Go with the Flo

MUSIC:Last year it was Kate vs Lily vs Adele vs Duffy. This year south London girl Florence Welch is entering the fray. And despite the music press's best efforts to start a Flo vs Kate catfight, the south London girl is having none of it, she tells Tony Clayton-Lea

THE TICKET interrupts Florence from the recording of her debut album ("Ireland wants to talk to me? That's so nice"), yet we get the distinct impression that she doesn't mind being dragged away for a quick natter and some fresh air. Fact is, Florence (Flo to her nearest and dearest) Welch could do with a breather - the past year has been something of a whirlwind for her.

The art school drop-out - who once spelled out the words "You're a Twat" in flowers for an assignment - has been fielding and shielding, ducking and diving for over a year. Initially signed to indie label Moshi Moshi (which released her debut single, Kiss with a Fist; garage rock with the doors closed and the exhaust running), Florence is in the process of signing to a major label. As yet it's a no-names, no-pack-drill scenario, but we can only imagine that this is the calm before the storm.

"It's been so exciting," she says, "but also a mixture of hard work and hard play. To be honest, it's a massive wave, and I don't know whether I'm flying or falling. I'll just have to see how I land, I think."

It's the kind of reaction that, inevitably, she wasn't expecting.

"I just play music that I think is good, and I can only put stuff out there that I really believe in. If you're doing something with your heart, then what other people think kinda falls by the wayside. The fact that people are starting to love it is such an amazing feeling. I love it, too. It's just a big love-in, really."

Sarky. So no gameplan, strategies or preconceived notions?

"Absolutely not. I started off performing with a guitar, walking off the street onto the stage and singing. Now, I just want to put more of myself into each performance, so these days it's more about fun, thinking about costumes, make-up and more of the magic. And you know what? I'm sure people will laugh when they read this, but it is a magic experience for me. It's also an escape for me, and if the audience can escape, too, then it's good to make it as much an experience for them as it is for me. I want people to feel the same way I do when I sing."

Last year it was Kate versus Lily versus Adele versus Duffy. This year Lily and Kate have been absent without leave (working on albums), Adele has shifted her attentions to the US, and Duffy has been working nonstop, coining it in from Skegness to Stradbally. In the meantime, in the interests of keeping the likes of NMEin the news, some music journalists have tried to stir up enmity between Florence and Kate Nash. Flo's having none of it.

"It's a disservice to both of us. We're completely different artists, and we appeal to different - or, indeed, maybe the same - people. Who's to say which of us is better? There's no anti-anything. It demeans an artist if they're defined in terms of their sexuality. It isn't demeaning to have reference points, and I've no problem being lumped in with other female performers, because I think all of them are good in their own right. But it's not on to pitch one against the other - that's just a negative aspect of the industry and, indeed, music journalism. It's as if women can't co-exist musically.

"Why does there have to be the Next This, or the Next That? Why do you have to be anti this and anti that? There are enough performers in the world for us all to have an audience."

But while Florence sensibly argues for equality she also has to ensure that the songs on her 2009 debut are up to scratch.

"It's quite intensive," she remarks. "There's no bumbling about in la-la land for me these days, which is a real learning experience. I write slowly, but I'm also a perfectionist and that's why it takes so long for me to write the songs.

"As for a record deal, there have been a lot of companies going back and forth. Initially, there was expectation that I'd be pitched as the next blues Kate Nash or the next blues Adele, but I wanted to do something that was more than just that. Essentially, I wanted to find my own sound, and through that the right labels have come along, because they have a notion of how it might work for them. You have to know what kind of artist you want to be before you sign to a record label, anyway."

So there hasbeen some form of strategy and game plan, then? "Well, I have to say I've always wanted a record deal. It's like a dream, and when it happens it's too bizarre for words."

Returning to Ireland for the second time this year brings back memories of Florence's debut appearance at the Electric Picnic.

"It was so much fun," she giggles. "We stayed in a beautiful tent that was full of cushions, double beds, a massive speaker system. We stole The Sex Pistols' wine and I slept in a four-poster bed. Bliss!"

• Florence and the Machine perform tonight as part of the Heineken Green Synergy, which takes place in several Dublin venues from November 12th to 16th www.myspace.com/florenceandthemachinemusic