Flore is a driving force in the French bass music scene.

With a career spanning decades, she has achieved significant milestones, including becoming the first French woman to be named an Ableton Certified Trainer. Her artistic journey spans a wide range of creative experiences, like her album *RITUAL*, which merges music with visual and immersive technologies. There’s so much to learn from her unique perspective and contributions to the music world.

Today, Flore joins us for the latest installment of our Adrenaline guest mix series, accompanied by an exclusive interview.

Enjoy the episode!

You became the first French woman nominated as an Ableton Certified Trainer. How did this milestone shape your career in electronic music, both creatively and professionally?

I got my certification in 2016 after more than 15 years of composing and 3 years of teaching. Being self-taught, it was originally just a way to validate my skills and ease the process for organizations like Pole Emploi to cover courses for trainees. I never expected it to have such an impact on my life. Weirdly enough, getting it completely shifted how people saw my work. It’s like releasing music wasn’t enough for me to be considered a legit musician, haha!

What really stood out was becoming the first woman in France to achieve this certification. I didn’t even question whether I’d be the only woman going for it—deep down, I already knew. I’ve always been the only woman in spaces like these. But finding out I was the *first* was a whole different story. It felt incredibly symbolic.

Of course, it mattered to me, but even more so, it was important to share that news. It’s crucial to highlight that part of the issue is how some women, equally as qualified, feel undeserving or out of place. If my story can inspire other women to realize they’re just as worthy of this certification, I’d be so proud 🙂

How has teaching influenced and enriched your journey as an artist?

100% ! Absolument. Ableton Live is a super versatile software—you can pick and choose the tools you need to suit your personal workflow. That’s why I love thinking about which tools would spark the most creativity for each trainee. It pushes me to keep rethinking how I approach the software, and it often spices up my own use of it. Even beginners bring a ton of fresh energy. Their new perspective on the tech gives me a lot of fuel to keep going and evolving in my own practice…

As a teacher at the European Music Industry Lectures (EMIL), what do you find most rewarding about mentoring the next generation of music industry professionals? How do you weave your experience as an artist into your teaching?

I love it when my students keep me posted on their releases or live performances. It makes me happy to give them the tools to take those first steps, and I hope to pass along enough knowledge so they can keep digging and growing on their own. There’s a real journey between learning the software and making the music that’s in your gut. It takes practice, patience, and persistence. I totally vibe with that saying: “Talent is 99% hard work and 1% inspiration.”

I try to bring a laid-back, pressure-free approach to teaching. My goal is to spark that drive to keep going. That’s why I love finding the right tools that make them go “whoa,” and showing them that you don’t have to be some technical wizard to create cool tracks. And most importantly, I always remind them: it’s all about the idea, not the technique.

Your album *RITUAL* was the product of five years of work, incorporating a live audiovisual performance and later evolving into three EPs. Can you walk us through the creative process behind this project and its personal significance for you?

The genesis of *RITUAL* was a long process 🙂

It all started around 2010. I had just dropped an album on a UK label that got great reviews, but didn’t really find its audience. My career wasn’t in the best shape, and the breaks scene I was a part of at the time had basically collapsed due to the explosive rise of dubstep, which wiped out everything in its path.

I came out of that period pretty bruised and frustrated, especially after making so many compromises for the album. What’s the point of “watering down” your music if it doesn’t even reach a wider audience? If label heads really knew the secret formula, they’d all be millionaires. So, that whole experience made me want to start doing things *my way*.

The first thing I wanted to do was work on a live set, which I’d never done before. I wanted to create tracks that broke away from traditional club structures, something bolder and more hybrid. The idea of adding a visual element to it was also really important. Slowly but surely, things started coming together. I met Yannick and the WSK crew, and we managed to get support for residencies to prepare the live set, which we performed for the first time in January 2014.

The feedback was good, but programmers were a bit skeptical: too weird for clubs, but not abstract enough for experimental gigs. Anyway, I kept going. We played it pretty regularly for two years, and during that time, I decided to start a label with my best mate Marc. The first two releases were partly made up of tracks from that live set. The response was great, and we sold out all 300 copies each time.

After that, *RITUAL* was kind of put on the back burner. My DJ career picked up again, the label grew, we signed artists, and I got my Ableton certification. Then in 2017, Barbiturix invited us to perform *RITUAL* at La Gaîté Lyrique, with an immersive video projection. Yannick and I were so excited to work together again because we both felt like we had some unfinished business with this project. And the audience got it. They finally understood the music. By then, broken beats had come back around, and what had been a challenge for us four years earlier had suddenly become our strength: a sound that sits somewhere between techno, experimental, tribal, and rave.

I had the intuition it was about time to work on a full-length version of the project. So I released *RITUALS*, the album, in April 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic. And despite the chaos, it found its audience and did really well.

So yeah, it’s a pretty great story, don’t you think? 🙂

Visual arts, especially through immersive technologies, seem to be central to your artistic approach. With collaborations like the one with visual artist WSK and your participation in the Philharmonie de Paris, what other forms of art captivate you?

Great question. I think visual arts, in the broadest sense, are what matter most to me. I LOVE museums, no matter the era, no matter the medium. But I also love reading and gardening—these things feed my mind. Another passion of mine is listening to artists, whether they’re musicians, writers, or filmmakers, talk about their work. I enjoy reflecting on my own music practice through the lens of other creative fields. I truly believe creativity is like a muscle, and it needs all kinds of different fuel to keep working 🙂

You’ve performed at iconic festivals and venues such as Nuits Sonores, Transmusicales, Fusion Festival, and Fabric, and you’re also a resident at Le Sucre. Do you feel like the audience is equally responsive in Lyon and London?

F – It is, but I approach it differently. In the UK, within the bass music scene I’m part of, people know the classics and the codes, so you can really have fun playing with that—throwing in little nods to the genre and taking them places they wouldn’t expect. In France, the culture leans more toward techno, so sometimes it’s about easing them in with familiar 4×4 grooves while gradually guiding them into more adventurous territory. Both approaches are great fun and challenging, but they’re totally different exercises 🙂

Bass music, even in its more experimental forms, seems to be trending and embraced by artists across genres. In 2024, do you find that audiences are becoming more receptive and eager for this kind of sound?

I definitely think the audience is more open-minded and daring than most promoters, so yeah 🙂

Your DJ sets span multiple genres with impressive versatility. Can you share your approach to discovering and selecting tracks?

My go-to tool is Bandcamp. I love browsing from collection to collection and always end up discovering incredible artists with completely under-the-radar releases. It takes time, but it’s a DJ’s responsibility to dig deep. It’s on us to showcase new talent and spread fresh sounds.

Which musical and artistic influences have most shaped your sound? Which artists continue to inspire you today?

Drum ‘n’ bass, definitely. It was my first love, but I’m still pretty frustrated with the genre—it’s become self-centered and lazy. That said, I try to infuse my tracks with that same energy, that raw, urban vibe that blew me away when I first discovered it.

These days, the artist who inspires me the most is Blawan. I love his music—it’s always unpredictable and unlike anything else. No one makes music like he does. I’m less into his DJ sets, but I’d love to have a discography as incredible as his. A true role model.

What can we look forward to from Flore in the near future? Any new releases, projects, or upcoming shows?

I’ve got a lot going on right now. This year, I’ve been working on two side projects. First up is *Sensitive Abstraction*, a performance for planetariums and domes. It’s an immersive live show exploring the relationship between mathematics and the arts. I’m handling the 7.1 sound design, creating more melodic and ambient pieces than what people usually hear from me, accompanying Yannick WSK’s visual creation (yes, him again! :).

On top of that, I’ve been working on a noise and drone performance with my long-time friend, musician Arandel (signed to the inFiné label). It’s an improvised, radical performance starting with a guitar feedback loop. We’ve named it *Substrat*, and it deals with deceleration and the concept of degrowth. We’re presenting it for the first time in Lyon this weekend, and I’m really excited.

I’ve also got several tracks and remixes dropping by the end of the year, including one on a various artists’ release from dBridge’s Exit Records. Plus, I’m working on various events and projects to wrap up the 10th anniversary of POLAAR, which we’ve been celebrating all year.

So yeah, definitely keeping busy!

https://www.instagram.com/p/C_5FwIHAuAr/

Where do you recommend listening to this Adrenaline episode, and what mindset should listeners be in to fully appreciate it?

This mix was recorded at Virage a few days ago, right after Objekt’s set. The mix is super varied and pretty in-your-face—picture it’s 5 a.m. when I hit the decks and the energy is off the charts. So, crank it up and listen with good company 🙂

Which track from the mix is your personal favorite, and what makes it special to you?

I recently dug up an old track from the legendary but under-the-radar Bassbin Twins. It’s called *Woppa*—a massive breakbeat banger with serious dubstep vibes, even though it’s not quite dubstep. Every time I drop it, it goes off

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