FORTNIGHT IN FLORIDA

Hello, we’re ‘Fortnight In Florida’, a down-tempo synth band from London, UK.

Let us take you back to a dull rainy Tuesday night. An unloved drum kit in tatters. A crackling PA fighting random power cuts and a sticky floor ruled by heckles from a coked-up city banker.

We were part of the usual mish-mash line-up of bands unrelated in any way, in either style or genre. The type of gig where you are often asked to sell tickets at overinflated prices with an unfair cut returned to you if you meet the unrealistic thresholds set by an uninterested and ineffectual so-called ‘promoter’.

The picture is set for another gig on the grim and neglected world of London's underfunded underground music scene. 

Stepping on stage we had to ask ourselves for the 100th time. Why are we doing this again? 

Then Gallop begins to count us in. 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4….

A solid and shuffling drum beat starts to crescendo into the intro of ‘I Can’t Wait Forever’ and the reality around us begins to melt away as we’re taken to another place far from the city bankers and sticky floors of this dank basement club. And for the next 30 minutes, we can be ourselves, not who others expect us to be.

Or so we thought…

At this stage, we had grown a small but loyal following within the music scene. Many of whom had turned up to see us play tonight. But there was a thick grey cloud slowly suffocating the ambience of the room.

It was the dominance of a progressively dishevelled city banker on the dance floor. His overwhelming presence discouraged anyone else from getting closer to the stage. His red-glazed eyes locked and flitted between each of us, until eventually he began to boo and heckle throughout our set, gradually increasing in his intensity.

The initial distraction and frustration of having to deal with this negatively draining situation quickly turned into a sad reminder of what can happen to any of us if we lose our spark for life. He was a lost and bruised soul, detached from his dreams and projecting his anguish onto others and tonight we were his victims. 

For us that gig was an awakening experience, a moment to restructure. It started a period of exploration with both our sound and setup. To make us more portable and versatile. We ditched the laptops and endless tangling cables. And began putting on our own shows that were curated and had lineups of people we admired and cared about. 

The name ‘Fortnight In Florida’ is actually about wanting to escape that every day we all endure. It’s being transported to pastel Miami sunsets, dancing on sandy beaches and wearing colourful shirts whilst sipping cocktails. It’s a moment away from reality. Like that first sense of uninhibited freedom, you get standing on your hotel balcony on a hard-earned break. To us, the image of Florida is the antithesis of the concrete-covered city we live in. 

Creating and playing music together is a release. It’s a mask we can put on for a small departure from the struggles of that day, week or year. Our music isn’t heavy and it’s somewhere we come for a bit of dance & play. It's a joyous privilege to create music and connect with other humans. And it’s a privilege that we don't take for granted and connecting with our fans is something we greatly enjoy.

Music is more than just escapism for us, it’s an opportunity for an adventure. An ability to create lasting connections with people beyond just our city and reach people around the world. It’s another step in the right direction. It felt like the closing of act 1 as we now enter into our unwritten act 2.

We look forward to writing the next one with you...

Fortnight In Florida

Simon, Emu and Gallop