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DearAll,

Iyourereadingthis,itsbecauseyoureoneotheortunateviewerstohavewitnessedlastnightsmajesticperormanceoFlorence+TheMachineatLondonshistoricHackneyEmpireromthecomortoyourcomputer/laptop,orsimilar.

Itwasaspecialperormanceornumerousreasons-notleast,itwasthelastchancetowitnessFlorenceandbandinEuropebeore2011easestoaclose.Letalonetheactthatitwasaprivilegedopportunitytowitnesssuchanintimatelivedebutosongsromthelong-awaitedsecondalbum,Ceremonials,setagainstanallnewstageshow,andwithguestmusicianstoboot.

Thankyouorbeingapartotheexperience.Wehopethatyoumightbeabletoutilisethissmallvisualmementootheeveningtojogsomeavourablememoriesinthecomingweeksandyears.Or,orthoseabitlesspatienttorelivetheexperience,pleasetakenotethataChannelspecial,eaturinganin-depthinterviewwithNickGrimshaw,willbeairedonChannelonNovember6that11.30pm,andrepeatedonT4.Checkorenceandthemachine.net orurther

detailsnearerthetime.

WellleaveyounowwithsomepartingwordsandquotesromFlorencewithrelationtothenewmusicaldirectionandinspirationorCeremonials. Untilnexttime.

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Alotcanhappentoadaydreaminggirlintheworld,andinthelastewyears, its

allhappenedorFlorence.Thedebutalbumshedreamtupinherbedroom

in SouthLondonburst into being and swept theplanet, selling over three

millioncopies,winningthecovetedBritsBestAlbumawardandetchingitsel

indeliblyintothepopularconsciousness.Nowshehasbeeneverywhere:the

girlhasseentheworldandtheworldhasseenthegirl. Andatermonthsolayinglow onhometur,writingandrecording intheLondonsheslongbeenin

lovewith,Florencereturnswithhertriumphantsecondalbum. Ceremonials is

astunninglyaccomplishedrecordbyanartistteeteringonthewind-blowntop

ohergame,anextraordinarytestamenttowhatFlorencereerstoasmy

incorrigiblemaximalism.ThepoundingepiphanicpositivismoSpectrum;

thegallopingmassed-ranksmajestyoAllThisAndHeavenTooandShake

ItOut; the triumphant emotional battle cries o NoLightNoLight and

Heartlines.SpendalittletimewithCeremonialsandwhatstrikesyourst

andoremostistheapparentcondenceoitsexecution.

This is the rst time Ive made a record with a sort o overarching, cohesive

sound says Florence: Its a proper studio album in that sense: a group o

songs that paint a unied picture o where I am in my lie right now.

RecordedwithherullbandoverveweeksthissummerinAbbeyRoads

legendary Studio 3, Ceremonials is another product o her long-running

collaboration with producer Paul Epworth. Together theyve created an

expansive art-pop vision that can be both captivatingly tender while still

requentlysoaringtoplaceswhereitcanoverwhelmthesenseslikeanemotive

tidalwave.

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Itsarich tapestrythatunpickstheconventionsoclassicpop,shoots them

through a black hole and reconstitutes them into a multi-layered, uture-

primitivestomp.Andunderpinningitall,Florencesbeguiling,epicvocals.A

maturemasterpiecethatconrmsitscreatorisinorthelonghaul.

I eel like its a record made by someone becoming a woman, becoming agrown-up. And its about all the problems that go hand-in-hand with that says

Florence. Lungs was very much the work o someone wrestling with sort

o simultaneously being a teenager and being an adult. This is the work o

someone whos trying to grow up I guess? But probably ailing.

Attwentyve,theart-schooldropouthasdonemuchohergrowingupamid

themaelstromoherwhirlingworldwidesuccess.In2010shebrokeAmerica

in spectacular style, her monster hit Dog Days blazing a trail across the

nation,takingthechartsandtheairwavesbystorm.Shewroteandrecordeda

heart-stoppingtrackorthe Twilight:Eclipse soundtrackandperormed Dog

Days toaraptandtrulyglobalaudienceattheMTV VMAawards.The

viewinggureswerealmostabillion,andtheollowingdayFlorencewasthe

mostGoogledpersonontheplanet.

In the last year shes graced the stages o Saturday Night Live, Good

MorningAmerica, TheColbertReport,the53rdGrammyAwards-where

sheperormedaspartoanall-girl,all-starArethaFranklintributeandwas

nominatedorBestNewArtist-the83rd AcademyAwards,AnnaWintours

obscenelystar-studdedannualMetBall,andtheNobelPeacePrizeceremony

inOslo.

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TimeMagazinerankedheratnumberty-oneintheir2011listotheone

hundredmostinuentialpeopleintheworld. Shehasofciallygraduatedrom

up-and-comingashioninuencetoull-blownstyleicon.Sheshungoutwith

hermusicalheroesandheardtheirblessingsandgushingpraise.EvenBeyonc

hasacknowledgedthatFlorenceandTheMachinewasakeyinuenceonher

lastalbum.

Its certainly a very diferent thing this time around: making an album that you

know a lot o people are anticipating reects Florence; but Ive just tried to

do what I wouldve done anyway. This one is a real attempt to just make exactly

the kind o music I want to hear: dramatic and really huge and kind o spooky.

I want it more than anything to have an overwhelming efect on the listener: I

want it to make people eel something. Feel something you irreutably will.

Far rom being one o those sell-out-and-go-pop second records that so many

promising new artists settle or, Ceremonials is a wholly more experimental

and challenging body o work. I wanted to push the aggression o the sound

Florence says; Bigger drums, bigger bass sounds: as big and as powerul

as we could go. We did much more experimenting this time with electronic

sounds, but overall I think weve ended up with a more organic-sounding album.Its a kind o organized chaos.

Since her days o art college and squat parties and gigs in grotty pubs,

the lie o Florence Welch has gone all the way into the stratosphere.

With Ceremonials, Florenceisbackromouterspaceandbacktowhatit

isshedoesbest,makingorward-thinking,unclassiable,trulyoverwhelming

music.

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Some artists respond to a successul debut album by reacting against it;

attemptingtodisowntheveryqualitiesthatdrewpeopletothemintherst

place. I couldnt do that i I tried!saysFlorence.Lungs seemed like so

many records rolled into one that I wouldnt even know what Id be reacting

against. Instead, Florence Welch has dramatically delivered on the promises

o Lungs. Its a big-sounding album? I guess theres no getting around that.Im attracted to that sense o being overwhelmed by something. I theres a

chance that I might respond that way while these songs are playing around me,

then someone else might too. And thats surely the , isnt it?

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Florence & The Machine - Live at Hackney Empire - 25/10/

Photo Gallery. Photographer Credit: Connor Gilhooly & Fiona

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PhotoGallery.PhotographerCredit:ConnorGilhooly&Fiona

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Florence & The Machine - Live at Hackney Empire - 25/10/

Photo Gallery. Photographer Credit: Connor Gilhooly & Fiona

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Florence&TheMachine-LiveatHackneyEmpire-25/10/11

Setlist.

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