Phlo Finister

Iconika, the artist formally known as Phlo Finister is an American R&B singer-songwriter.

Background

Born in Oakland, California, Iconika (born Elijah Finister), is the daughter of a half-Portuguese, half-black mother and was raised in her hometown of Oakland up until the age of 5, when she moved to Los Angeles with her mother. As a child, Iconika's upbringing was very reserved and traditional, she attended a small private Christian school where her grandfather was pastor and her grandmother a local English teacher, as well as attending ballet classes at Hawthorn Dance Academy until a late age. Growing up, Iconika was also banned from listening to music[1] and discovered her early tastes and passion for music through classical music and gospel music, as well as developing her distinctive vocal style at a young age from her time spent as a singer for the choir at her grandfather's church. This exposure to these styles also helped Iconika develop her taste in music, with some of her earliest influences being Jerry Bock, Mozart and Billie Holiday

She attended Downtown Magnets High School in Fashion for a single year until her mother relocated to South Central, Los Angeles and she was enrolled in Crenshaw High School. Speaking of her time at Crenshaw, Finister described it as "very aggressive... Not mixed or diverse cultures like where I had come from. I got bullied in a rougher part of the streets, and it made me a person with a backbone." After getting kicked out for fighting, Finister transferred to Hamilton High School.[2]

Whilst developing her own sense of self, Finister found herself working with Def Jam Records in the styling of some of their female proteges in her late teens. Finister met a series of industry professionals and producers (Drake, Charlie Walk, Steve Lindsey, Cameron Strang, Jeff Barry, David Baerwald and Diane Warren) who would exert influence on her own musical path over the next few years. However, her time working as a stylist for Def Jam was short lived as she believed lacked the "desperation" necessary to be successful in the profession. In an interview Finister elaborated, "I wasn't gonna ruin my self-esteem to make it happen. Struggling with weight loss, and eating disorders. 'Cause you wanna be the best at that stuff. You're willing to do whatever to get that point". Finister then began her infamous mixtape series, and worked with producers such as Benny Cassette, Andrew Dawson, Travis Scott, Brodinski, 4AD's SpaceGhostPurrp, Club Cheval and The weeknd collaborator illangelo.

Moving behind the scenes as a stylist it was here Finister first discovered her fascination with the youthquake movement. Coined by Diana Vreeland in the sixties to define the explosion of teenage influence in music and fashion. The 'youthquake' influence is evident in Finister's unique style and particular fascination with Andy Warhol’s muse Edie Sedgwick.[3]

Youthquaker

Youthquaker is a collaborative project between Phlo Finister and Grammy award winning producer Illangelo aiming to recapture the ‘Youthquake’ movement of social disruption in the 1960s, described as a combination of Illangelo's cinematic and textured mix of 90s Trip hop and progressive electronic sounds paired with Finister's provocative lyrics and dreamy melodies.[4]

They released their first single ‘Clockwork’ on French label Bromance Records in May 2014, followed by releasing the first half of their EP ‘’Projections I’’ on BitTorrent as a bundle, including the first 3 tracks from the EP, video clips from a live performance for Red Bull / Vivienne Westwood and a selection of ‘behind the scenes’ polaroid photos of the band.[5]

Personal life

Iconika was very close friends with the late Peaches Geldof, whom she had previously lived with in London.

After her best friend's death, she went on a hiatus and deactivated all her social media accounts which led to a long time of going unnoticed she is now making music under a different name, Iconika. Her debut mixtape, Indecent Exposure, was released May 29, 2017, under XXX Records, a music label she started at the beginning of the year. She also stated that Indecent Exposure is the first of her three-part trilogy, "XXX Trifecta".

The second mixtape of the trilogy, X-Rated, is set to be released in 2019.

Releases

EPs
  • Crown Gold EP (2011)
  • Poster Girl EP (2012)

Mixtapes
  • Indecent Exposure (2017)
  • X RATED (2020)
  • XXX (2021)

Collaborations
  • Projections (2014) (with Illangelo, as YouthQuaker)

References
  1. Nostro, Lauren (February 12, 2012) Who Is Phlo Finister? Complex
  2. Haithcoat, Rebecca (November 30, 2011) Phlo Finister: A Portugese, [sic] Black, and Irish Former Model Who Sings R&B LA Weekly
  3. (July 4, 2014) Phlo Finister: Exclusive Remix HungerTv
  4. Straith (August 22, 2014) Friday Download: Youthquaker Premieres 3 Tracks from Projections Bittorrent Blog
  5. Toney, Uptown (August 24, 2014) Illangelo & Phlo Finister – Youthquaker (EP) Ashley Outrageous
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