FLORENTIA

Rising electronic superstar FLORENTIA came into the world with house music running through her veins. Born and raised in the UK, the London/Essex-based musician became enamored by electronic music during her teenage years and discovered her passion for the scene on the dancefloor. She manifested her dreams thanks to a natural boldness and inability to take no for an answer. Surrounded by an all-encompassing musical environment her entire life, she was bound to make it in the music world one way or another. Her devotion to the house music scene began in the early 2010s when artists like Calvin Harris and Disclosure were on the rise. She was intrigued by the distinctive notes in “White Noise'' by Disclosure. As she listened to it on repeat, her curiosity for sound design and production was piqued. Eventually, her love for the underground emerged. “When I was in my early teens, I started really listening to more underground house music, specifically all the tracks released on Defected Records,” she explains. “That was a record label that really introduced me to that whole underground scene. My love for the scene kind of just took off from there really.” Being from a dance music hub like London gave FLORENTIA all the tools to kick-start her music career, and she did everything in her power to make it happen despite a few setbacks along the way. “Funny enough I actually wanted to be an athlete when I was growing up, but you know, life happens. I ended up on crutches, so sports were obviously out of the picture and I had to decide what I wanted to do full-time. I’ve always loved music, and I said to myself that if I wanted to pursue anything it was going to be something that I truly loved in life and something I thoroughly enjoy. And music was it for me.” Sports were officially off the table, so she applied to the Music & Sound Engineering program at London's acclaimed Point Blank Music School. While she didn’t get into the program the first time around. Yet, she was determined to make music a profession and applied to Point Blank again. She became one of the school’s most highly-recognized graduates. As part of the program, she participated in the International Music Summit in Ibiza, one of the foremost dance music industry insider events in the world. During her time there, she built connections distinctively with Defected Records. Once she was back home in London, opportunity after opportunity just came knocking on her door. Everything in her life seemed to be coming full circle. Once lockdown restrictions were revoked, she became a mainstay at venues throughout the city. She didn’t think things could get better. But just when she was content with where she stood in the electronic music community and felt nothing but gratitude for how far she’d gotten, something even greater came along. Suddenly, everything began to feel even more like a dream. Shortly after stepping her way into London’s legendary DJ circuit, FLORENTIA’S music career exploded thanks to a significant call. Renowned Spanish party brand elrow’s music director was on the line with the news that she was the newest elrow resident DJ. The call came on her birthday, a fitting gift for someone so determined to succeed. When she decided to apply for the Elrow DJ Residency contest that the event brand unveiled during lockdown, she didn’t think anything of it. She figured it wouldn’t hurt to shoot her shot. But after consistently being the top contestant after several rounds, she still couldn’t fathom that she made it to the final round. And a few weeks later she was being asked to travel across Europe performing on the intricate stages amidst the absurdity and confetti blasts. Since her residency victory was announced, she’s performed at the first Elrow in Barcelona post-lockdown, Chinese Row Year in Bulgaria, Elrow Town Madrid, and El Bowsque Encantado in France. She’s scheduled to make her grand Amnesia and Ushuaïa Ibiza debut in 2022. Elrow aside, she has a plethora of other noteworthy accomplishments coming her way shortly. She recently announced her first-ever performance ANTS Ibizaperformance and her Dream Valley Festival debut on the Foreverland stage alongside prominent names like Claptone, Idris Elba, Basement Jaxx, Roger Sanchez, and more. “These shows and festival bookings I’m doing now are literally the things I’ve always dreamt about in my head and it’s so weird seeing them all manifest in front of my eyes. It's crazy really. I would love to play every festival I’ve been to as a raver first. It’s so nice being able to attend them as a fan simply for the love of the music and then be part of the other side of it as you evolve as an artist. It’s a really rewarding feeling.”