From personal reflection to daring experimentation, French singer-songwriter and musician Flora Fischbach, known for her cinematic music blending pop and electronic sounds, moves through life with restless creativity, deeply drawn to theatrical expression and keen awareness.
Flora was born in Dieppe in north-eastern France and grew up in the Ardennes region. She was surrounded by music early on, particularly the records her parents listened to while partying in the 1990s. She realized the importance of music during the first concert she played with her first synth-punk band in 2009 at a small bar in her hometown.
“My music is quite maximalist, with synthesizers omnipresent. Some say I’m very 80s,” she explains. “I felt that the intimacy of my melodies was shared by others, that my contained energy was finally finding a place to express itself without seeming crazy—or maybe I was, but it didn’t matter.”
Her music is deliberately ambiguous. Danceable melancholia sits alongside harsh lyrics or banal statements delivered in a dramatic tone, constantly playing with contrasts and dualities. Singing functions as a musical instrument in its own right, giving her work a unique texture and character.
Flora has described her universe as “Medieval Matrix,” a phrase that immediately sparks curiosity. “I love science fiction as much as fantasy, as much as imaginary and outdated things, as well as a strong faith in and fear of the future,” she says.
The latest album, Val Synth, was released in 2025 and blends electropop, indie pop, and alternative influences. Flora wanted to make an album that felt spontaneous, almost like freezing her demos and preserving their raw energy. “I often kept the vocals from the demos. I also wanted to offer purely instrumental tracks, because I’m not just a singer. It’s also a much more colourful and joyful album than the previous ones.”
Val Synth explores themes of identity, freedom, relationships, and inner life through a mix of introspective, playful, and sometimes surreal lyrics. Rather than telling linear stories, many of the songs focus on mood and emotion. “My songs are often an expression of what I can’t convey in my personal life. In my opinion, melody has its own emotion, sometimes much more eloquent than words. Like messages in a bottle, often for oneself,” she reflects.
This is Flora’s third album. Her debut, À ta merci, released in 2017, was a dramatic and theatrical blend of synthpop and rock. It was followed by Avec les yeux in 2022, which retained the electronic and synth-driven core while sounding more polished and melodic. Val Synth feels like a natural evolution, taking synth, pop, and dance to a new level.
“I think I don’t want to be pigeonholed into French pop as it’s traditionally understood. I want to go further in self-expression, explore new ways of writing, and collaborate with different musicians on each album, because others are talented,” she says.
It is easy to see Flora’s love for film and literature reflected in her work, as well as her ambition to blend the two forms together. She frequently references film composers such as Vangelis, John Carpenter, Elmer Bernstein, and Thomas Newman, alongside French authors like Cécile Coulon and Blandine Rinkel. In recent years, she has also added drag art to her creative palette, which she finds particularly inspiring.
“I don’t know if I like fashion; I don’t know anything about it. I do know that I love dressing up. Clothing is an opportunity to explore oneself, to embody a character, but also to connect with others, as a sign of rebellion or belonging,” she explains. Music and fashion cannot exist without each other, she adds. Even choosing not to engage is still a choice. Both music and fashion reflect the times we live in.
Transcendence remains central to her work. “For me, transcending oneself today is primarily about monitoring one’s own convoluted biases, our information bubbles, or even what we believe to be part of our identity. My music is constantly changing, ambiguous; it allows itself to be that way. We should all allow ourselves to do that, and even have a duty to do so,” Flora says.Her music reflects a constant in-between state, rooted in past decades yet untethered from any specific era. She speaks less about defining an aesthetic and more about maintaining movement, resisting fixation, questioning inherited narratives, and remaining attentive to the political undercurrents shaping everyday life. For her, music is not an escape from reality but a way of momentarily loosening its grip.
“And when it comes to the music,” she says, “I hope my audience can take a step back from their own melancholy. Dance to it.”
Talent: Flora Fischbach
Team Credits:
Photograhy by Nikolaz Le Coq
Styling by Jaouad Mehdid
Makeup by Alexandra Meric
Hair by Erika Kimura
Words by Mattias Kristiansson
Set Design by Marie Thiboumery
Fashion Assistant: Emma Moulay
Lighting Assistant: Gaspard Herledan
Fashion Credits:
1) Shirt and trousers by Mehdid. Necklace by Alt Paris.
2) Coat by Mehdid.
4 & 11) Jacket by Mehdid. Blouse by Sehnsucht. Trousers by Thierry Mugler. Shoes by Maison Margiela. Rings by Alt Paris.
5 & 7) Body and trousers by Chantal Thomass.
6) Dress by Maison Alaïa.
8) Jumpsuit by Claude Montana. Shoes by Dr Martens.
9 & 10) Blouse by Transe. Trousers and belt by Mehdid. Shoes by Maison Margiela. Bracelets and rings by Alt Paris.