The Story Behind "The Flow"

By Isa!

This song is particularly special for me as it was not my first first first ever written, but for sure my first fully finished and produced all on my own. It's also different from my other originals because it was born out of a school project actually. It was my first project for my music technology class for freshmen, and the professor was extremely strict, so I knew I had to give it my all! (and I'm also a bit of a perfectionist, so... ). I had one week to complete the task, during midterms, and I remember having no ideas whatsoever for a song, while the deadline was getting closer and closer. I was however obsessed with this song called "Parco Sempione" by the Italian band Elio E Le Storie Tese. I kept playing and practicing that. I've always loved that song, the afro grooves and vibe just stick with you. It's awesome (and it reaches a whole new level of greatness if you also explore its meaning... but that's a different story). 

Anyways, as I was playing this groovy track, I was also practicing a similar groove for another piece my drums professor assigned me. And at one point it just clicked: no one was stopping me from creating a song with the same vibe! I'd never done that before too. It had never occurred to me to write something with such a clear reference and model, and it's awesome to see how that evolves into your creation. 

So, I got to my room, got out my midi, and pulled put a crazy

afro-latin groove intro situation, which was awesome. It could have worked perfectly if it were played live, but that once presented to my professor was ROASTED brutally . The guy was right. It had no point whatsoever. It was just things happening . So I got back to work, locked in over a whole weekend. Moved into the Public Library with my lil midi for extra focus, and pulled out The Flow. I handed in the project literally at 11.59, and risked failing completely. But instead got full grades on that (and the professor was happy). 

What was surprising was that the morning after handing it in, I woke up with my mom who sent the song to her best friends, and sent back to me all their amazed and excited texts. They were all in awe. They weren't captured by the fancy musical things happening, and they weren't phased by the dorm quality of the first demo. They were just moved by it I guess. That was the moment I realized that song had something to say. I had something to say.

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I want to thank Isa! for taking the time to share this story with us. 

Be sure to follow her on Instagram, and pre-save The Flow to be sure you won't miss it!

Thanks again Isa!