Christi Flis’s creative path gradually shed the layers of piled-up sounds. She discovered raw beauty in the silence wide enough for a single chord to resonate, existing fully like its own heartbeat. For Flis, wholeness comes when fervor walks hand in hand with restraint, when simplicity becomes the backdrop that lets emotion flare as vividly as a streak of light slicing through the night.
In the still moments of her creative rhythm, a contemplative spirit is delicately woven into every word she utters. Flis has learned to listen to herself, choosing to live slowly and consciously, so that her music stretches its boundaries, cinematic in tone, vast as an inner universe. It is a journey of dialogue, where she moves away from the urge to prove toward the longing to express, from noise back to stillness.
Christi Flis and the Voice of Multidimensionality
A multi-layered Christi Flis emerges. No longer confined to the role of a performer on stage, she is a woman who wears fashion as her second skin. From the fluid elegance of 1930s slip dresses, the wild fire of 1970s glam rock, the minimalist purity of the 1990s, to the distorted aesthetics of the 2000s, each garment becomes a memory, a conversation with women of past generations, and a way for her to breathe new rhythm into old legacies.
Within her slow orbit, Flis crafts rituals to stay centered: free writing at dawn, lighting palo santo as a signal to her body that this is a safe space for creation. “I write from scars that have healed, not from wounds still bleeding,” she said.
There are also moments when she faces her own turbulence. A song without rhythm, without refrain, flowing slowly like a hesitant river, once sowed doubt among her team and even herself. Yet Flis chose to let it live, “as it may never play on the radio, but I believe it will find the ones who need it.”
HARPER’S BAZAAR: Christi, your music has always carried a strong emotional core. Lately, it feels like your sound is becoming even more cinematic and expansive. What has influenced this new direction?
CHRISTI FLIS: I’ve been spending more time sitting with stillness. In the past, I filled every second of a song with vocals, harmonies, layers of production. But lately, I’ve been drawn to the feeling of restraint. There’s something incredibly honest about letting a single chord ring out and just be. I think it comes from living slower, more intentionally, asking myself what I truly want to say. Life has a way of simplifying when you stop running from silence. That shift, from proving something to simply expressing what’s real, is what has made this body of work feel so cinematic. It’s not about doing more, but doing it with more depth.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: Does fashion influence your creative process?
CHRISTI FLIS: Fashion is like a second skin for creativity, the tangible extension of whatever I am processing emotionally. There are days I walk into the studio in a deconstructed suit or a corset with boots, and in that moment I have already set the mood for the session. The textures, the architecture of what I wear shapes my rhythm, my tone. Some artists prefer comfort to create, but I like a touch of discomfort. Not pain, but intentionality. If I feel powerful, vulnerable, edgy, or undone in what I’m wearing, it unlocks something in my music. I don’t dress for attention; I dress for alignment.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: You’ve always blended eras in your aesthetics. What draws you to that cross-temporal style?
CHRISTI FLIS: To me, time is fluid. I’ve never seen decades as separate chapters, they all speak to each other. I’m inspired by the elegance of a 1930s slip dress, the rebellion of 1970s glam rock, the minimalism of the ’90s, the distortion of the 2000s. None of it feels like costume; it feels like memory. I believe, especially as women artists, we carry ancestral energy in our bodies. Wearing something vintage or historically inspired is a way of honoring the women who paved the way for us. Pairing it with something futuristic, that is where we reclaim it. It’s about evolution, not imitation.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: What personal ritual or habit keeps you grounded creatively?
CHRISTI FLIS: Every morning, before I open my phone or connect with the world, I connect with myself. I free-write, letting my thoughts flow unfiltered. I don’t intend to turn it into lyrics, but often I discover a phrase or an idea that needs a melody. That ritual reminds me that creativity does not begin with the audience, it begins with me. I also burn palo santo or incense, not for aesthetics, but to signal to my nervous system that it is safe to create. That grounding is non-negotiable; if I skip it, I feel scattered for the rest of the day.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: As someone who writes with such emotional clarity, how do you protect your spirit while remaining open in your art?
CHRISTI FLIS: It’s something I’ve had to learn over time. When I was younger, I thought vulnerability meant pouring everything onto the page, holding nothing back. But now I know that true openness does not require self-destruction, it requires boundaries. I write from scars, not from wounds still bleeding. That is how I protect my peace. I create privately first, sit with the raw version, and only share it once I’ve made peace with it. My art is not therapy; it is the echo of therapy. That distance gives the work strength without breaking me in the process.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: Can you share a recent moment when you felt creatively uncomfortable—but leaned into it anyway?
CHRISTI FLIS: I recently wrote a piece without structure, without chorus, without rhythm, just a slow unfolding. Musically, it didn’t “make sense,” but emotionally, it was one of the most honest things I’ve ever done. My team was unsure, and so was I. But something inside me said: Let it live. I recorded it in one take, no edits, no click track, just breath and truth. It may never be on the radio, but I believe it will find the people who need it. And sometimes that’s the only metric that matters: Did it reach someone? Did it heal me?
HARPER’S BAZAAR: What do you hope listeners will feel when they experience your next album?
CHRISTI FLIS: I hope they feel allowed to feel everything. I hope it reminds them they don’t have to make their sadness beautiful or their joy small. I hope it gives them space to rage, to cry, to dance, to be still. I always say music is a mirror: you don’t listen to my songs to understand me, you listen to understand yourself. If something I wrote helps someone come home to themselves, even for a few minutes, then I have done what I was meant to do.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: You’ve recently attended some major fashion weeks. How do those high-energy environments influence your artistry?
CHRISTI FLIS: Fashion Week is beautiful chaos, everyone is pushing limits, redefining beauty, telling stories without a single word. It energizes me. Watching designers turn fabric into sculpture or poetry inspires me to do the same with sound. I see parallels in how we both build worlds. I don’t just want to sing songs; I want to create sonic runways, emotional atmospheres people can walk through. Being surrounded by creatives who see no boundaries reminds me that I too am allowed to evolve endlessly.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: If your next album had a scent, what would it be?
CHRISTI FLIS: That’s such a beautiful question. I think it would smell like rain on dry concrete ,the first breath of air after something breaks open. There would be spiced rose petals, a touch of tobacco leaf, and worn suede. Something sensual yet earthy. Feminine with weight. A scent that lingers quietly, not overpowering, only revealing itself once you realize you are wrapped in it.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: Lastly, what is something your fans don’t see but is crucial to who you are as an artist?
CHRISTI FLIS: I think people see the visuals, the lyrics, the performances, and I am grateful for that, but what they don’t see is how much of my process is rooted in discipline and solitude. Art is romantic, but it is also quiet and repetitive. I can spend hours listening to a single sound, walking in circles, trying to perfect one line. I delete more than I keep. I question myself constantly. But that’s part of it. The unseen labor the obsessing, the unraveling, the rebuilding, is where the magic gets made.
***Creative Team***
MUSE:: Christi Flis @christiflis
Photographer:Franco Salas @byfrancosalas
Stylist: Moana Naruse @moannu
Glam Artist: Dounia Messa @messa__beauty
Production: Burgerrock Media @burgerrockmedia, Irma Penunuri @burgerrock
Makeup Artist: Dounia Messa @messa__beauty
Production Assistants: Danika Backe @danika.ashleyy, Mehdi Arar @ar_me, Karla Gonzalez @karlitaa21
Harper’s Bazaar Việt Nam
