Florence and the Machine
United Kingdom, 2007–now
English band led by Florence Welch, formed in 2007. Their arrangements use harp, choir and percussion behind a high, full-voiced vocal style.
MusicRoots documents 7 artists who influenced Florence and the Machine and 0 artists Florence and the Machine influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.
Who influenced Florence and the Machine?
- Tom Waits — Welch built her voice by chasing male singers rather than the women she gets compared to: 'I always wanted to sound like a man, like Jeff Buckley or Tom Waits.'
- Jeff Buckley — Named in the same breath as Waits as the voice she wanted — the male upper register behind her own.
- Nick Cave — Cave is both a stated influence and one of the male performers Welch has modelled her stagecraft on, alongside Iggy Pop and Mick Jagger.
- Otis Redding — The soul end of the male voices Welch names as her models — the full-throated delivery under the art-pop arrangements.
- Jefferson Airplane — Grace Slick is the singer Welch calls her hero — the female rock voice she does claim, as against the Kate Bush comparison she does not.
- Siouxsie and the Banshees — Siouxsie Sioux sits among Welch's declared icons — the theatrical, gothic pole of her presentation.
- Fleetwood Mac — Melodic debt to the Tusk-era records, and a stage persona that openly recalls Stevie Nicks.