30 Sept 2011

Florence and the Machine to Headline Creators Project Festival

The VICE and Intel-spawned arts venture dubbed The Creators Project will return to New York to put on the Monster Arts and Culture Festival on October 15 and 16. British power-vocalist Florence and the Machine is scheduled to headline, marking her first live appearance in promotion of her forthcoming full-length Ceremonials.
Florence and the Machine will be joined by Harlem rapper ASAP Rocky, Atlas Sound, Four Tet, John Maus, The Field, Girl Unit and Teen Daze, among others, during the two-day festival at various venues in Brooklyn. Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O will also debut Stop the Virgens, a side project described as a "psycho-opera." A series of film screenings will take place, including a showing of the Spike Jonze-directed Arcade Fire short film Scenes From the Suburbs, and a number of pieces of original artwork will be on showcase.

M.I.A. headlined the inaguaral Creators Project party back in 2010; the venture has been throwing blowouts in cities across the world ever since. Access to the October festival is free with an RSVP. To get a sense of Florence and the Machine's festival-capable pipes, watch her performance of "Cosmic Love" off her debut LP Lungs from this year's Bonnaroo festival below.


Interview



If there were ever any doubts about Florence Welch’s self-possession as a performer, they were quickly dispelled during her set at the Met’s Costume Institute Gala last May honoring the late Alexander McQueen. Backed by her band, The Machine, her improbably red red hair loose to the shoulders, and her impossibly long, lean, five-foot-eight-inch frame draped in an orange-gold McQueen gown, Welch offered up powerful renditions of a handful of songs off her critically lauded 2009 debut album, Lungs, before closing out her set with a blistering cover of David Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel,” which she dedicated to McQueen. Welch then punctuated the tribute by running out into the crowd of assembled heavies, which included Karl Lagerfeld, Jay-Z, and Madonna, and sidling up to Paul McCartney, with whom she purposefully locked eyes as she sang, “Rebel rebel, how could they know? / Hot tramp, I love you so . . . ” Welch had never before met McCartney. But he, like most everyone else in attendance, was up and dancing—a testament to Welch’s ability to win fans in even the toughest of rooms.

It was the kind of moment—and the kind of instinct—that makes it easy to understand how so many people have so quickly become so enamored with Welch and her brand of dramatic, monumental pop. The Met gig marked a culmination of a season of high-profile command performances for Welch—she’d also been summoned earlier this year to sing at both the Grammys and the Oscars. Just five years ago, though, she was still an art-school dropout from Camberwell, in southeast London, who was discovered by her manager, Mairead Nash, while belting out an Etta James song in a bathroom at a club. At the time, Welch was working with a rotating cast of musicians as she developed a raw, nascent version of the widescreen art-pop sound that would later emerge on Lungs.

In reading descriptions of Welch, two terms appear over and over: pre-Raphaelite, which is usually used to describe the left-of-center effect of the way her shock of fiery hair frames her prominent features and cream-colored skin; and whirling dervish, which often refers to the bouncing, swaying hippie rain-dance she likes to do when she sings. But neither gets at the eclectic set of ideas and influences that seem to converge in Welch’s work: Lungs is a nuanced but unabashedly outsized record that draws on aspects of classic soul, confessional singer-songwriter music, and British art-pop and post-punk—Aretha Franklin funneled through Carly Simon and dressed up like Kate Bush; her lyrics read like extended journal entries; live, she seems like she’s leading a rapturous spiritual gathering that’s also a clubby performance-art piece; and her predilection for billowy boho tops, sparkly short shorts, and sky-high heels projects both an easy earthiness and a high glamour. Welch’s endearing eccentricity has also captured the attention—and affection—of the fashion world. Gucci designer Frida Giannini has said that Welch served as an inspiration for the house’s Fall 2011 collection; Giannini also created the costumes for Florence + The Machine’s most recent US tour.

Next month, Welch will unveil her as-yet-untitled (at press time) follow-up to Lungs, the first single from which, “What the Water Gave Me,” is a swirling, mounting, moody ballad in the mode of more elegiac tracks from her first album such as “Dog Days Are Over,” “Kiss With a Fist,” and “Cosmic Love.”

On a warm evening in June, director Baz Luhrmann, who helped stage Welch’s performance at the Costume Institute Gala, met the 25-year-old singer and her younger sister, Grace, at the Standard Grill in New York City’s Meatpacking District, where they were decompressing after having miraculously recovered Florence’s cell phone from the taxi in which she’d inadvertently left it behind.

BAZ LUHRMANN: Hi, Flo. How are you? Baz Luhrmann, intense interviewer, reporting for duty. [laughs] I’m holding a Gucci handbag, which I found in a taxi, and I was one of the crowd standing outside of the Standard Hotel in the Meatpacking District in New York City, where I saw this striking-looking woman with red hair shaking and trembling . . .

FLORENCE WELCH: In the gutter!

LUHRMANN: Yes, and wearing this fantastic gypsy velvet frock, and there was a lovely person with blonde hair sitting next to her going “Snap out of it! You can survive this! Pull yourself together!”

19 Sept 2011

MTV EMAs

MTV UK & IRELAND / BEST UK & IRELAND ACT
Adele
Coldplay
Florence + The Machine
Jessie J
Kasabian



Vote here!

17 Sept 2011

Shake It Out Remixes - EP




Track-listing:
1) Shake It Out
2) Shake It Out (The Weeknd Remix)
3) Shake It Out (Benny Benassi Remix Edit)
4) Shake It Out (Benny Benassi Remix)

Pre-order from iTunes here.

Interview

14 Sept 2011

XFM

Florence tells XFM that she will be doing some big tours for the next two years.

Click here to listen again.

Shake It Out




13 Sept 2011

Shake It Out

Apparently Zane Lowe will play the next single 'Shake It Out' and an interview with Florence during his on Radio One, so tune in tomorrow between 19:00 and 21:00 this listen to the whole track!

Ceremonials


F+TM next album will be named 'Ceremonials'.

Track-listing:
01 - Only If for a Night
02 - Shake It Out
03 - What the Water Gave Me
04 - Never Let Me Go
05 - Breaking Down
06 - Lover to Lover
07 - No Light, No Light
08 - Seven Devils
09 - Heartlines
10 - Spectrum
11 - All This and Heaven Too
12 - Leave My Body
Deluxe Track-listing:
13 - Remain Nameless
14 - Strangeness & Charm
15 - Bedroom Hymns
16 - What the Water Gave Me (Demo)
17 - Landscape (Demo)
18 - Heartlines (Acoustic Version)
19 - Shake It Out (Acoustic Version)
20 - Breaking Down (Acoustic Version)

You can also now pre-order the album from iTunes here with the What The Water Gave Me video!

"Years and years ago, I saw an art exhibition and there was this video art piece called 'Ceremonials.' It was done in the 70s and was done in Super-8 and it's kind of Coquette-sy--there's that documentary called Coquette about this 70s theatre troup that lives in San Francisco and I came kind of obsessed with it.

"This video piece is all about these processions and it's kind of colour based and everyone's wearing masks and there's all kinds of different colours...coloured balloons...and strange ceremonies going on.

"That word--ceremonies--got stuck in my head. And then went it came to this album which was influenced by hymns and poems and sounds of church bells. There's kind a lot of ceremonial influences and aspects to it, so it seemed to fit."

Quote source

6 Sept 2011

Album Brought Forward

Flo has been busy at work finishing up her second album and the great news is it has been completed ahead of schedule meaning we can release the record a week earlier!



The album will now be available from October 31 in the UK, if you haven't pre-ordered your copy yet head to Flotique now.



It is available in Deluxe, Standard and LP formats plus every pre-order comes with a free limited edition poster print.



We'll have more news on the album coming very soon.

3 Sept 2011

Whatever It Takes




Who are we?

Whatever It Takes is a unique artwork campaign launched by 21st Century Leaders Foundation, charity reg. no. 1061376.

We have gathered 660 leaders: royalty, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, business leaders, actors, musicians, artists, fashion designers, sportsmen and sportswomen and writers.

Many of the world's most celebrated public figures have put their names to our projects. By becoming 21st Century Leaders, these public figures are pledging to do ‘whatever it takes’ to address issues of the 21st Century.

We work with our leaders to assist and encourage a generation of influencers to take ownership, engage in positive action, raise awareness among their communities, and champion the solutions to poverty and environmental degradation.


Whatever It Takes

We are proud to introduce you to the Whatever It Takes collection, featuring ‘symbols of hope for the 21st Century’ drawn by leaders in the worlds of fashion, film, television, music and sport.

The signed artwork donated by each Leader is his or her original work, and has been donated for the exclusive use of the Whatever It Takes campaign which has so far raised over $3,000,000 for charitable projects worldwide.

Whatever It Takes supports 21st Century Leaders Foundation in its work for key global development causes including poverty alleviation, environmental conservation and the protection of children.

If you’d like to learn more about what we do, take a look at our causes.

Flo and Isa in UK Elle









2 Sept 2011

All Access: Florence and the Machine

Aug 1, 2011 9:00 AM, Photos and Text By Steve Jennings

Florence Welch is having a good run, basking in the critically acclaimed success of her debut, Lungs. As for “The Machine,” it can be Welch and a drum kit or a piano, but right now it’s a seven-piece band including long-term collaborators Rob Ackroyd (guitar), Chris Hayden (drums), Isabella Summers (keyboards) and Tom Monger (harp). “I’ve worked with most of them for a long time and they know my style, know the way I write, they know what I want,” says Welch. And she’s bringing them out onstage for her current run of dates. Mix caught the first show of the tour at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, Calif.

Front-of-house engineer Ian Laughton

Front-of-house engineer Ian Laughton

Front-of-house engineer Ian Laughton is manning a Yamaha PM5D, using the onboard reverbs (hall for Florence’s voice and two for drums) and delay. In his outboard rack are a Furman PL-8, a Portico II and an Avalon Vt737sp. “I’ve always been a fan of valve/tube, and I’ve carried my Avalon around the world,” Laughton says. “We have a great crew who make the touring side of it really easy.”

Keyboardist Isabella Summers plays a Roland Juno-Stage Synth and a Yamaha CP300.

Sound On Stage provided the P.A. system (pictured) for the Berkeley show. General manager Wes Norwood explains the hang: L-Acoustics V-DOSC (nine per side), with three dV-DOSCs underhung on each array. Outfill arrays are three ARCs each, frontfills are four JBL MS-28s and subs are L-Acoustics SB218 (six per side).

Guitarist Robert Ackroyd has two Fender Hot Rod DeVille 212 amps. “They have a great drive sound without getting the levels too loud,” says guitar/bass tech Djamir “Penguin” Filho. “Added to the amps are two THD Hot Plates. I can control the levels and have the tubes always ‘full-on’ while keeping the volume correct for the show. We mike each amp with a Shure SM57.” Ackroyd’s footpedals comprise a H.O.G. (harmonic octave-generator guitar synth); Boss Loop Station RC-2, TU-3 chromatic tuner, FZ-5 fuzz, TR-2 tremolo and DD-7 digital delay; DigiTech X Series digital reverb; and Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer.

According to drum tech Michael Noon, Christopher Lloyd Hayden’s drum kit is miked with Shure Beta 91A (kick), Beta 52 (kick), SM57 (snare top) and SM81 (overheads); Neumann KSM32 (snare bottom) and KM184 (hi-hat); Sennheiser 904 (rack, floor toms); and AKG 414s (overheads). Meanwhile, Welch’s floor tom is miked with Sennheiser 904.

Pictured (L-R) at monitor world, from left: guitar/bass tech Djamir “Penguin” Filho, monitor engineer Phil McDaniel, systems tech Eddie “Flash” Valencia and drum tech Michael Noonan.

Pictured (L-R) at monitor world, from left: guitar/bass tech Djamir “Penguin” Filho, monitor engineer Phil McDaniel, systems tech Eddie “Flash” Valencia and drum tech Michael Noonan.

Monitor engineer Phil McDaniel mixes on a Yamaha M7CL-48 using Apogee Big Ben external word clock; onboard, he employs mostly Rev-X programs. Outboard-wise, he’s carrying an Avalon 737SP inline with Florence’s vocal; inline with her IEM mix is an Avalon 747SP mastering EQ/comp. “Consistency is the most important thing for me when it comes to monitor mixing, as we move between tiny club gigs, large theaters, arenas, and even stadiums, where we’ve had some dates with U2,” says McDaniel. “The crew is also ‘all diamonds,’ with a good sense of humor and professionalism.”

Harpist Tom Monger has an Akai MPC 2500 drum/phase sampler, along with a Roland FC-300 MIDI foot controller.

Bassist Mark Saunders has two Mark Bass Classic 300 bass heads; one is a spare. The Mark Bass CL108 Closed Neo cab is miked with Sennheiser MD421s. His foot pedals comprise a Moog Moogerfooger lowpass filter; Boss line selector, TU-3 chromatic tuner and PS-5 Super-Shifter; Markbass Super Booster and Super Synth; MXR Blow Torch; and Electro-Harmonix Big Muff. His snare drum and floor tom are each miked with a Sennheiser 904, and his tambourine and block take AKG 414s


View more photos here.

New Possible Tracks for LP2

Breaking Down
Songwriter: Florence Welch & Paul Epworth

No Light, No Light
Songwriter: Florence Welch & Isabella Summers

 All This and Heaven Too
Songwriter: Florence Welch & Isabella Summers

Gram of Life
Songwriter: Florence Welch & Isabella Summers

Oh Eden
Songwriter: Florence Welch & Isabella Summers

 Remain Nameless
 Songwriter: Florence Welch & Isabella Summers

Flo in Japanese Vogue