I AM A BIRD NOW
Behold: Florence Welch, newly crowned queen of the indie-baroque, with a double platinum album (Lungs), a Mercury Prize nomination and heaps of critical praise behind her. Damn, girl! But as Flo continues making her way across the world’s stages and stealing the world’s hearts, we recently found that she’s still got her head and heart in the right place. Here, she tells us how high she flies.

How has success been treating you, Flo?
Very good! I’m in Australia at the moment. And um, I’m in Australia! It’s a pretty big change as far as getting to number one, and getting bigger and bigger gigs, though I don’t personally feel like I’ve changed. It’s just been the situation.

Did you ever count on having a music career?
Well, I’ve always wanted to perform and I would be upset if I didn’t get to. And I always sung. I don’t think there was a period in my life where I didn’t and it just evolved from there. In fact, when I was ten, I loved musicals and I wanted to be on Broadway…

But you went to art school, where we hear you had a pretty outrageous time.
It was quite easy to be outrageous as an art student! As an art student, it’s like they mostly just let you get on with it.

Did any of that translate into your live shows?
Yeah. I mean, this is sort of like an ongoing project for me, combining all three of my interests: art, fashion and music. And sometimes, I wonder if I could go back to college at some point with like two albums and be like, “I’ve finished my project! Can I have my degree now?” (Laughs)

And what makes you happy in life now?
It’s when I get to sing that I feel the happiest and I always hope that everyone in the room is happy as well. And also, I love to play in churches, where the sound and space are just so powerful, you feel like you’re flying out of the room…

So underneath Florence of Florence & The Machine, you’re really…
A bird.

Read the rest of the interview in your March issue of JUICE, now out at these spots.

www.florenceandthemachine.net

Text: Min Chen
Image & interview courtesy of: Universal Music