FLO Thinks You Need Therapy at the Club

The club isn’t just a place to dance. To the members of FLO, it’s also a place to escape your troubles, discover new sides of yourself, and heal (along with all the other fun stuff). Hence the title of their upcoming album, Therapy at the Club, which drops on August 7. On this 16-track record, the trio—Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma, and Renée Downer—explores the emotions that make up a night out, as well as the feelings that come before and after. Dealing with heartbreak; warning your bestie’s new man that he better take care of her; or simply feeling hot.

Therapy at the Club arrives two years after FLO’s 2024 debut Access All Areas, which earned them their first Grammy nomination (for Best Progressive R&B Album), and four years after their viral breakout single “Cardboard Box.” After rising to prominence by evoking the sound of 2000s R&B groups like Destiny’s Child, SWV, and Xscape, the English girl group has continued to build upon and expand on their signature sound. Access All Areas featured glossy R&B melodies and even a poetic spoken-word intro by Cynthia Erivo. On Therapy at the Club, the girls experiment with some ’80s pop sounds and even some horns in a Christina Aguilera-inspired track (“Remedied”). And they’re itching to perform each and every song live. (“Basically, we need a disco ball,” Douglas says, already imagining the stage.)

On a sweltering May day in New York, Downer couldn’t hide her anticipation for the album to finally reach fans’ ears. “I’m just counting down the days, really, because there’s so many great songs,” she says. “I played it, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing’ every single time. I can’t wait for people to have that feeling.”

It’s also not lost on the group that their latest work is dropping in the summertime, when people are out and about. When asked whether the timing was intentional, Douglas responds, “Definitely. No more winter albums. Like, it’s just so depressing.” Downer adds, “We want to turn it up. We want to be young. We want to be youthful. We want everyone to have a good time.” Who doesn’t?

ELLE caught up with FLO to discuss recording Therapy at the Club, why British women are dominating music, and what their friendship is really like.

How long after the Access All Areas Tour did you guys decide it was time to get in the studio again?

Renée Downer: It was pretty quick.

Jorja Douglas: But we were ready because from when the Access All Areas writing process had actually finished, and then going on tour and all of that stuff, we were kind of rusty. The mind was rusty. So, it was good that we just got into it because it was pretty low pressure at the beginning. It was just fun, “let’s go to L.A., make some songs.” And then we were like, “okay, let’s crack the whip now.”

How did the title come about?

JD: We cheated a little bit because the song was pitched to us from our friend. Well, it came through the grapevine. But our friend Lauren Keen wrote it, who we’d worked with on Access All Areas, and the song was called “Therapy at the Club” and we were just like, “yeah, this is beautiful. We love this song.” That was separate. When it came to making the actual album, the name was just so in our minds because we were going clubbing and we were just like, it’s making sense. So, thank you, Lauren.

I feel like that’s the spirit of the album—going out to the club as healing and bonding. Tell me about the themes that you explored.

Stella Quaresma: I think all girls know it’s much deeper than just going [to the club]. There’s so many parts of it. The getting ready is basically the most fun part. The feeling when a song that all your girls know comes on and one song will get you through something and then the next song will be like, “Oh my God, should we just all cry?” Maybe there’s a guy or someone who broke your heart [shows up]—you know what I mean? And then you’re finding out tea from a girl you don’t even know. There’s so much to talk about and that’s also why that title was so fun for us because there’s so much that we could say, but there was a stimulus for us to work from. The club is multifaceted.

Have you ever gone out dancing after a bad breakup or when you’re going through something? How do you come back to yourself when you’re on the dance floor?

RD: The club can be interesting for me because sometimes I want to go out and then I don’t actually enjoy myself, but I feel like it’s about the company. The times that I’ve been out with Jorja and Stella, all my friends, have been actually fun or important. We’ve highlighted something in my life that maybe I need to address outside of the club. So it’s definitely therapeutic.

JD: I learn a lot about myself and about other people from going out. It’s such an honest moment because you feel like there’s no repercussions in the club. Just be saying anything you want, be having the deepest chats. So I feel like I learn a lot about myself and what’s actually going on in my mind because I verbalize it in the club. And then also I learn lots about my partner. I learn lots about my friends. It’s very insightful.

SQ: It’s honestly so true. I’ll be next to my boyfriend and he’ll say something and I’ll be like, “Wow, that would have been nice to know six months ago.”

JD: It’s all coming out now.

SQ: It’s like you step into a different universe.

JD: But there are repercussions and that’s what you then learn, is that the next day or even in the moment you think you’re invincible and turns out actually you’re not and now you have to start addressing things you thought you could just say with no repercussions. That is something that we really touched on on the album. We didn’t want it to just be like we’re in the club! Because pre-club, in the club, and post-club is so important. To be honest, I feel like post-club is a big chunk of the album; we’re really addressing…what can we say? PTCD, post-traumatic club disorder.

I want to talk about “Don’t Break Her Heart.” To me, it felt like a sister track to “Girl” by Destiny’s Child.

RD: We wrote it with Julian Bunetta and Steph Jones, who we also made “Leak It” with. When we write with them, you can never predict what’s going to happen.

And with Julian, we try to write great things only. If it’s a scrap, let’s move on. So when we started writing “Don’t Break Her Heart,” we started with the chorus and it was really soulful and it was beautiful. We were just like, we’ve got something here. Where are we going to take this? So the next day, we came back because we were just like, let’s not overthink this right now. And then it ended up being more witty and playful and fun rather than so serious.

I think that’s why a lot of people love it, because it’s enjoyable, but it has that kind of serious and classic, nostalgic, intense feeling behind the surface; you connect to it. I think that’s also why we loved it so much, because it’s really hard to make a friendship song and have it mean a lot and be an accurate representation of your friendship, but she stood her ground.

I liked how you included humor. I was cracking up to myself, listening to lines like, “I will break your face,” “I’m coming after your mom, your dog…”

JD: Because that’s us. We’ve written serious friendship songs and you’ve just been like, ugh, why are we talking like this? This is not how we speak. So, this one was just like, let’s just be ourselves, which is unserious.

Are you guys protective like that in real life?

JD: We don’t overstep, but if one of us was to give the signal, then it’s going down. Or she’ll be like, okay, stand down, stand down. But if we need to get it cracking, we’ll get it cracking.

Parts of the album are very soulful, like Y2K R&B, but there are also some ’80s pop vibes and jazz in there. Tell me about the range of sounds you were working with.

SQ: When we started writing, we definitely had a sonic [direction] that we wanted to go for, but then when we were writing it and working with new people who were so wacky and different, we started writing songs that just sounded different and we just let it be. If the song made us happy or made us feel something and it was really good, we’re just like, let’s just go. I think they all have [that], especially lyrically. I think that’s what ties them together, but we love so many different types of music and I think it’s sad to just limit yourself, which was hard to do because we wanted to make something that really felt like it all made sense.

JD: But it’s impossible. Also, when we were doing research of other albums and all the songs sounded the same, we were just like, no.

So we definitely had to just go with the wind. But I think the vocals and, like Stella said, the lyrics are definitely the thing that connects everything. Also, you go to work with someone new, or even someone that you’ve worked with before, and it’s really important to us that we have them give input and let them lead, in a sense. It’s hard for us to come in and be like, this is what we’re going to do, because that might not resonate with them. We love to let producers really be like, “What do you guys think about this? What about this vibe?” That’s why everything sounds completely different because we’re just like, you know what? Yeah.

RD: It’s about the feeling, which then makes the title make even more sense. It’s therapy, and it’s at the club, and there’s so many emotions involved and that can’t just be one thing.

What were some albums that you listened to that inspired you?

RD: We definitely looked to Ariana Grande albums because we wanted to make a pop-R&B album and we wanted to branch out and she’s somebody that has done that very successfully.

Like Thank U, Next or Positions?

JD: Even before that. Yours Truly.

RD: And Dangerous Woman. But even like Beyoncé as well. She’s somebody that does pop and R&B well. We were working with a lot of more pop people so I think we just needed great examples of people that are great at R&B that make popular music.

I loved “Remedied.” Your harmonies are so crisp. What was it like making that song?

JD: That song was inspired by Christina Aguilera.

Okay. I was going to say, “Ain’t No Other Man.”

JD: Exactly, yeah. It has similar lyrics to “Therapy at the Club” in terms of that journey. It’s quite situational. So that’s why we put those songs together because “Therapy at the Club” is pensive and then “Remedied” is like, “Okay, I’m glad you got that out your system. Now let’s go full send.” We just wanted it to be fun and, again, not too serious because that’s just who we are in the club, just silly, goofy, so the song needed to feel like that.

Your last album got you your first Grammy nomination. How did you react? How did you celebrate?

JD: Disbelief, actually.

SQ: Yeah, we couldn’t believe it. Didn’t even know the nomination was happening. I don’t know if we celebrated.

JD: We celebrated in the sense that it gave us fuel to make the second album.

SQ: It’s the biggest accolade and we really didn’t expect it. I think the nomination was good enough for us.

JD: Equally important.

SQ: I think maybe it was a bit early to win, because if we won, maybe we would have…I don’t know…

It’s something to look forward to.

RD: Exactly.

We’re seeing such a great moment for British women in music, like you, Olivia Dean, Raye, Sienna Spiro, Lola Young. How does that make you guys feel to know that you’re in this company? Is it encouraging or empowering for you?

RD: Definitely, like the Brits are coming for everyone. It’s just such a great time to be a part of. I think there’s a lot of talent in the U.K. and raw talent. We go about things differently, and I think that reflects in the quality of the music, so we’re just happy to be a part of it, really.

SQ: I feel like British people are really just honest. They don’t try and be anyone else. Obviously, Raye is so talented. But [people] love her because she’s just Raye. Lola Young is just herself. I think that’s why people think Brits are so interesting because it’s just, what you see is what you get.

I remember scrolling through TikTok several years ago and seeing “Cardboard Box” for the first time. When you guys look back at that era of FLO and how far you’ve come since then, what do you think about?

SQ: It’s so cute. We fought for that song and we were so young, but we also really knew from then what it was going to be and how we were going to get there. It’s like we always had that in us. We always really had a clear vision. So it’s really exciting that everything has kept growing in the way that we thought it would.

Do you have any advice for the girls out there who are going through it and need some club therapy?

RD: Go to the club. Get your friends. We’re all going through it. Just surround yourself with people who actually care about you and talk through your feelings. Do some dumb shit. You only live once.

SQ: Make mistakes.

RD: Don’t kill anyone!

SQ: And learn from your mistakes as well. Make them and then learn.

JD: You can only learn if you make mistakes. There’s nothing wrong with failing.

When you guys are out, do you have specific club personalities, like someone’s the emotional one, another one’s on the dance floor?

JD: It depends on what said person is going for. Stella is the lone wolf in the club. You take your eyes off Stella and you’ll never find her again. Renée, I would say she begins quite low on the club thermometer and you really have to work to get her to the top, but it’s a fun challenge.

RD: And sometimes I get there.

JD: And the payoff is just amazing. I’m just like, just floating around. I don’t want to go home. I’d rather not leave if [the music is] good.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.