Hello! It’s been so hectic over the last four or five weeks that I haven’t had the chance to sit down and write to you all with an update - sorry it's been a while - but here it is now! So, I wanna tell you all what I’ve been up to since 'Experiments' came out last month. Actually while I’m on the subject, THANK YOU again to everyone who bought the EP and got it charting all over the world! For a few days, Experiments went to No. 111 in the American iTunes album chart, No 7 in Spain, No 44 in France and No 41 in the UK chart, which was totally unexpected, and definitely one of the most exciting times for me since I started releasing music a year ago.
My last update was from 'Oslo Live' festival in Norway. I met loads of lovely people, did a day of interviews, ate a VERY expensive pizza, and played a great gig. It was a little quiet at first, I guess cause we were on quite early in the day, but we had a really good crowd by the end of the set.
After surviving our Ryan Air flight home from Oslo, I had a few days back in the studio (and went to see Take That at Wembley!), then it was on to Pohoda Festival in Slovakia! I think I need to get myself a world map… half the time I don’t even know where I am in the world and it most likely will catch me out one day, hmm. SO, Pohoda is a really big festival in Slovakia, and is renowned for it’s line up of artists from all over the world. Stage time wasn’t until 10pm, so we spent the day wandering around the festival and checking out the other stages in the boiling HOT sun. I wasn’t really sure what to expect of the gig, we we’re playing in quite a big tent (1500 capacity) but we were also on at the same time as Pulp and Imogen Heap. It got to 9.30 and I was just finishing my makeup when Annie ran in shouting 'Come look at this!!!' The tent was rammed, and all 1500 people were shouting 'Florrie, Florrie', which was quite a surreal experience… and I suddenly got quite nervous! The gig though was AMAZING. The best to date, and it’s such a different feeling playing to a crowd that have listened to all your songs, sing along to every word, and have come just to see you. Don’t get me wrong, all the gigs I’ve done have been a valuable experience and I’ve learnt so much about performing on stage, but this was a different level, and totally unexpected, which made it even better! Thank you Slovakia!
I was back in the studio for another couple of days after Pohoda and then I was off again, this time to Shanghai to play a gig for Miu Miu! They were holding a HUGE fashion show in the third tallest building in the world…it looked incredible! I was pretty over excited, AND I got to wear a snazzy Miu Miu outfit, with an amazing pair of yellow sparkly heels. We played two half an hour sets on the 92nd floor and boogied the night away afterwards… which made it a little tricky getting up the next morning for my flight to Tokyo, oops. BTW they have these toilets that are like little robot people and, erm, well, do everything!
SO. Tokyo. I’d never been out there before, and the first thing I noticed was a) how ridiculously hot it was and b) IT'S TRUE, Japanese people are among the most friendly, helpful and courteous people in aaall the world! Only there for 2 days but I managed to squeeze in a couple of meetings with some people about putting out my tracks over there, which is pretty exciting. On the sightseeing front, I spent most of my time in the fashion districts, Harajuku and Shibuya. Can't wait to go again soon!
Once back in the UK I had a few days in the studio, then off again to the South of France to play a gig in Arles with Bryan Ferry in an old roman amphitheatre! The gig itself was a bit strange… I guess because Bryan Ferry attracts a (slightly!) older audience,they were quite ‘sensible’ but seemed to enjoy it in the end.
Oh! A few other things DEFINITELY worth mentioning…
- Perez Hilton posted about 'What you doing this for' and my project in general a week or so ago, which was incredibly exciting, GO AMERICA!! ;)
- There are now over 15,500 of you on my Facebook page (wow!)
- 'She Always Gets What She Wants' was used during the BBC coverage of Wimbledon AND 'Experimenting with Rugs' was used on the BBC Formula 1 coverage too!
However, the best bit of news came yesterday, when I was told that in the 5 weeks since the release of the 'Experiments EP' 16,407 Florrie tracks were downloaded worldwide on iTunes. Again, I can’t thank all of you enough for backing me and what I’m trying to do. We are (very) slowly but surely TAKING OVER THE WORLD!! Mwahahaha! (evil laugh)
So, before I go, I’ve just done the Magic Loungeabout in Skipton, and I've still got gigs coming up (Underage Festival in London this Friday, then Austria, Berlin, Hamburg, Madrid, Bilbau, Barcelona and Dublin!)
And I’m gonna be playing a warm up free gig in Tunbridge Wells at The Forum on Monday 8th August. Hope some of you can make it down :) More news soon!
BIG chunks of love, Florrie x