FLO spoke with NME about their debut album “Access All Areas” after their very first performance at Reading Festival.

On the opening day of the festival (23 August), the trio performed a number of their most popular songs – including their viral breakthrough single “Cardboard Box” – on the BBC Radio 1 stage. Although FLO struggled with technical issues that caused their microphones to fail several times, they persevered and delivered a successful performance.

The highly anticipated album is set to be released this November via Warner Music and is the follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut EP, The Lead. They said NME in Reading, they will explore themes such as “self-love (and) relationships with a whole spectrum of different people, work, friends, boyfriends, partners.” Having been a group for five years now, they want to show how “so strong” and “so together” they are.

As they prepare for their London headline show next week (August 29) and open for Kehlani’s upcoming North American leg of the Crash World Tour, the band reflected on their place in R&B music. Members Stella Quaresma, Jorja Douglas and Renée Downer shared NME about their hope of becoming known as the beginning of the revival of girl groups within the genre.

Hello FLO! How was your first performance at the Reading and Leeds Festival?

Stella Quaresma: “The crowd was incredible.”

Renée Downer: “At our first performance, we had hoped that everything would work out from a production point of view. But the audience breathed life into us and motivated us to continue, and that is the most important thing.”

You made a mashup of your song “Summertime” with “Try Again” by Aaliyah – why did you want to pay tribute to the late icon?

Quaresma: “I feel like she was the first – maybe not the first, but she was such an It girl. She did so much for people like us who love R&B, so thank you, Aaliyah.”

Jorja Douglas: “Also, Timbaland is responsible for production and that also has such a big influence, especially on our sound, that it makes sense to integrate it into our set.

You’ve been praised by the likes of Victoria Monét, JoJo, SZA and others – what’s it like to receive the respect of your fellow R&B It Girls?

Downside: “That’s the best kind of compliment. It’s so nice to get respect from people we actually look up to.”

One of the biggest co-signs you got was from Kelly Rowland – how was that?

Douglas: “We’ve actually met her a few times in real life and every time she’s just so nice and just wants to help (us). (She) wants to know how things are going and wants to give us advice, so she’s so genuine and down to earth. It’s been really nice getting to know her.”

How do you feel about people comparing you to Destiny’s Child?

Douglas: “I think our work ethic is comparable. If anything, their work ethic is much more extreme than ours. But on that level, the work ethic and the attention to detail – that’s what we take from Destiny’s Child.”

You are releasing your debut album “Access All Areas” later this year – why now?

Downside: “It’s finally finished. We wanted to be really open, dig deep and write music that really has meaning for us. So the title is pretty self-explanatory.”

What topics do you cover on the album?

Douglas: “Self-love, love…”

Quaresma: “Relationships with a whole range of different people: work, friends, boyfriends, partners…”

Douglas: “You can interpret the songs (however you want). We might refer to a boy or a man or whatever, but you can relate it to your boss. It could be about your boss, it could be about your coworker, it could be about your mother, it could be about your dog. It could be about whatever feels right to you, but you’ll develop a vibe (about it).”

Who was an inspiration for the album?

Downside: “Brandy. We love her, and one song in particular on the album has that essence of R&B. We don’t know her that well.”

Quaresma: “We want them here so badly.”

What message do you want to make with “Access All Areas”?

Douglas: “There is just so much to know.”

Quaresma: “Versatile. The album makes you feel a whole range of things. You feel like a bad guy, you feel tough, you feel like other people are going through the same thing, you feel strong. There’s a lot going on.”

You’re going on tour with Kehlani soon!

Douglas: “In two weeks!”

Yes! Are you ready?

Quaresma: “Spiritually we are ready. Physically we are on the way there.”

Downside: “I think we’re ready. We know what we want to accomplish, so we’re excited to experience it, put the work in, learn from it and then just go ahead and put our album out and go from there.”

Douglas: “We can’t wait to explore other parts of the world. Even after getting a taste of how different the cultures and fans are in Japan, it was so refreshing. We can’t wait to go to Brazil. We can’t wait to finally do a show in Europe, a real show (…) This is really embarrassing.”

When you look back on your career in a few years, what do you hope to have achieved?

Downside: “Just the revival of R&B girl groups, because they haven’t existed for a long time.

Douglas: “We want to be known for having the R&B album of the year…”

Quaresma: “(His) pioneer…”

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