Florence Sommerville Talks New Single, Her Voice And More

Florence Sommerville, a singer-songwriter from the small village of Orsett in Essex, thrives on modern Country music. Her latest single ‘California’ is out now and she chatted to us about the track, her voice and more:

When did you begin songwriting?

I started writing about the same time as I started performing live, which was at about 12 years old. It’s funny, I recently found one of my first notebooks (I tend to prefer using pen and paper when writing), and it had one of the first songs I ever wrote in it. I cannot tell you how much I cringed reading the lyrics, but that just proves that songwriting is a constant learning curve.

What is your earliest musical memory?

I had to answer this question in one of my assignments when I was at college. My earliest musical memory is my mum waking me up in the morning when I was a child by singing “Good mornin’ Good mornin’” from Singing in the Rain. When I spoke to her about it when I was writing my assignment for college a few years ago, she didn’t even realise it was from Singing in the Rain!

Your single ‘‘(I’ll Be Your) Best Broken Heart’ ‘ is out now. What was the inspiration/story behind the track?

The single was co-written during a trip to Nashville in April 2024, with two amazing writers Shantell Ogden and Corey Lee Barker. The first idea that was drifted around the room was actually this idea, and it was Shantell that came to the session with what is now the title of this track. It was a beautifully formed idea when it was brought to the room, and as a team we expanded on it and ended up at the end of the session with an acoustic worktape which in spirit hasn’t changed too much through the whole process.

Where did you record the song and who produced it?

We recorded this track in two different locations actually. The first studio session was in Swindon at Crescent Studios, where we recorded the rhythm section for the track. We recorded everyone playing at once, which was an amazing experience for me, because it was the first time that I heard the whole band play that track. After that, we finished the recording at Adam Sweet’s studio in Exeter, where we added the lead vocals and other lead instruments. Some of the other instruments were added by each player from their home studios, but most of the track was recorded between these two studios. The producers I had working on this track were just fantastic. I had Alan Cackett (my manager) as an executive producer and Alan West as a co-producer. The two Alan’s were both phenomenal in and out of the studio at finding the right players, making the right decisions and helping develop the track into what it is now.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

There were so many stories from the recording sessions, including the fact that after the last recording in Exeter, it was snowing and I ended up falling over in the ice twice, resulting in me cracking the bottom of my guitar. But the most interesting story (not quite funny) is one of the studio in Exeter itself. The studio sits on land that used to be an insane asylum, and the actual studio building was used as a morgue, and it still has the slab that was used. It’s now got a glass top and is being re-used as a table in the kitchen of the studio. It’s kind of macabre but equally as cool.

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

All of the recording equipment was provided by the amazing studios. I don’t normally request specific equipment for recording, the engineers know a lot more than me when it comes to recording so they choose what microphones and recording equipment sounds the best. I had some great engineers working on this track. Adam Sweet, Ed Truckell and Damon Sawyer were all brilliant and they definitely found the perfect sound for the track.

Who created/designed the single artwork?

The single artwork was created by the amazing Carrie Stay at Clockwork Moggy. They have designed my amazing website, my logo and branding and most of my gig ads. Working with them is fantastic and they are brilliant at what they do. The picture was actually taken while I was on my most recent trip to Nashville, and it just fit perfectly as the single cover, especially after Carrie worked her magic on it.

Which of your tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

My song ‘Cut and Run’ is always the end of my sets because it’s an upbeat, summer feel song, so it’s a perfect happy song. When I’m playing it, I’m soaking up every moment of it because it’s always the last song I play. So even though there are plenty I could choose, I feel the happiest when I am playing this track because I am just living in the moment, and not thinking about the performance, or what comes next in the set etc.
Thinking about this question, I kind of realised that I don’t have too many angry songs, but I think that the angriest song I have written is a track of mine called ‘Molasses’. I don’t tend to play it live a lot, although I love the song, because of this reason. It was a song written for one of my closest friends, who has a very difficult relationship with her dad. I could see everything she was going through, and as a writer just ended up channeling it into a song. I was terrified the first time I played it to her, I thought she wouldn’t like it being the subject of the song, feel hurt, or just not like the song, but thankfully she loved it. As a songwriter herself, she didn’t take it the wrong way, and now I can’t play that song without thinking about how happy it made her. So although it’s my angriest song, it’s got a happy ending.

Out of all of my songs, the title track of the first EP ‘On My Way’ is my most reflective. It was written a fairly long time before it was released, and it was the first song I really wrote about myself. For the first few years that I was writing, I mainly wrote songs about stories that I heard, or things that happened to my friends or family, but this song was the first I truly wrote about myself and how I was feeling. It’s about being a young artist, and learning how to grow and develop as a person and as a songwriter.

Did you co-write the track with anyone?

The single was co-written during a trip to Nashville in April 2024, with two amazing writers Shantell Ogden and Corey Lee Barker. It was the first time I had ever written with more than one other writer in the room, and I was slightly nervous going in as I didn’t know what to expect. But once I’d met Shantell and Corey, I knew we would come up with something special. As far as I know, they write together fairly often, and they just welcomed me into the room and were so gracious in sharing the creativity.

Was it a difficult song to write?

The writing process of this song was amazing. Once we’d decided on this idea, the whole story really ebbed and flowed, and developed into what we have now.

Once I have left the stage, if I have played just one song that has touched or made a difference to one person sitting in the audience, I’ve achieved my goal. What I am to do with every song is to connect with someone, and maybe just show them that they’re not the only person feeling that way. Another thing would be to have left it all on the stage. Everytime that I perform, I want to give it my all.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

A little like when I’m recording, I don’t have any specific needs and wants when it comes to performance microphones. I don’t tend to use too many effects or anything like that, normally just a little reverb, and the only pedal that I normally use is a tuning pedal. More than anything else, my personal guitar is my favoured stage instrument. My acoustic Faith is a special instrument for me, because it was given to me by a very good guitarist friend of mine. He tends to buy more guitars than he needs, so on this particular occasion instead of selling it, he gifted it to me, so it’s a special guitar.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

My hometown is a little village in Essex called Orsett. I have lived there all my life, and my mum actually grew up there too! My grandparents still live in the house she grew up in. If I could describe it in five words, they would be peaceful, rural, quaint, unspoiled and community.

How do you look after your voice?

There are plenty of ways to look after your voice. Number one is to make sure that before any time that you sing, you properly warm your voice up. I actually made myself a recording of certain scales and exercises I use to warm up so that I can warm up anywhere. It’s an oldie but a goodie, hot honey and lemon is always soothing for the voice if you feel a little run down or sore. For at least a few hours before I play a gig, I only drink water, as I feel that anything else gets my voice clogged up. I don’t drink alcohol anyway, so it’s not too difficult for me. My number one (not so secret) weapon is Vocalzone. Vocalzone throat pastilles are perfect for clearing your voice if you feel it’s a little clogged or it’s brilliant at soothing a sore or over worked voice. I promise I’m not sponsored, but I wish I was!

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

One of my favorite novels is “One of us is lying” by Karen M. McManus. With the story’s theme of deception, forbidden relationships and mystery, I think that there’s plenty to write country songs about! And let’s be honest, there’s plenty of country songs about murder.

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

There are so many people who have influenced my music. The first time I realised that I loved country music was when I saw the TV show ‘Nashville’. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, it was a soap drama about the country music scene and business in Nashville, but apart from that it was completely soaked in fantastic country music, written by brilliant songwriters. A lot of what I know about playing guitar came from learning the songs from the soundtrack of this show, and it definitely influenced my music. Another massive inspiration for me has always been Carrie Underwood. The way that her music tells a story is amazing, and as an all round artist and performer, she is just phenomenal. But my biggest recommendation when I’m asked is Ashley McBryde, because both in her songs and in general, she is unapologetically herself. She is a brilliant performer, and just makes raw unfiltered music.

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2025?

Yes I do! For more details or to stay up to date with any more dates, please visit my website: florencesommerville.com

Do you have any future music releases planned for 2025?

I do, this single is only the first of many that I hope to release during the year, leading up to an album sometime in the summer (if all goes according to plan). There are so many songs in this project that I am so excited by, and cannot wait to share with everyone.

What makes Florence Somerville happy and what makes you unhappy?

There are so many things that make me happy. Of course, my amazing family who have supported me through this whole continuing journey. They have been at every gig, every performance (even the dodgy school performances) cheering me on and believing in me. Also, I feel so lucky to be able to do what I love. Writing and performing my music makes me so insanely happy, and I will never take it for granted. As for being unhappy, I’d have to say that my deep rooted and undeniable fear of spiders makes me very, very unhappy. Especially living in the countryside, I cannot tell you the size of some of the insects I’ve found that have wandered in from the fields.