Florence Welch: Letter from LA

From Nowness comes a Short Film Exploring Life on the Road With Florence and the Machine's English Songbird.

Tabitha Denholm's "Florence: Letter from LA" is a sunny meditation on pop stardom, premiering exclusively on NOWNESS today.

It captures Welch during her fall 2010 American tour for her debut album Lungs (which earned her a Best New Artist Grammy nomination). We see the flame-haired British songstress swimming in pools, driving on highways and marveling at the surreal nature of fame and the places it has brought her. "I wanted to record this unique time in Florence's career because I knew it would be a one-off," explains Denholm, who co-directed several of Welch’s early music videos with Tom Beard, notably for the single “Rabbit Heart.”

This new short film is one in a three-part series collectively titled Letters From America, which also trails Welch to New Orleans and New York. "Florence has this energetic whirlwind side, and then this incredibly quiet introspective side," Denholm reveals.

Welch says she decompressed from touring by taking in the country on foot: “I saw so much beautiful American stuff—the bewitching buildings of New Orleans, a crazy Halloween in Boston. If I wasn't playing a gig or flying somewhere, I was just walking; constantly lost, constantly overwhelmed by the beauty of what I was seeing." 

Click through to Nowness to watch Florence Welch: Letter from LA.