Access All Areas

Access All Areas

Album ∙ R&B/Soul ∙ 2024

FLO

On Access All Areas, FLO deliver a fierce, shapeshifting debut album of tracks that explore the hopes, fears, and burning ambitions that come after a breakthrough which saw them tagged as the great hopes for British R&B. On 2022’s “Cardboard Box,” Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma, and Renée Downer’s tidy chemistry and harmonic timing referenced greats of the sound from yesteryear, while providing a glimpse of the future. “We know better than anyone what a journey it has been to get here,” Quaresma tells Apple Music. “But this is actually only the beginning. Those years, filled with lessons, learning, and even trauma…it’s all in the past as the AAA-era starts from today. This album signifies us letting our supporters in, sharing more of our lives, and giving out more of us.”

Access All Areas strikes at the sounds they’ve always dreamed of—guided by the razor-sharp writing, education, and smooth production chops of exec producer MNEK. “He’s a really big part of helping us unlock different parts of our voices,” Quaresma says of the British multi-hyphenate. “We’re still so young with so much to learn, so we do lean on him for guidance.” And the results speak for themselves. FLO tangle with trifling partners (“Caught Up”), sizzling rap-style production (“Shoulda Woulda Coulda”), and self-acceptance (“I’m Just a Girl”) on the album which is a big-time flex session from a trio of stars stepping into their power, with even greater goals in sight. “We want to push the perception of girl groups so we had to start and finish with really strong statements on this album,” adds Renée. “We just had to. Because, as young Black women on the rise in this industry, when we reflect on our come-up and everything that we’ve been through, there are bittersweet but also positive messages that mean so much to us. So here it is, this is our truth.” Here, the London trio talks us through Access All Areas, track by track.

“Intro” (feat. Cynthia Erivo)

Jorja Douglas: “We wanted to start this up in a really clear environment. And we spent the time to get it right. This is sultry and musical, we even added in bits with lovely strings—and finally asked [British actor and musician] Cynthia Erivo to narrate. She’s Black, British, and so talented, she’s someone we adore. This intro sets everything off nicely as we tap into our history here—and share how the journey so far has been for us these last few years.”

“AAA”

Stella Quaresma: “We recorded this out in LA, in what was probably our favorite session for this whole album [working with Pop Wansel, MNEK, and Sevyn Streeter]. So the title of the album feels slightly different to this song, but it still felt like a nice way to continue with this start. This feels like a mix between throwback and current [R&B sounds], which we love.”

“In My Bag” (feat. GloRilla)

SQ: “This is about being on top of your game in any situation or scenario—physically, mentally, just whatever makes you feel good. We’re tapping into that confidence with this song. So it’s big and braggy, but also centers on being authentic to you. We don’t have Birkins, and we don’t have a [Rolls-Royce] Wraith, but we’re still true to ourselves.”

“Walk Like This”

Renée Downer: “We love trying out different [singing] styles like we did with this song. If you feel this, you’ll really appreciate a few more songs of this vibe across the album, some really fun ones. Even now as we listen back, I feel that [variation] we went for really adds so much.”

“How Does It Feel?”

JD: “We were instantly attracted to this pretty much as soon as we heard the demo. It was written by [American songwriter] Theron Thomas, and it’s the type of music we love to listen to, and always dared to be a part of. We want to push perceptions and this is the perfect sonic fit for that. If male artists are comfortable singing across any kind of style and approach, then why not us?”

“Soft”

JD: “This reminds me of my favorite Justin Bieber project, [2013 compilation] Journals. I think that’s why I fell in love with this song, even if others around us disagreed. Maybe they didn’t connect with the song, whatever, but we had to be clear and tell them where to go! This song is an R&B dream. And this is our album—so we don’t believe in persuading, anyway. So here it is.”

“Check”

RD: “We’re so happy that this song came about. MNEK and [British songwriter] Ryan Ashley were involved in writing this, and I feel they know us so well. At times, we struggle to write love songs that aren’t cringe! Honestly, we’ve made a few of those. But this one just had a vibe to it, like [USHER and Alicia Keys’ 2004 single] ‘My Boo,’ and we were who keen on adding in a sound that people could dance to.”

“On & On”

SQ: “This was written by [British singer-songwriter] KABBA, who did many songs for our last EP [2023’s 3 of Us]. We were so captivated by this song it’s a straight old-school love song. I can still remember being in the room when we first heard it. We haven’t performed it yet, but we honestly can’t wait.”

“Bending My Rules”

SQ: “An inspiring vibe here. We’ve made sexy songs before, but this one just sounds so grown-up. It’s complex yet simple, it’s great to sing live and really shows off our voices.”

“Trustworthy (Interlude)”

JD: “This was a really pretty song to create [with MNEK and NOVA WAV] in London. It’s very easy to talk about the great things in a relationship but not so much with the difficulties. This is about the sensitive stuff, but it’s always easy when you speak from the heart and your own experiences, then everything flows easily.”

“Caught Up”

RD: “What I find so cool about this song is just how passionate it is. It takes me back to being 12 years old, listening to [Jazmine Sullivan’s] ‘Bust Your Windows,’ even when I obviously don’t know anything about that kind of behavior. But it fueled our imaginations and, as girls, we were still able to relate. We all play through these scenarios in our heads, even if they drive us crazy. Sometimes you have to remind your partner: You don’t know who you’re dealing with!”

“IWH2BMX”

RD: “If you could imagine [pulling] your stank face, with gun fingers in the air? That’s how we imagine this song— it’s ‘I Would Hate to be My [E]X,’ essentially. That’s it really—we’re flexing on them in a big way. Why not? If you feel good then stunt!”

“Nocturnal”

RD: “This song is a testament to FLO. We’ve been working so hard this last few years, hardly getting sleep, just trying to do things the right way. Not the easy way; we want longevity. This is about the lifestyle of not getting any sleep. We want to be ahead of up here even if that’s not immediately visible.”

“Shoulda Woulda Coulda”

SQ: “At first, it was hard for us to wrap our heads around this beat. It’s a really nostalgic sound that we wanted to sink our teeth into. Once we finished this song, we knew that our album was on a good path.”

“Get It Till I’m Gone”

RD: “The way that we layer our ad-libs here, and it’s mainly for the outro [section], is something we’ve done in the past: on ‘3 of Us,’ definitely, and some others. Now it’s a FLO thing. I just love it. One of us says [the line], and the rest come in and overlap. It’s really cool.”

“I’m Just a Girl”

SQ: “The writing process of this song was interesting. It started off about sex, as they always do. But somehow it wasn’t resonating. But we loved the sound here, this Rihanna-inspired rock vibe, think of maybe her Rated R era [in 2009]. We put this one aside until MNEK revealed to us a few days later in a session, that he had reworded, reordered, and completely reworked it. It went from this awkward, almost jokey vibe to now being something that’s deep and personal, and it’s because MNEK has been with us for so long. He’s heard us rant on his sofa over the years. He gets it, so he was able to capture five years’ worth of trauma and wrap it up into one angry song.”