Here’s a lil sump’n y’all should know about me—I’m a born and raised Trini (Trinidad and Tobago, for the nationality-nickname-challenged). That would be the beautiful twin-island republic that birthed calypso, steelpan and soca. So while I love reggae with a passion, those other sounds are in my blood. It was pretty much a foregone conclusion, then, that I would be a big fan of Lua Flora’s music and their gorgeous new track, “Sea Level.”

The Asheville, NC-based Lua Flora isn’t strictly a reggae band, indie group or Afropop outfit—instead, they have a unique style that blends all these sounds and more. Led by Evan Button, the “roots pop” (as they’ve fittingly coined themselves) act seamlessly blends Americana, pop, and indie folk with the rhythmic undercurrents of Caribbean and West African traditions. The result is melodically captivating, toe-tapping tunes that, while guaranteed to be a new favorite of Paul Simon and Vampire Weekend fans, is undeniably in a world of its own.

“Sea Level” is a joy to listen to, but is also memorable lyrically, especially to anyone that’s been through disaster (whether natural or personal). It was written during an emotional storm, but it ended up foreshadowing a real one. The lyrics were penned a year before Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina. Its opening line, “We left in such a hurry, had to get out of this town…A hurricane is coming, trying to knock our city down,”  turned it into an anthem for Asheville. 

Folk-pop singer-songwriter Brett Dennen brought his perspective from wildfire-ravaged California, adding even more weight to the song’s message about nature, resilience, and healing. 

I had the chance to chat with Evan about how Lua Flora found its unique sound and talk a bit about the new song.

Lua Flora’s Evan Button

RF: First of all, what a beautiful tune. I’m really curious about how you were introduced to your wide range of influences. Folk I get – NC has given us everything from Doc Watson to The Avett Brothers. But how did you and the band members fall in love with music from Africa and the diaspora?

EB: We all share a love of early ska, calypso and reggae music. The Afrobeat sound of Fela Kuti and Antibalas are also huge influences, as are more modern interpretations by groups like Paul Simon, the Hip Abduction, and the like. The guitar/mandolin melody of sea level is playing with a bouncy major-key theme that was our channeling of something Soweto/South African-inspired. That music in particular has a bounce and levity that is fun for us to explore.

RF: You previously mentioned “Sea Level” was written during a rocky emotional time. The lyrics do something I always appreciate—acknowlege the difficulty of tough times, but leave the listener with a sense of optimism and better times on the way. Did you go into the writing process with that intention, or did it start as pure catharsis which then brought about a more hopeful perspective?

It truly began as pure catharsis. The chorus came to me first, and for five months that is all I had. I would just hum it on repeat as a sort of calming mantra. It was a slow song at first too. It clicked after five months when we started infusing influence from Africa. From there, the first verse came through, purely metaphorical – not thinking it would come true…   

As serendipitously happens in the magical world of music, the lyrics absolutely read as a response to the devastation Hurricane Helene wrought on Western North Carolina—but they were written a year earlier. I could be mistaken but I feel like in addition to weathering any type of storm or disaster in life, there’s inspection of the gain, loss and ever-changing nature of relationships? (Especially in Brett Dennen’s fantastic guest verse.)

Life is cyclical. The storm happens and you experience loss, you sit with it, and then you work through it. Eventually you make it to the other side, where things are likely different in that there are hard losses but also beautiful new flowers. 

Being written before Helene, had the band been playing it live before the storm hit as well? If so, did you notice a marked change in the audience’s response when playing the tune after late September 2024?

Yeah, I had been playing it as an acoustic moment in the sets while we were working on the full band arrangement. We actually debuted it with the full band just a month before the flooding, so we only played it a handful of times. Our first show back after Helene, by the time the first chorus hit, I was teary eyed. It was like that for the next 2-3 months. It was also beautiful to see it connect with people at shows not just in Asheville, but throughout the southeast who had [a similar experience.] Brett’s guest verse brought more change to the meaning of the song, giving deeper meaning to double meaning that exists in this song between metaphorical and environmental undercurrents. 

Thanks so much Evan and congratulations on the release—it’s really quite a special song. Looking forward to what’s coming next from Lua Flora!