A TALENTED Colchester musician has spoken about working with a member of a chart-topping rock band for her debut EP. Emma Sampson, 23, performs under the name of Flores Blue, and is a rising songwriter with a gift for crafting emotive, indie-rock tracks. She has previously featured in The Gazette’s artists to watch list for 2024 and was also part of the line-up for Colchester Art Centre’s Colchester Against Racism gig in August.
Some of her highlights have included supporting fellow Colchester band She’s In Parties, and playing a live session with presenter Matt Plumb on BBC Introducing Essex and Cambridgeshire. Bosh - Flores Blue on set for the Entertain music video (Image: Nick Ilot) Music has always been something Emma has been drawn to. She can remember singing in front of people for the first time at the tender age of six.
Years later at the age of 19, Emma studied a pop music course at Colchester Institute and started to join bands and gig from there. In May last year after being encouraged by a friend, Emma applied for the Old Jet Airspace Programme, an incredible initiative by the Old Jet Arts Centre, based at a former US Air Force base in Suffolk. The programme offers studio space, mentoring, and music industry contacts for emerging artists aged 18 to 25 in East Anglia.
In June 2023, Emma discovered she had beaten more than 100 other hopefuls and was accepted as one of the latest members to join the programme. She said: “At the interview I remember just reall.
