The Floe are: Sarah Springett – lead vocals
David Booth – guitar & vocals
Simon Edgoose – drums & programming
Liz Townsend – keys & vocals
With a name evoking images of frozen landscapes and endless blue skies, Essex-based quartet The Floe have produced a debut album of stark beauty.
Within the group there is an alchemy that makes their sound both distinctive and compelling. Brimming with tales of love, heartache, longing and hope, The Floe's album ‘No Looking Back’ (released 1st Feb 2010) is built on a solid foundation of delicate melodies, soaring vocals & passionate lyrics that melt the heart.
At the heart of The Floe is guitarist & songwriter David Booth. A native of the Peak District, David moved to Essex in 1998 to further his solo career. He soon secured himself a deal with a small record label and recorded an album. However, David's days as a solo artist proved to be short-lived after meeting a female vocalist who was destined to become his songwriting soul mate…
Sarah Springett had heard some of David’s solo material via a friend, and liked what she’d heard so much she tracked David down at one of his gigs so she could personally hand him a copy of the demo she'd just recorded. Impressed by both Sarah's demo and her "make-it-happen" attitude, David arranged for the pair to meet up and, when they did, it was clear that they shared a genuine musical chemistry. Any reservations David had about shelving his solo career were instantly dispelled.
Deciding to form a band together, Sarah and David recruited drummer Simon Edgoose, whose production expertise has since enabled The Floe to fully realise the potential of their songs in the studio, developing the band's expansive sound during the recording process.
Completing The Floe's line-up is multi-instrumentalist Liz Townsend. David and Sarah knew about Liz's incredible voice and multi-instrumental talents, having crossed paths many times on their local music scene in Essex. It became apparent that Liz was the missing piece of the jigsaw. After inviting Liz to join full-time, The Floe was officially born.
The Floe then spent a year honing their songs on the UK’s live circuit, building up a sizeable following in the process. During this time, plans were being made to record their debut album at Pig Pen Studio, near Chelmsford, Essex, with a view to releasing it as soon as possible via their own record label, Nettle Records.
However, just as the band was due to start recording the album Sarah’s long-term boyfriend was taken seriously ill. Needing a kidney transplant to save his life, Sarah donated one of her own kidneys to Paul in November 2008. The operation was a complete success.
This life changing experience gave the whole band an incredible opportunity to reflect and re-focus, and they have emerged stronger, more appreciative and more determined than ever to make music which matters on every level. With this new impetus, the band threw themselves into writing, recording and producing what would become ‘No Looking Back’. With Grammy Award-winning mixer Simon Gogerly also on-board, everything finally fell into place.
In November 2009, almost a year to the day since Sarah & Paul’s operations, Sarah launched a personal campaign aiming to get as many people as possible to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register. Sarah's campaign, called 'I Hope You Know' (www.ihopeyouknow.co.uk) was backed by the release of The Floe’s debut single, also called ‘I Hope You Know’, with all profits donated to The Transplant Trust. The launch of I Hope You Know gained substantial national coverage on ITV News, Channel 4 News, Channel 5 News and The Mail on Sunday, amongst many others.