People: Florence Welch

You may not have heard of Florence Welch, from Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + The Machine). She is largely unknown by all of us as her music is not under the pop genre, which most of us listen to. Florence Welch is an English songwriter, singer as well as the lead vocalist of the band Florence and The Machine. Her debut album, Lungs, was certified five-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, while her second album, Ceremonials, received positive reviews from music critics who praised the instrumentation, Florence Welch’s vocals and the production of the songs. Her most recent album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful may be more well known among all of us. To date, it has received five nominations at the 2016 Grammy Awards, as well as many other awards.

What strikes me more interesting about Florence Welch is her singing and dressing style.  Florence has a unique wide contralto voice range, whose vocal range is the lowest female voice range possible. The contralto voice range is a rarity among female artists nowadays. as most female artists either have the alto voice range or the mezzo –soprano voice range. Florence’s dressing style is also one of a kind, and has gained plenty of attention on a global stage. Originally brunette, she dyed her curls red and her dressing style has been known to be “daring but nonchalant”. Florence is often styled in long and flowy dresses,  but early in her musical career, she dressed in a tomboy style.

Florence’s music lyrics are mostly influenced by religion and past relationships. Her music brings you on a rollercoaster ride in her three albums, from tribal and upbeat to sad and mellow. Her lyrics are quite in depth. When I first listened to some of her songs, I thought that it was meant to be an upbeat and happy song, but after listening to it for a few times, I realised that listeners had to read between the lines and figure out the meaning of the song.

If you like indie music with a little bit of a tribal touch, I highly recommend listening to Florence + The Machine, which is Florence’s band. Below is a link to the tracks in her first album “Lungs”. I do hope you enjoy her music!

“Lungs”: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE67D9D3934269346

Germaine Ong 2L