Florence Welch has confirmed that she is working on third Florence + The Machine album.
Speaking last night at The Other Ball in central London, a Mark Ronson-hosted fundraiser for the Arms Around The Child charity, the singer told NME that she would not be performing any new material on the evening “because it’s not ready yet!” When asked if there was new material she smiled and confirmed: “Yeah. Yeah there is.”
“It feels really good, actually,” she said of being back onstage again. “It feels amazing – there’s an amazing choir up there and a harp set up. [It feels like] ‘Oh yeah, this! This is what I do – I’m not hiding in a studio 24 hours a day. It feels good.”
Welch performed two songs at the event, which took place at the One Mayfair venue, in addition to short sets from Lily Allen, Rudimental and Blood Orange. There was also a charity auction to raise money for the organisation, which helps children in the developing world.
“You’re basically getting a Glastonbury line-up in your living room,” Mark Ronson told the crowd, who had paid anywhere between £1,000 to £20,000 for a ticket.
As well as booking the artists for the evening, Ronson joined the show’s backing band, playing guitar during Lily Allen, Blood Orange and Florence’s sets. Allen played her 2006 single ‘LDN’ as well as a cover of The Zombies’ ‘Time Of The Season’. “Why do you look so nervous?” she said at one point to Ronson while he played guitar. “It’s all good.”
Florence’s short set consisted of ‘Shake It Out’ and ‘Dog Days Are Over’. “I can’t say what a pleasure and honour it is to be tonight for this amazing cause,” she said after the first song. Blood Orange’s set consisted of ‘You’re Not Good Enough’ and ‘Bad Girls’, and Rudimental were joined by vocalist Anne-Marie to play ‘Free’ and ‘Not Giving In’.
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The evening finished with a performance from Grammy Award–winning Beninoise singer Angélique Kidjo, who was honoured during the evening by the charity’s director Leigh Blake for her work. During her set Kidjo started a stage invasion which saw members of the crowd getting onstage to dance, including Florence Welch.