When Fleur Rouge dropped Rabbit Hole, she didn’t just give us a pop track—she handed us a map through the chaos of anxiety, drawn in eyeliner and smudged with truth. With lyrics that feel like diary confessions set to synths and visuals plucked from a fever dream, Fleur invites listeners into the depths of her mind—and doesn’t flinch when things get messy. I sat down with her to talk panic attacks, femme fatale energy, and why sometimes the best way out… is down.

Nicolle: Let’s start with the obvious—Rabbit Hole is such a powerful metaphor. What drew you to Alice in Wonderland as the lens through which to explore anxiety?

Fleur: I think anxiety is one of those things, although it’s becoming more widely spoken about and accepted as a ‘real’ thing, it is still something that’s taboo, misunderstood, and often associated with shame. That outer body experience you end up experiencing when you’re all in it

is scary and makes it difficult to make out what’s real and what’s fake. Even though you know it’s an anxiety attack you’re going through, it feels so real in the moment. Alice in Wonderland fitted perfectly with this disorientating feeling that comes with going through an attack. I thought it would be a fun metaphor to tie in with what anxiety feels like.

Nicolle: Was there a specific moment that inspired Rabbit Hole—a memory or feeling that triggered the first lyric or melody?

Fleur: I remember being sat on the tram and suddenly having this over whelming feeling that the walls were closing in on me and that I had absolutely no control on my body, my heart was racing and it was like a fight or flight moment, I remember once I’d experience it a few times thinking to myself ‘ok, chill you’re just going down a rabbit hole right now… just ride the wave and you’ll be out the other end soon enough’. I thought the saying ‘down a rabbit hole’ was the perfect phrase to describe to someone who’s never experienced anxiety what it feels like to go through it.

Nicolle: Your lyrics feel like diary entries with glitter smeared over them—raw but glamorous. How do you balance that vulnerability with the fierce, femme-fatale energy you’re known for?

Fleur: You know what, this is probably the first body of work where I’ve started tapping more into the vulnerable side, and I’ve really enjoyed being raw. I think the sassy energy I injected into the first EP was great, but I wanted to start showing a more vulnerable side to my music. I think, although Lost Cause and Rabbit Hole both touch on super personal topics for me that show a more fragile side to my personality, they still have that hard-hitting industrial production that juxtaposes nicely with the personal lyricism.

Nicolle: “Wish You The Worst” is such a savage title—in the best way. What made you want to embrace the messier, more imperfect side of yourself on this EP?

Fleur: I think I wanted a title that encompassed the essence of all the songs, and this one fitted perfectly. The EP touches on topics about people or experiences that were painful and bittersweet. So although it’s a savage title, it’s also the sort of thing you say when you obviously care, and it hurts that for whatever reason, things didn’t work out with either the friendships or a relationship.

Nicolle: You’ve talked about losing control during panic attacks. When you’re writing about something so raw, how do you know when a song is finished—or do you just let it bleed out?

Fleur: I honestly felt like this song just poured out of me. When it’s something that’s affected you in such a big way, it wasn’t hard to put that feeling down on paper. The line in the track that says ‘take my heart out my chest before it blows and makes a mess’ that’s my favourite line in the whole track probs because its dramatic as hell but really paints the picture of how it feels when you’re trapped inside your own body and it’s like nothing you do helps you feel ok in the moment.

Nicolle: What was the hardest track on the EP to write, and which one was the most cathartic?

Fleur: I’d say Trust Fund Baby mainly because we knew it was a banger, but sonically the production wasn’t where we wanted it at the start, it felt a bit too sugary, and I wanted to incorporate a grungier dark side to it, even though melodically it’s quite playful. The most cathartic was definitely Lost Cause and, of course, Rabbit Hole. Both came from a very real place and helped me understand the frustration I was feeling at the time.

Nicolle: Your visuals feel like they could’ve been pulled from a fever dream—are you involved in the creative direction for your artwork and press shots?

Fleur: Omg yessss! It’s so much fun making the vision come alive and this was the first artwork where I felt like we leant into creating something that wasn’t just a slick photoshoot with some graphics whacked on top (nothing wrong with that ofc) but I think having the Alice in Wonderland vision helped inspire that final shot we got. Clem who shot and did the graphics on it smashed it and my favourite bit are those trippy clocks dripping on the sides, it’s a real nod to that Salvador Dali aesthetic.

Nicolle: You explore everything from anxiety to toxic relationships and social commentary on this project. What’s one theme or emotion you’re still afraid to write about—but know you’ll tackle one day?

Fleur: I think I’d say that being scared of being late to the party in life. I feel like it’s something most of us can admit we’ve felt at some point. We’re surrounded by these ‘ideals’ of where we should be at what point in our lives, but no one can fit in that one-size-fits-all expectation. I feel like more than ever, there’s much more freedom for people to follow their own path, but that doesn’t come without the internal doubts we all have.

Nicolle: Let’s talk about Trust Fund Baby. There’s something so savage about calling out privilege in a pop song. What inspired that track?

Fleur: I feel like savage is the vibe I’m giving off here repeatedly. Yeah, you’re right, it was inspired by real experiences with friends that I’d outgrown and being surrounded at uni by people that I thought were mates, only to find out we didn’t have a whole lot in common. There’s this uncomfortable divide of classes in this country, it’s something I never thought a lot about until it was staring me in the face. I started experiencing this uncomfortableness that comes with running in circles with extremely privileged people, which I don’t have a problem with; it’s the behaviour that can come with that privilege that I poke fun at in Trust Fund Baby. It’s not supposed to be taken too seriously, but I feel like we all know that one person who would fit perfectly into this Trust Fund Baby persona.

Nicolle: You grew up between London and France—how do those two worlds influence your sound and persona?

Fluer: I’m super close to my French family, I was born and bred in London, but my mum is French and her family are huge. Musically I’d say I’ve mostly grown up listening to English music but as I’ve gotten older I’ve started to appreciate artists like Claire Laffut, Angéle and Christine and the Queens, which inspired me recently to start tapping more into my French side, there’s a new body of work coming and there’s gonna be a lot more bilingual flavours.

Nicolle: What role does performance play in how you process emotion? Do you feel more in control on stage or more exposed?

Fleur: Performing is my favourite part of being an artist. I feel like I get lost in the music when I’m on stage. There’s no better feeling than vibing to a song you’ve written in your bedroom with a crowd of people that connect with it in their own way. It’s super special.

Nicolle: What’s one lyric from Rabbit Hole (or the whole EP) that hits hardest for you personally, and why?

Fleur: It’s gotta be ‘take my heart out my chest before it blows and makes a mess’ it just encompasses that overwhelming feeling you get when you’re going through a panic attack, there’s this fear that at any minute you’re gonna explode, obvs you know that’s not possible but it really does feel like that in the moment.

Nicolle: Lastly, if you could offer a message to anyone currently stuck in their own “rabbit hole” of anxiety or self-doubt, what would you say?

Fleur: I’d say try to remember you’re not alone in this thing that’s affecting you, and it doesn’t define you. Finding coping mechanisms for it really helped me get through that sticky period of my life.

Fleur Rouge doesn’t pretend to have it all figured out—but in owning her chaos, she gives the rest of us permission to do the same. Her new EP doesn’t just sound like healing—it sounds like survival dressed in sequins. Whether you’re dancing through heartbreak or staring down your own rabbit hole, her message is clear: vulnerability is power, and glitter can absolutely be armour.

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Nicolle Knapova is a little bit of everything. She is a freelance translator, content creator. She loves indie music and is always browsing through Spotify to find the next amazing artist to obsess over. Her love for storytelling means she’s always writing something, and she’s not afraid of any genre. Her biggest dream is to be a published author. If she’s not writing her fan fiction, she’s writing her poetry and sharing it on her Instagram @elisecaverly.

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