Florence + The Machine

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Biography

Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine ) are an English indie pop band, consisting of lead singer Florence Welch and a collaboration of other artists who provide backing music. The band's music received praise across the music media, especially from the BBC , before they gained mainstream success. Specifically, the BBC played a large part in their rise to prominence by promoting Florence and the Machine as part of BBC Introducing .

The band's debut album, Lungs (album)|Lungs , was released on 6 July 2009, and held the number-two position for its first five weeks on the UK Albums Chart . On 17 January 2010, the album reached the top position, after being on the chart for twenty-eight consecutive weeks. As of October 2010, the album had been in the top forty in the United Kingdom for sixty-five consecutive weeks, making it one of the best-selling albums of 2009 and 2010. The group's second studio album, Ceremonials , released in October 2011, debuted at number one in the UK and number six in the US.

Florence and the Machine's sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including rock music|rock and soul music|soul . Lungs won the MasterCard British Album award at the 2010 BRIT Awards . At the 53rd Grammy Awards , Florence and the Machine were nominated for Grammy Award for Best New Artist|Best New Artist . Additionally, the band performed at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards , and the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Concert .

Recording history

2007: Formation and early years

The name of Florence and the Machine is attributed to Florence Welch 's teenage collaboration with Isabella Summers|Isabella "Machine" Summers . Welch and Summers performed together for a time under the name Florence Robot/Isa Machine. Later, this was shortened to Florence and the Machine as it was felt to be too cumbersome. Welch continued using this name for her band even when Summers parted company with her for a time, although Summers later returned to become their regular keyboard player. The current band members include musicians Robert Ackroyd (guitar and backing vocals), Chris Hayden (drums, percussion and backing vocals), Isabella Summers (keyboards and backing vocals), Mark Saunders (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Tom Monger (harp). In the past, Welch has praised the Machine for understanding her creative process, claiming, "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."

According to Welch, "The name Florence and the Machines started off as a private joke that got out of hand. I made music with my friend, who we called Isabella Machine to which I was Florence Robot. When I was about an hour away from my first gig, I still didn't have a name, so I thought 'Okay, I'll be Florence Robot/Isa Machine', before realising that name was so long it'd drive me mad."

In 2007, Welch recorded with a band named Ashok, who released an album titled Plans on the Filthy Lucre/About Records label. This album included the earliest version of her later hit " Kiss with a Fist ", which at this point was titled "Happy Slap". She signed a contract for Ashok with a manager, but feeling that she was "in the wrong band" she resigned, which cancelled the contract. Florence and the Machine are managed by Mairead Nash (one half of the DJ duo Queens of Noize ), who decided to manage the singer when an inebriated Welch followed Nash into the toilets at a club and sang Etta James ' 1962 song "Something's Got a Hold on Me".

2008–10: Lungs

Florence and the Machine released their debut album Lungs (album)|Lungs in the United Kingdom on 6 July 2009. The album was produced by James Ford (musician)|James Ford , Paul Epworth , Steve Mackey and Charlie Hugall. Much of the material on the album was written as reaction to what turned out to be a temporary break-up with Welch's former boyfriend. Welch said, "He prefers me not to talk about it. It's funny then singing about it." The album was officially launched with a set at the Rivoli Ballroom in Brockley, South East London. It peaked at number one in the UK and number two in Ireland. As of 6 August 2009, the album had sold over 100,000 copies in the UK and by 10 August it had been at number two for five consecutive weeks. Following its 25 July 2009 release for download in the United States, the album debuted at number seventeen on the Billboard Top Heatseekers|Heatseekers Albums chart, ultimately peaking at number one. The album was released physically in the US on 20 October by Universal Republic .

" Kiss with a Fist " was released as the album's lead single on 9 June 2008. The track was featured on the soundtrack to the films Wild Child (2008 film)|Wild Child , '' Jennifer's Body '', and '' St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold '', as well as in the television series 90210 (TV series)|90210 and Saving Grace (TV series)|Saving Grace . Follow-up single " Dog Days Are Over ", released on 1 December 2008, was recorded with no instruments in a studio the "size of a toilet|loo ". The song was used in the American television series Gossip Girl , Community (TV series)|Community and Covert Affairs , in the British television series Skins (TV series)|Skins , and in the theatrical trailer for the 2010 comedy-drama film Eat Pray Love , starring Julia Roberts . "Dog Days Are Over" was also featured in the Glee (TV series)|Glee episode " Special Education (Glee)|Special Education ", where it was covered by Jenna Ushkowitz and Amber Riley . " Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) " was released on 22 June 2009 as the third single from the album. A small part of the song's melody, as well as the lyric "How quickly the glamour fades", were lifted from New York band Gang Gang Dance 's 2008 song "House Jam" without credit on the Lungs liner notes . Members of the group noticed this and brought it to the attention of Florence and the Machine's label. Island Records acknowledged copyright infringement|infringement and agreed to pay Gang Gang Dance a share of the song's publishing royalties. Welch agreed that she erred and said her intent was to pay homage.

After the release of Lungs , " Drumming Song " and a cover of The Source (musician)|The Source and Candi Staton 's 1986 song " You Got the Love#Florence and the Machine version|You've Got the Love " were released as singles, the latter of which also went on to become part of a mashup (music)|mashup titled " You Got the Love#You Got the Dirtee Love|You Got the Dirtee Love " between Welch and English rapper Dizzee Rascal . The two performed the mashup together at the 2010 BRIT Awards on 16 February 2010 and the recorded performance was subsequently released as a single the following day.

On 5 January 2010, "Hurricane Drunk" was originally announced as the next single from the album. However, on 3 March a re-release of "Dog Days Are Over" was announced on the band's website; it was released digitally on 11 April 2010 and on 7" vinyl the following day, coinciding with the release of a brand-new video. " Cosmic Love " was released on 5 July 2010 as the sixth and final single from Lungs , with a music video having already been shot. The song was featured in several American television shows, including '' Grey's Anatomy '', The Vampire Diaries , V (2009 TV series)|V , Nikita (TV series)|Nikita and So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)|So You Think You Can Dance . The band also made a guest appearance in the 7 February 2011 episode of Gossip Girl (season 4)|Gossip Girl , titled "Panic Roommate", where they performed an acoustic rendition of "Cosmic Love". On 12 May 2010, it was announced that Florence and the Machine would provide a track called " Heavy in Your Arms " for the The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (soundtrack)|soundtrack to The Twilight Saga: Eclipse , the third film of The Twilight Saga (film series)|The Twilight Saga . The Twilight Saga: Eclipse|Eclipse was released in cinemas on 30 June 2010, with "Heavy in Your Arms" playing during the end credits. The music video followed on 7 July 2010. An exclusive remix of "I'm Not Calling You a Liar" is featured in the 2011 video game Dragon Age II as "I'm Not Calling You a Liar (Dragon Age II: Varric's Theme)", produced by the game's composer Inon Zur .

2011–present: Ceremonials

Initially, Welch considered offers from the band's record label to record their second album in the USA to work with writers and producers in Los Angeles , but ultimately decided to record the album in the UK. The first demo session occurred in January 2010 with Welch and Paul Epworth at a small London studio. Numerous producers expressed an interest in working on the album but Welch rejected the offers because she wanted Ceremonials to be a better version of Lungs with a "more dark, more heavy, bigger drum sounds, bigger bass, but with more of a whole sound". For the rest of the year work on the album continued only intermittently as the band concentrated on an extensive tour of the United States, where Lungs had become popular. The majority of the writing for the album was done between January and April 2011, with recording taking place in April at Abbey Road Studios . Refinement took place at Epworth's own London studios while Welch recorded vocal tracks in various US studios, during days off from touring. The final recording session took place in July at Epworth's studio. Epworth co-wrote seven tracks. Several other British writers share credits on the album, including Summers, Kid Harpoon , James Ford (musician)|James Ford and composer Eg White .

In June 2011 a cover of the Buddy Holly classic " Not Fade Away (song)|Not Fade Away ," which Florence and the Machine recorded for the tribute album Rave On Buddy Holly tied to Holly's seventy-fifth birthday year, was released and they debuted Ceremonials setup track " What the Water Gave Me " at the Hearst Greek Theatre|Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California . In August 2011, the single " What the Water Gave Me " was released on iTunes Store|iTunes along with an accompanying video on the band's website and YouTube channel. The video drew 1.5 million YouTube views in two days and the track received play on US alternative radio with strong support from Los Angeles radio station KROQ . The single "Shake It Out" was released over the internet in September 2011, with standard release 11 October. In Australia, the song was playlisted at Triple J and Nova (radio network)|Nova radio networks and received strong airplay in Scandinavia, Italy and Canada.

The band's second album, Ceremonials , was released on 31 October 2011. It reached the number one position on the UK Albums Chart in its first week of release and number six on the US Billboard 200| Billboard 200 . On 12 January 2012, Florence and the Machine were nominated for two Brit Awards , with the 2012 BRIT Awards|awards ceremony taking place on 21 February 2012 at The O2 Arena (London)|the O2 Arena , London.

On 26 April 2012, the band released "Breath of Life", a song which was recorded as the official theme song for the upcoming film Snow White and the Huntsman .

Performances

Florence and the Machine started off by playing a handful of gigs in and around London, and in August 2007, the band performed at the debut year of the 1-2-3-4 Shoreditch Festival, performing alongside Lightspeed Champion on the MySpace Main Stage which was hosted by manager Nash's DJ double act, Queens of Noize. In May 2008, they supported MGMT on tour in Europe. The BBC played a large part in Florence and the Machine's rise to prominence by promoting her as part of BBC Introducing . This led to them playing music festivals in 2008, including Glastonbury Festival 2008|Glastonbury , Reading and Leeds Festivals|Reading and Leeds and Bestival 2008|Bestival . Florence and the Machine were also part of the NME Tours|Shockwaves NME Awards Tour 2009 in January and February.

The group played the Concerts for Teenage Cancer Trust charity event at the Royal Albert Hall in March 2009. Florence and The Machine supported Blur (band)|Blur for their 26 June comeback performance at the Manchester Evening News Arena|M.E.N. Arena in Manchester . They played at the Lovebox Festival on 18 and 19 July. In July 2009, the group was supporting Duran Duran . They performed at the Glastonbury Festival 2009 , the Reading and Leeds 2009, Electric Picnic 2009 and T in the Park 2009 .

Florence and the Machine played at Australia's Splendour in the Grass music festival in July 2010. The group drew one of the biggest crowds of the three-day festival. They performed in the natural open-air amphitheater, which had to be closed off by security due to safety concerns as an unprecedented number of festivalgoers rushed to see the performance. It is estimated that 28,000 people of the 33,000 people that attended the festival crammed in to see Florence and the Machine. The amphitheater was reopened shortly after the start, once the safety fear was over. In October 2009, the band's equipment and instruments were caught in a trailer fire during their European tour, forcing the band to use rented instruments to complete their remaining shows. Welch stated, "You could hear the harp's strings ping in the fire. Strange sound. We recorded it and I want to use it in a song."

On 27 October 2009, Florence and the Machine played their first official New York City gig at the Bowery Ballroom , and performed "Kiss with a Fist" on The Late Show with David Letterman . On 5 November, the band performed "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Welch stated although she would like to tour the United States, she is fearful of becoming homesick due to the time it would take to tour the country.

After the success of Lungs topping the UK Albums Chart in January 2010, seven months after the album was released, Florence and the Machine announced an eleven-date UK and Ireland tour called The Cosmic Love Tour in May 2010. Support acts include Babe Shadow and The Drums . Florence and the Machine performed at Oxegen 2010 , T in the Park 2010 , the Isle of Wight Festival 2010 , Roskilde Festival 2010 , V Festival 2010 , and the San Miguel Primavera Sound|San Miguel Primavera Sound 2010 . In March 2010, it was that confirmed that the band's first headlining festival would be Latitude Festival#Latitude Festival 2010|Latitude 2010 , having been booked the previous September before achieving mainstream success.

The Cosmic Love Tour kicked off at Dublin's Olympia Theatre on 2 May 2010 where the group debuted a new song called "Strangeness and Charm" and ended at London's Hammersmith Apollo on 15 May 2010. On 25 June, the group played the Glastonbury Festival 2010 , where they performed "Strangeness and Charm" and a cover of Fleetwood Mac 's " The Chain " during their ten-song set. Their performance drew one of the biggest crowds of the day and one of the biggest in the Other Stage's history.

Welch and Dizzee Rascal's performance of a mashup version of the band's single "You've Got the Love" and Dizzee's single " Dirtee Cash ", titled "You Got the Dirtee Love", at the 2010 BRIT Awards on 16 February 2010 was described as "a definite highlight of the evening". This collaboration was released as a charity single the following day, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart . She reprised the performance when she joined Dizzee on stage during his performance at the Glastonbury Festival 2010. Florence and the Machine opened for U2 on the North American leg of their U2 360° Tour in June and July 2011.

International appearances solo and as a group

In an interview with New York Post s PopWrap, Welch revealed that, in the weeks and months prior to her 12 September performance at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards , was so nervous she lost sleep and cried. In addition, she struggled during the pre-show rehearsal with a move that required her to stand up on a rotating platform. The performance was directed by So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)|So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Travis Wall and had Welch performing with a host of hyperactive dancers. It was described as "both ethereal and downright joyous". After the performance, Lungs rose to number two on the iTunes Store|iTunes albums chart and "Dog Days Are Over" rose to number nine on the iTunes singles chart. In addition, Florence and the Machine became the number-one search on Google and received 1,700 tweets per minute on Twitter . Florence and the Machine performed "Dog Days Are Over" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on 15 October 2010. On 20 November 2010, the band performed "Dog Days Are Over" and "You've Got the Love" on Saturday Night Live . They performed an online-only concert at New York City's Ed Sullivan Theater on 16 December 2010 as part of the David Letterman|Live on Letterman concert series. Welch and a number of other female singers opened the 53rd Grammy Awards on 13 February 2011 with a tribute to an ailing Aretha Franklin . On 27 February 2011, Welch replaced pregnant Dido (singer)|Dido and sang her portion of Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song nominee " If I Rise " (from 127 Hours ) with A. R. Rahman at the 83rd Academy Awards . Two years of Ceremonials Tour|worldwide touring are scheduled to promote Ceremonials .

Welch led a tribute to Amy Winehouse by performing Winehouse's single " Back to Black (song)|Back to Black " during " VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul" concert held in December 2011. The group performed in Times Square on 31 December 2011 for the 40th annual '' Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest|Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve special.

Style and influences

Florence Welch has been compared to other female singers such as Kate Bush , Siouxsie Sioux , PJ Harvey , and Björk . During an interview, Welch cited Grace Slick as her influence and "hero". Florence and the Machine's style has been described as "dark, robust and romantic". Their music is a mix of "classic soul and midnight-on-the-moors English art rock". Florence Welch stated that her lyrics related to Renaissance artists : "We're dealing with all of the same things they did : love and death, time and pain, heaven and hell". From 2008, Welch had a relationship with Stuart Hammond, a literary editor: their temporary split provided inspiration for much of the Lungs (album)|Lungs album. In 2011 the couple announced that they had broken up by mutual decision because of conflicting career demands: the breakup provided material for Florence and The Machine's second album.

Response

Florence and the Machine won the Critic's Choice Award at the 2009 BRIT Awards after coming third in the BBC's Sound of...|Sound of 2009 poll. As well as attention from the BBC, the band received significant support from NME magazine, who included them on their annual Shockwaves NME Awards Tour for 2009, along with Glasvegas , Friendly Fires and White Lies (band)|White Lies .

The Sunday Times described Welch as "the most peculiar and most highly acclaimed female singer of the moment" and "the latest in a line of great English pop eccentrics". Allmusic referred to Lungs as "one of the most musically mature and emotionally mesmerising albums of 2009". Spin (magazine)|Spin magazine rated Lungs eight out of ten and wrote, "You've gotta hand it to the girl: She always makes you feel something ." The magazine named it the eighth best album of 2009. In December 2010, Florence and the Machine appeared on one of Spin s three holiday issue covers as Artist of the Year.

Florence and the Machine won the MasterCard British Album award for Lungs at the 2010 BRIT Awards , having also been nominated for British Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act. On 19 February 2010, Florence and the Machine won Best International Band at the 2010 Meteor Awards . The group led the nominations for the 2010 MOJO Awards , with four nods. They received a nomination for Grammy Award for Best New Artist|Best New Artist at the 53rd Grammy Awards. In April 2011, Florence and the Machine were ranked 51 in the 2011 Time 100| Time 100 poll, which annually lists the 100 most influential people in the world. American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles , cited Florence and the Machine as an influence on her album 2011 album 4 (Beyoncé Knowles album)|4 .

The band's music video for "No Light, No Light" sparked controversy after several online commentators addressed its religious and racial imagery, due to its perceived use of blackface and representations of Haitian Vodou|voodoo . During an interview with MTV News , when asked by James Montgomery whether she was a part of the Illuminati due to the online accusations around the video, Welch said, "That's ridiculous. Really? So people . I'm definitely not . It's just not true."

Discography

Lungs (album)|Lungs (2009)

Ceremonials (2011)

Awards and nominations

Year	Organisation	Nominated work	Award	Result
2009	BBC Sound of 2009	Florence and the Machine	Sound of 2009	nom Third place
	BRIT Awards	Florence and the Machine	Critic's Choice Award	won
	Mercury Prize	Lungs	Mercury Prize	nom
	Studio8 Media International Music Award	Florence and the Machine	Female Voice of July 2009	won
	Studio8 Media International Music Award	" Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) "	Song of July 2009	won
	MTV Europe Music Awards	Florence and the Machine	Best UK and Ireland New Act	nom
	Q Awards	Lungs	Best Album	nom
		" Drumming Song "	Best Video	nom
		Florence and the Machine	Breakthrough Artist	nom
	UK Festival Awards	Florence and the Machine	Best Breakthrough Act	won
		"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)"	Anthem of the Year	nom
		Florence and the Machine	Festival Fitty of the Year – Girls	nom
	UK Music Video Awards	"Drumming Song"	Best Pop Video	nom
		"Drumming Song"	Best Styling in a Video	won
		"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)"	Best Styling in a Video	nom
2010	South Bank Show	Florence and the Machine	South Bank Show Award	won
	2010 BRIT Awards		British Female Solo Artist	nom
			British Breakthrough Act	nom
		Lungs	MasterCard British Album	won
	Glamour Women of the Year Awards	Florence and The Machine	Band of The Year	won
	2010 Meteor Awards	Lungs	Best International Album	nom
		Florence and the Machine	Best International Band	won
			Best International Live Performance	nom
	Elle Style Awards		Musician of the Year	won
	NME Awards		Best Solo Artist	nom
		"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)"	Best Track	nom
		You've Got the Love "	Best Dancefloor Filler	nom
		Florence Welch	Best Dressed	nom
	MOJO Awards	Florence and the Machine	Breakthrough Act	nom
		Florence and the Machine	Best Live Act	nom
		"You've Got the Love"	Song of the Year	nom
		Lungs	Best Album	nom
	2010 MTV Video Music Awards	" Dog Days Are Over "	Video of the Year	nom
			Best Rock Video	nom
			Best Art Direction in a Video	won
			Best Cinematography in a Video	nom
	BT Digital Music Awards	Florence and the Machine	Best Female Artist	nom
	BT Digital Music Awards	"You've Got the Love"	Best Song	nom
	Q Awards	Florence and the Machine	Best Female	won
	Q Awards	"You've Got the Love"	Best Song	won
	UK Music Video Awards	"Dog Days Are Over"	Best Pop Video	nom
	UK Music Video Awards	"Dog Days Are Over"	Best Styling in a Video	nom
	UK Festival Awards	"You've Got the Love"	Anthem of the Year	won
	UK Festival Awards	Florence and the machine	Feel-Good Act of the Summer	nom
	4Music Video Honours	"Dog Days Are Over"	Best Video of 2010	nom
	European Festival Awards	"You've Got the Love"	Anthem of the Year	nom
	European Festival Awards	Florence and the Machine	Best Newcomer	won
2011	Grammy Awards		Best New Artist	nom
	Virgin Media Music Awards		Hottest Women	nom
		Florence and the Machine with Dizzee Rascal	Best Collaboration	nom
		"Dog Days Are Over"	Best Video	nom
		Florence Welch	Best Live Act	nom
		Florence Welch	Shameless Publicity Seeker	nom
	BRIT Awards	"You've Got the Love"	Best British Single	nom
	Shockwaves NME Awards	Florence and the Machine	Best Solo Artist	nom
	Winter Music Conference	" Dog Days Are Over " (Yeasayer Remix)	Best Alternative/ Rock Dance Track	nom
	Winter Music Conference	Florence and the Machine	Best Break-Through Artist (Group)	nom
	Glamour Women of the Year Awards	Florence and the Machine	Best Band	nom
	2011 Billboard Music Awards	"Dog Days Are Over"	Top Rock Song	nom
	2011 Billboard Music Awards	"Dog Days Are Over"	Top Alternative Song	nom
2012	Elle Style Awards	Florence and the Machine	Best Music Act	won
	2012 BRIT Awards	Florence and the Machine	British Female Solo Artist	nom
	2012 BRIT Awards	Ceremonials	Mastercard British Album	nom
	NME Awards	Florence and the Machine	Best Solo Artist	won
		" Shake It Out "	Best Track	won
		Florence and the Machine	Hottest Female	nom

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