We caught up with English pop singer-songwriter, drummer and model Florence Ellen Arnold, better known as Florrie. Describing her music as uplifting, and anthemic. The artist makes a specific note about the inclusion of big drums and sing-along choruses within her lyrics. She explains how music has always been a really big part of her life, referencing her parents musical talents.
“My dad, back in the 70s, was in a kind of spoof comedy band and toured universities and that’s how he made a living for about 10 years. So he was very encouraging. I started out as a drummer. I played drums since I was seven, and I always knew that I wanted to do something in music, and I started a band at school, and then we got signed to sort of a development deal with a man called Guy Chambers, who famously worked at Robbie Williams”.
Ahead of the release of her new album “The Lost Ones”, Florrie explains how the album was written over a period of time [5 years] where the artist felt very low. Pointing to music being the essence of her identity, she goes onto highlight that the songs that chosen for the album kind of all came from this period of time where she had been dropped by her label. Leaving the artist to feel that she had let a lot of people down, and especially her team, who had worked so hard on producing the album.
She explains that bringing “The Lost Ones” album full circle was very therapeutic. Whilst the subject matter of some of the songs is a little darker; Florrie makes a point of noting that she always aims to uplift people with the chords and the production. For the artist, it is the most honest she has ever been on a record. Keen to make sure she was telling her story and her truth. “It’s an uplifting record, and that’s what I wanted to make. I wanted to give people hope who are maybe going through a similar thing or just a difficult time feeling very lost and like they don’t really have a purpose”.
Supporting Girls Aloud
Florrie is unable to contain her excitement at the prospect of supporting Girls Aloud this year. For the artist, it feels like the completion of a full circle. Most notable due to the fact that when she was session drumming, the artist supported their record called The Promise which was the first big track that Florrie ever played on. Florrie recalls how it went to number one and won a Brit Award, acting as the catalyst from which to build her music career.
The artist explains that she has worked with the same group of people for a really long time, and feels she gets the best out of herself writing wise, when she feels really comfortable with people. “I’ve known Brian Higgins, my co producer, for over 10 years. We worked on all my early music. We still work together now. I think there’s a nice part about working with someone new, where you sort of challenge yourself a little bit, push yourself. And we do definitely collaborate with people, but my core team I’ve known for a really long time, and I think they’re incredible”.
“I guess for me, one of the biggest inspirations is and was my dad. He really encouraged me with drumming. We used to do little jam sessions. He plays guitar. He’s a very positive person. My parents got divorced when I was quite young, six or seven and I actually lived with my dad for quite a long time, and we would go out to these sorts of pubs and bars and watch through the window at night, you know, the live music. I think he just has a lot of positivity and is very talented, and he kind of always made me believe that I could have a career in music”.
Mental Health
Florrie opens up about experiencing a period of time where she felt very low. She recalls someone asking her the other day if it was depression,. She is very open about never diagnosing it, and as a rule is not someone to place labels on emotions. This being said, the artist explains that she has been through periods of anxiety, periods of feeling very low. For the artist, she loves to be educated. With a fondness for reading psychology books. She explains how she loves to understand the brain, the science, chemicals, and imbalances. Finding that this arms her with a purpose; finding in doing so it personally makes the artist feel better to understand her physiology and her brain; and to try and come up with steps to get out of a cycle.
For those looking to aspire to reach their dreams, Florrie points to staying true to yourself. “I felt like I was pulled in lots of different directions early in my career, and I felt like other people were right, just because they had a high powered job or they were at a label. It’s good to listen to people, but I’d say always go with your gut and keep creating, keep putting music out. That’s the great thing about social media, you never really know what’s going to connect with people and who’s going to find you. I would say, do what you love, keep doing it, put it up online, and you will eventually find your audience”.
She recalls how when early in her career, when she was signed to a label. Florrie had huge expectations, of herself, of her music but they were really unhealthy. Putting a lot of pressure on herself and feeling very responsible for a large team of people, and when that all went wrong, that was definitely a challenge for the artist to overcome. She recalls retreating to her shell. Openly admitting to being very awkward. She remembers being very shy around people, and if people ask her about music, the artist found she was unable to talk about it without feeling a lot of shame.
Currently Florrie is heading back into the studio to work on a new song. Florrie feels with the album coming, she has had so much positivity in her life over the last couple of months, and feedback about the music and the album. Ultimately, Florrie wants to help people and uplift them and brighten their day with her music. “So I’m going to keep on going”.
