Hear Florence and the Machine Cover Jack U’s ‘Where Are U Now’
Florence and the Machine picked a surprising song to cover during a recent BBC session: “Where Are Ü Now,” a tune made by Jack Ü producers Skrillex and Diplo and sung by Justin Bieber (via Pitchfork). Where the original is an echoey, Auto-Tuned synthesized pop song, Florence Welch and her bandmates opt for more organic sounds. The singer tackles the verses from her gut, allowing them to swell up with emotion before the Machine replicates the song’s moody textures on guitar (and with a little synth), making Welch’s belting even more dramatic.
The performance, which begins at around 23:20 in the video below, was part of the band’s BBC Radio 1 “Live Lounge” set. They also sang “Ship to Wreck,” “Sweet Nothing,” “What Kind of Man,” “Queen of Peace” and “Delilah,” while they were in the studio.
The group recently made a 10-minute short film for “Queen of Peace” and “Long & Lost,” two songs off their recent How Big How Blue How Beautiful album. Filmmaker Vincent Haycock, who directed the clips for How Big songs “St. Jude,” “Ship to Wreck” and “What Kind of Man,” among others, helmed the clip. The group has tagged each video as a chapter in what it’s dubbed the “Odyssey.”
“Where Are Ü Now” is not the only interesting cover Florence and the Machine has performed lately. Earlier this year, the group took on Foo Fighters’ “Times Like These” at Glastonbury as a nod to the band, since Dave Grohl’s broken leg prevented them from playing the festival.