What do you do after you've just been featured on the biggest album of the year? For Florence + the Machine, the answer is to stage a symphonic concert celebrating their debut album.
Among the surprises revealed with the release of Taylor Swift's much-talked -about album, The Tortured Poets Department, was the inclusion of Florence + the Machine on the song "Florida!!!" the album's eighth track and possibly most upbeat tune. Not only does Florence Welch sing on the track, but she co-wrote the song with Swift and played drums, piano and percussion on the recording. The two singers are mutual admirers of each other and have both worked with producer Jack Antonoff.
While "Florida!!!" is Florence + the Machine's latest release, Welch is also going back to the future to celebrate her debut album, Lungs, with a special performance at the BBC Proms classical music festival Sept. 11 at London's famed Royal Albert Hall. The performance, dubbed "Symphony of Lungs," will feature Welch performing the album in its entirety, backed by Grammy-winning arranger/conductor Jules Buckley and his Orchestra.
The performance will air live on BBC Radio 3 and will be recorded for future airing on BBC Radio 1, BBC TWO and the BBC iPlayer.
"This album was such a patchwork of a period of time," Welch said in a statement. "Of my messy teenage years and early twenties. I had no idea what I was doing or where it would go and a lot of the songs are simply an exhalation of joy. But that's really where the sound of Florence + the Machine was born. So to have it still be so present in people's hearts 15 years later, and to be invited to play through it orchestrally at the BBC Proms is such an honor."
Lungs will celebrate its 15th anniversary in July. The album, featuring the hit "The Dog Days Are Over," topped the U.K. album chart and went on to win British Album of the Year honors at the Brit Awards and was certified six times platinum in the U.K. In the U.S., the album has been certified double platinum for sales of 2 million copies.
