In this new entry in our ‘Diamonds In The Rough’ category, we would like to introduce you to upcoming artist Flowananda and his brand new EP titled First Breath.
Some artists spend their whole lives chasing a sound. Others stumble into it when life cracks open in an unexpected way. That’s the energy surrounding Flowananda’s new EP, First Breath, a four-track release that doesn’t just introduce a new voice, but captures a moment of transformation in real time.
Out now, First Breath is exactly what the title suggests: the beginning of something, raw and alive, but surprisingly intentional for a debut. Flowananda’s story makes the project even more compelling. A therapist and yogi from The Bronx, he began making music at 40 years old, with no formal background or industry blueprint, just a creative shift that pushed him into unfamiliar territory. The result is a project that feels less like a calculated release and more like a personal discovery you’re being invited into.
Sonically, First Breath sits in an intriguing space between hip-hop, psychedelic textures, and introspective songwriting. There are moments where you can hear shades of Kid Cudi’s emotional openness, but there’s also something more stripped-back and poetic, almost like Leonard Cohen filtered through modern loops and festival atmosphere. And that’s what makes this EP interesting: it doesn’t chase trends, it follows feeling.
If you’re looking for an entry point, “Hippie-Hop” is the obvious first stop. It’s playful, catchy, and gives you a quick sense of Flowananda’s off-center charm. But the EP doesn’t fully reveal itself in one track. It makes more sense once you sit with it as a complete piece. Each song feels like part of the same inner conversation, unfolding gradually, like a session that starts with humor and ends in honesty.
That’s where the real strength of First Breath lies: the blend of styles and the overall mood. It carries the atmosphere of a transformational music festival; music that could play under desert lights, around a fire, or through headphones during a quiet walk home. There’s a looseness to it, but also intention, like someone learning their own language as they speak it.
The tracklist moves like a journey:
- “Hippie-Hop” kicks the door open with personality and rhythm.
- “Forest Knows” leans into a more meditative, nature-connected tone, carrying a mystical edge
- “Soul Sound” feels like the emotional center; spiritual, searching, and grounded.
- “Candles” closes the EP with a quiet kind of weight, like the final exhale after a breakthrough.
Calling these “early recordings” is accurate, but not in a way that suggests roughness. It’s early in the sense that you’re hearing someone step into a new identity. There’s something powerful about that, especially coming from someone whose life already revolves around healing and self-awareness. Flowananda doesn’t sound like he’s trying to impress you. He sounds like he’s trying to understand himself, and in doing so, he pulls you into the process.
First Breath may only be four tracks long, but it leaves an impression bigger than its runtime. It’s a debut that feels honest, exploratory, and strangely refreshing in a music landscape full of imitation.
Flowananda is doing something different. And First Breath is proof that sometimes the most interesting artists aren’t the ones who started early—they’re the ones who finally decided to start at all.
Listen to the full project below: