Flourish

Hailing from northern Ohio comes Flourish, and if you want music somewhere in the middle of The Appleseed Cast and Planning For Burial with a hint of Holy Fawn, Flourish is your band. They’re not quite in the middle though, more so like a fluid floating between the three. You have your post-rock bands and then you have your post-rock bands. Flourish is by far a post-rock band. From their soft introductions to intense build ups to full on blast beats, you never know what’s going to hit you next. Either way it’s going to keep your head banging or your feet tapping.

Composed of Marcus Storch, Kameron Korom, Rogan Campbell, and Brandon Bowe, Flourish’s atmospheric intensity brings a shattering realization that ambiance and beauty can also be heavy and soul crushing.

Flourish started out as a solo project by Marcus. According to their Spotify bio, their first album “Seasonal Affection” was “created in a direction to improve mental health”. The album starts out with clean guitar with quite a bit of delay, causing one to think of a Slowdive song late in their career. It’s a calming effect, gradually adding more instruments and sounds until you’re 2 minutes deep when the drums kick in. 30 seconds later you really start to see where you’re headed, or so you think. Flourish continues this algorithm throughout the instrumental album, only having a few vocals or samples of vocals sprinkled throughout.

In fall of 2019 Marcus set out to find members and make Flourish what it is today.

In 2020 they released a single, a cover of Jesu’s “Silver“. To think these guy’s couldn’t sing just because there are no vocals on the first album would be a mistake. What I love about this cover is that they really didn’t change it from the original, and that takes guts. In my opinion, anytime you play a cover of someone else’s song, you either need to alter it and make it your own or you better absolutely crush it. Take my word for it, these guys fucking crushed it.

I’m thankful to call these guys friends and to have shared the stage with them. When they played their set, I was blown away. Listening to music on headphones is one thing but seeing a band live, feeling the bass rattle your chest cavity and the drums popping your ears is an entirely different animal in its own. They had me hooked from the moment they started their set and I was actually upset I had to walk away towards the end to bring my own gear in. With all that said, of course they were the first band I reached out to for Ethereal Sludge.

Down below is the transcript of me getting to sit down with the guys in Flourish. By “sit down” I mean we all sat on Facebook Messenger and talked to each other but, hey, I’m doing my best here.

DC: First of all, let me start off by thanking you guys for your time. How does it feel to be the first band interviewed by Ethereal Sludge Magazine? 

Kameron: It’s a fuckin honor man. This is actually the first time Flourish has been interviewed as a band! 

DC: Well if that’s the case thank you very much! And I’m sorry it’s such an unorthodox interview.

Marcus: Yeah man, I’m super stoked and excited that you’re making it happen. 

Rogan: So stoked dude, never had the chance to answer questions that would be truly in depth like this. So for real honored to be the first. 

DC: If you had to choose one city to be the home of Flourish, what would it be? 

Marcus: We all live pretty far away but we generally practice in the Bellevue, OH area. We typically say we are from the Sandusky area since it’s more well known. 

Kameron: I agree with Marcus, we all are spread out. We practice in Bellevue but are mostly playing shows in the Cleveland area.

Rogan:  Again I agree with Marcus and Kam, practice in Bellevue and shows in Cleveland.

DC: Where are each of you from? 

Marcus: I just moved back to Bellevue from Port Clinton, so I’m there now. 

Kameron: I’m from a small town of about 1000 people called Wakeman, about 30 minutes from Sandusky and 45 from downtown Cleveland. 

DC: Is it hard to make it work with all of you living so far away?  

Marcus: Not really, we still practice every week. Everyone has to drive but we make it work. 

Kameron: We make it work, but definitely takes commitment and the respect and love of music from everybody in the band. 

DC: Yeah I guess that definitely shows commitment.  

Rogan: We make it work for sure, everyone is super dedicated. And it’s honestly first the time I’ve been in band where everyone wants the same thing, everyone is on the same page. It’s honestly so sick. Best band I’ve been in, truly. 

DC: How would you describe Flourish’s music?  

Marcus: If you mean classifying a genre, the easiest way would be just heavy Post-Rock. 

DC: Then classify it yourself.

Marcus: Music to hate existence to lol.

Kameron: Heavy Post-Rock/Metal with Shoegaze undertones, with looseness for some riffing/improvisation.

Rogan: Shoegaze/Post-Rock for sure.

Marcus: If it helps, the first batch of songs is all songs I wrote while being super depressed and burnt out and I think that shows.

DC:  Yeah Marcus, I know you wrote Seasonal Affection, that’s actually my next question. How did the writing process go for that?

Kameron: Marcus wrote the whole album himself so I’ll let him answer that. But, as far as live presence goes, we have all added our own elements and riffs/influences from many different genres of music and I think what is awesome about the Flourish live presence is that we all listen to much different music from Rap, Post-Rock, jam bands, etc. and Flourish allows for all of us to put what we know best out on the line and really make a unique sound.

Marcus: I bought an Axe FX and some drum software and was just goofing around and I had come up with a few solid ideas, and a friend of mine convinced me to put it out and I did. Most of the songs on there I wrote in like a day each, then rearranged them and stuff. It’s also the only thing I’ve ever mixed myself and you can kind of tell, it has its flaws for sure. Then afterwards I got offered a show and asked Rogan and Kam to play, then boom, we fell in love.

DC: Well I think flaws add character and I definitely think its a killer album for a debut. 

Marcus: Yeah when we play those songs live they’re definitely way more loose and stuff. I’m excited for new stuff so the guys can all actually record and stuff also, it’s definitely way passed being like a side project for me.

Rogan: Definitely agree with Kam, now we’re in a space where all of our influences are coming together and the sound is really becoming interesting and it’s own thing as a collective if you get what I mean lmao. Like as a group, our chemistry is really starting to form. And we’re really carving out a sound we all enjoy, and feel like the audience can as well. 

DC: Ultimately, what are each of your goals with Flourish?  

Marcus: I really never thought about it, besides the typical “tour, release albums, make money”. I really just want to keep making music that makes me happy to play. I really dig the shit we’ve got going and it’s most of what gets me out of bed every day and I think that it’s definitely the most expressive music I’ve played in a band personally and as long as I have that I’ll be happy for sure. 

Kameron: Tons of shows and new music. I’m ready to push Flourish to the limit as far as studio sound and live shows.

Rogan: Just like most bands, I’d love to just play as many shows as possible, show people what we’re capable of. Learn as much as I can from these dudes, and just have a good time. I’ve never had as much fun playing music as I have with this band. I just wanna jam, man. I also agree with Marcus, just trying to tour with these dudes and make some cash. I just wanna make music forever. 

Kameron: I also agree with all of them. 

DC: Do you feel you’ll ever grow to disagree with your lyrics or change your opinion in the future? 

Rogan: I’d say our lyrics right now can hold different meanings for everyone. We keep them pretty open. So I think they could make anyone feel something totally different than us. Which is beautiful to me and something I love. Just totally abstract, and maybe even something we don’t understand when we write on the first day. But later on could hold meaning to us. 

Kameron: I agree with Rogan 

DC: What do you think is the best song you’ve released and why? 

Marcus: My personal favorite is “I Didn’t Know You Were Choosing Between Me and Them“. Best shit isn’t out just yet. 

Kameron: I really like “Onward to Something Better“. That simple, down-beat jam rules. 

Rogan: Released so far my favorite is probably the 4th track off the album, “I Remember the Moment I knew We Were Doomed” but I also agree our best isn’t out yet. My reason for choosing this one though is because it’s the first one I heard that really excited me to come play. It’s moody, it’s clean in the start, it rages later on, and all around it just waxes and wanes. Just really well written and just vibes. 

DC: What can you tell me about the new releases so Ethereal Sludge can have the scoop before anyone else? Any new elements?  

Marcus: Want me to send our demos? 

DC: OH FUCK YES  

Marcus: There’s two versions of “Woman Dressed in Sun“, we just started doing vocals. Rogan and I are collaborating on them. Also we are trying to write more varying chord progressions and shit. We also are trying to play more than just moody shit. The song “Caught in 4K” isn’t actually called that but we want to have more upbeat shit. 

Kameron: I agree with everything Marcus said, we are just waiting what feels right and trying to make it a little more complex. 

Rogan:  Can’t say it much better than them, just trying to write some interesting and deliberate stuff.

DC: What made you choose Jesu’s “Silver” as a cover and how did you nail it so perfectly? 

Kameron: That was honestly Marcus’ idea 

Marcus: I love Jesu and I actually just started recording the cover to dial in guitar tones, and then I left it unfinished. I was digging up old project files about a year ago and thought it kind of slapped so I finished it up. 

DC: You’ve added vocals in your newer songs, who all is singing now and how do you think that’s going to effect your sound over all? 

Kameron: I’d like to see all of us singing honestly some, but I think Marcus and Rogan are gonna take the lead right now. I’d love to add some intricate harmonies and shit. 

Marcus: What Kam just said I agree with. I always wanted Flourish to have vocals but I didn’t have the experience mixing them to get them right. Rogan and I are for sure doing most but Kam is going to do some backups. I think it’ll just add some more depth and relatability to the songs.

Rogan:  Me and Marky Mark sing so far, but we’re thinking of adding screams maybe too if I can pull it off. But still there’s quite a bit undecided. I think if it’s restrained and we still keep the instrumental vibe, it could be very interesting.

Kameron: I’d also like to add that we aren’t writing vocals in a typical verse chorus, verse chorus fashion, but just added them to vibe the song harder where we feel they are needed.

DC: Who would be on your dream tour if Flourish got to choose? 

Marcus: Supporting Caspian and Russian Circles. I’m a simp for Caspian 

Kameron: Definitely Russian Circles, and maybe Slowdive. 

Rogan:  Deafheaven. My dreams would be complete. In an alternate universe though, King Krule, Deftones, Alex G, Crowbar, and Mac Demarco lmfao.

DC: How do you feel about the current shoegaze/post-rock revival currently happening on TikTok and Twitter?  

Marcus: I haven’t really seen it in social media, and I don’t use TikTok but I definitely think there’s a lot of good shit happening in the genre. It’s like my current favorite style of music and I’m glad it’s been getting recognized. Even though I don’t fully know what goes on in terms of the social media aspect, whatever exposure it gets is only a good thing for the style of music. 

Kameron: I honestly haven’t seen it haha, I don’t use TikTok but, hey, we need more bands to play with! 

Rogan:  Same, I haven’t seen much on social media, and have only recently gotten into the genre, but I’d have to agree that it’s my favorite genre at the moment. Deafheaven’s new joint is my lifeblood right now.

DC: Last “serious” question, if you can have your fans remember one thing about Flourish, what would it be?  

Marcus: I’d hope they’d remember that our music is an expression of us at this point in time and we want to convey that as truly as possible. And that we are just four of the fuckin boys who just wanna rip some songs. 

Kameron: I want them to just remember the way they felt hearing our music, whatever feeling our music brought out of their souls. That’s what Flourish is about. 

Rogan:  That we came to jam at every show, we’re there to have a good time, hangout with everyone, and not take ourselves too serious. Just know for us it’s about the music, it’s about having fun honestly. And it’s about the audience gaining something from seeing us. Feeling something and being moved by the music.

DC: Only a few non-music questions, and this first one really speaks to me. Dogs or cats, and why?  

Kameron:  Dogs, they don’t shit in a box then step in it and walk around the house.

Marcus:  Dogs because they’re my fucking bros and I’m a fucking bro. Just kidding, but dog for sure because I like their energy and they’re more personable.

Rogan:  Honestly I’m stuck! Probably dogs just because they seem like more companion-y lmao.

DC: Speaking of dogs or cats, which one do you think you would be and why? 

Marcus:  Same answer lol.

Kameron:  I would be a cat because of their freedom and no need for another person like a dog.

Rogan:  I’d be a dog because I’m a dawg

DC: Last question, what are the three most beautiful things in the world to you? 

Marcus:  Drugs, Sex, and Rock n Roll. Just kidding, Hibachi, riffs, and the Earth.

Kameron:  Nature, wildlife, and of course, music.

Rogan:  Music, memories, family/love, and honestly I can’t stop there lol. Anything that moves people. Art, like Marcus said, the Earth. The world is sweet.

Know that this interview was full of compliments and them “laugh” and “heart” reacting each other’s comments the entire time, even complimenting me. This band seems to be the real deal. The embodiment of love, laughter, vibes, and riffs.