A Quick Chat With Flora Lin About “Lion Pt. 2”
Q: Hi! “Lion, Pt. 2” is such an emotionally charged piece—can you share the moment or experience that first sparked its creation?
A: “Lion, Pt. 2” concludes my EP “Fauna” with Recreational Noise, based on a story I imagined.
The EP starts with “Lion, Pt. 1”, which is about a couple fighting with each other.
“Lion, Pt. 2”, the final song, echoes Part 1, and is instead about fighting for one another.
Recreational Noise sent me Part 1, and something clicked. I immediately connected its intensity and melancholy with my story.
We both wanted to write a sequel to it, from a different perspective, and Part 2 was born.
Q: The lyrics talk about hiding scars to protect others. How personal was this writing process for you?
A: We all have different ways to cope with our past to keep going. Some cannot think of a different way to live and reproduce their childhood, while some live in opposition with their upbringing. It’s very hard to detach from our past, and most people I know, including myself, try to think of a different life, but we end up acting in contradiction to our past instead of being detached from it.
I’ve definitely hidden parts of myself to protect others, as a survival instinct. The song channels that tension: wanting to move on while being chained to pain you didn’t ask for.
Q: Your collaboration with Recreational Noise really amplifies the emotional depth of the song. What was the most surprising part of working together?
A: In the past, before meeting Recreational Noise, I would hide my more emotional and personal side in my music. Maybe because I wanted the songs with my collaborators to be “our songs” more than “my own story”. Because Recreational Noise’s music would move me intensely and already felt so intimate, I asked him if he was ok with me talking about more personal themes, and our first album “Flora” was the beginning of that more personal approach. That shift towards something more personal was unexpected and freeing.
Q: Shoegaze and Post-Rock are strong influences in your sound, what draws you to these genres, and how do they help shape your approach to songwriting and atmosphere?
A: When I discovered Japanese Rock, one of the bands that really influenced my sound is Spangle Call Lilli Line, a post rock band that experiments a lot with electronica, indie pop, while making the voice, the harmonies, a focal point. While growing up, Garbage was my favorite band. Then I heard about Curve, a band that was one of Garbage’s inspirations, known for combining alt-rock, industrial sounds, and ethereal shoegaze vocals.
I’m drawn to textures and sonic atmospheres that feel like memory. To me, shoegaze and post-rock evoke the depth of being human, mixing complex, dark moods with soulful, layered vocals.
Q: Your voice carries both vulnerability and power. How do you balance those two energies in a song like “Lion, Pt. 2”?
A: Recreational Noise perfectly balances delicate, intimate sounds with a darker and heavier mood, it is definitely something you can hear in his solo music.
“Lion, Pt. 2” is a personal journey from youth to young adulthood, so the lyrics and soft singing underline the fact that the character Fauna was a little girl not so long ago. At the same time, I channel the darker, heavier tones of Recreational Noise to inject strength and intensity into my voice. By blending softness with emotional openness and layering it with a sense of strength and resilience, I aim to reflect the duality that is essential to Fauna’s emotional journey in the song.
Q: How do you approach collaboration differently compared to your solo work? Is your writing process more introspective when you’re alone?
A: When I’m all alone with my guitar and DAW, my writing process is very slow. The lyrics come before the rest, so in that sense it is more introspective. However there is no surprise when you’re on your own, no magic, so I’m easily dissatisfied. I prefer collaborations because they always bring something I would not have thought of.
They feel like discovery. When someone else adds something unexpected, it feels like a totally fresh and new song.
Q: What role does visual imagery (such as in music videos or live performances) play in expressing your artistic vision?
A: Collaborating with artists like Woolion allows me to translate the song’s soul into visual form, creating a cohesive and immersive experience for my audience.
I share the story, and he translates its soul through his drawings. It’s a true DIY dynamic between him, Recreational Noise, and me. Luckily each of us can bring our own thing (music, vocals, art) and it just works effortlessly. Time is our main challenge, so we would need time to create music videos.
Recreational Noise lives in a different continent, so we would also need some organization before being able to perform live, but it’s definitely something I’d love to do. In the meantime, we do perform some songs as home studio live performances.
Q: If “Lion, Pt. 2” marks a chapter, what story or direction are you exploring next as we move through the rest of 2025?
A: “Lion, Pt. 2” closes one chapter of Fauna’s life. In my next projects, she may reappear in an unexpected way, older, changed, perhaps confronting her past. I want to keep exploring her emotional landscapes, with some new characters.
