We get to know the sounds and stories of FLOSS and Nalan – two Berlin-based music acts we can’t get enough of these days.
Floss
- Genre: Pop
- For fans of: Lady Gaga, Peaches
- Stand-out tracks: ‘I Will Eat Your God’, ‘Sad Bitch Hotline’
Born and bred in Germany, the FLOSS sound could be that of an alternate Barbie universe – one set in the murky, hedonistic world of Berlin, rife with electroclash sounds and clubbing aesthetics. She has created a world of immaculate, feminist, glimmery electronic pop. Having previously worked as a fashion designer in Paris and LA, visual aesthetics are just as elemental to FLOSS as her musical style. The glam-pop performer is on a one-women mission to make the world pink and spread her feminist message across the world through her charismatic, political and queer style of music, which she calls feminist fantasy pop.
She has created a world of immaculate, feminist, glimmery electronic pop.
With a sound influenced by the 80s, mixed with modern hyperpop, FLOSS is assertive and unabashed. Live, the artist is brazen, extremely pink, punk and very, very playful. In 2022, FLOSS won the Lollapalooza Newcomer prize, but with her 2024 release ‘I Will Eat Your God’, a record about empowerment, independence and sticking it to the man (as well as the AfD, as always), she is exerting her staying power far beyond the newcomer status.
Nalan
- Genre: Soul, R‘n’B
- For fans of: Solange, Noname, Cleo Soul
- Stand-out tracks: ‘Bed of Tears’, ‘Spell’
One third of R‘n’B trio Gaddafi Gals and an integral part of FLINTA DJ collective SLIC Unit, Nalan Karacagil is one of Berlin’s rising voices when it comes to smooth, moody soul music. The producer, DJ and musician formerly known as slimgirl fat hits hard with heaps of emotionally deep, dreamy indie pop and R‘n’B. If Nalan’s music doesn’t move you, we’d recommend you listen to ‘Bed of Tears’ and double-check your pulse. The depth of her music evokes tears of both pain and joy, something that the artist’s name hints at.
Listen to ‘Bed of Tears’ and double-check your pulse.
According to her, ‘Nalan’ means “the wailing one” or “the mourning one”. Nalan’s music has a wide range, switching with ease from the sultry, recently released single, ‘Spell’, to the more upbeat d’n’b sounds of ‘Falling 4 You’, which is taken from her debut record on esteemed Berlin label Mansions and Millions, I’m Good. The Crying Tape. With a devastatingly powerful voice that has a somewhat of a Erykah-Badu-meets-Solange resonance to it, Nalan turns heads wherever she goes.
