Relationships frequently blossom online, as do musical partnerships (see: Superorganism). For Flora Cash's Shpersa Lleshaj and Cole Randall, both scenarios ended up playing out. "When we met, it was on Soundcloud," Randall explains. "The original intention was to collaborate on music. And then within a couple of messages exchanged with each other, it became more personal and more romantic."

Randall and Lleshaj didn't lose sight of their shared musical ambitions, and now the duo are in the Twin Cities for a show at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis. Ahead of the gig, Flora Cash stopped at The Current for an in-studio session hosted by Mark Wheat.

Randall, who lived in Minneapolis when he and Lleshaj first met online, explains that the pair's musical collaboration didn't begin until they met in person. "We Skyped for five months before [Lleshaj] came to Minneapolis," Randall recalls. "We Skyped literally every day, at all hours of the day, and we didn't do any musical collaborating at all. We didn't write our first songs together until she came to Minneapolis in 2013."

Now, the couple are enjoying the surprises that their music career has given them, including the emergence of their global hit, "You're Somebody Else."

"The great thing about that song is that it means so many things to so many people," Randall says. "We have people writing to us who are transgender; from the LGBTQ community; people that are part of minority ethnic groups; people that are struggling with a parent or friend who is a drug addict; people who have mental health issues, anxiety …"

But Flora Cash take having a big hit in stride. "In a weird way, it's like being in the eye of a storm," Randall says. "We're just doing what we always have done, but we're just busier."

That said, there are still surprises that take them aback. A recent show in Sacramento, Calif., "was the first time we had a roomful of people who knew all the words to the song," Randall says. "That was overwhelming for me — all those people singing along."

An otherworldly experience that may have made the duo feel like somebody else.

Use the audio player above to listen to the complete in-studio session.

Songs Performed

"Nightmare"
"18 Dollars"
"You're Somebody Else"
Track 1 is from the duo's 2016 EP Can Summer Love Last Forever? (2016), song 2 is a recently released single and song 3 comes from Flora Cash's 2017 album, Nothing Lasts Forever (And It's Fine).

Hosted by Mark Wheat
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Michael DeMark
Visuals by Nate Ryan
Web feature by Luke Taylor

External Link

Flora Cash - official site

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