey. I felt like we were connected somehow, like we were characters in a book being read aloud somewhere.”
A film inspired by the record, “The Extraordinary Miss Flower,” is also expected to be released soon. Directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, awarded for the musical documentary “20,000 Days on Earth”, are at the helm, while well-known faces should appear, such as the Australian artist and musician Nick Cave.
Radio subject: Yves Zahno
Web adaptation: Myriam Semaani
Emiliana Torrini, “Miss Flower” (Greenland Records). Paru le 21 juin 2024.
In concert at PTR, Geneva, October 2, 2024.
