I answer a distressed call from Florence Welch’s representation saying they were having a hard time tracking down the young English singer. Ten minutes later, I hear on Triple J that she had been found and had been watching a show about chameleons. Initial impression: I like a girl who puts David Attenborough before work.

A minute after she is off-air, the frontwoman for Florence and The Machine’s gentle, lightly accented voice is heard down the phone line. “I’m so excited about coming to Australia! I’m going to have to wear a lot of sunscreen,” the 23-year-old Welch laughs.

Heading to our shores in the height of summer for Laneway Festival, Welch is already busy planning her sun-safe ways. “I’m super pale, have really fair skin and I burn really easily, so I might even sport a parasol,” she adds gleefully.

The release of Florence and The Machine’s debut album earlier this year saw the South Londoner soar up to second spot in the British charts, kept out of the coveted spot by the flood of nostalgia albums bought after the untimely death of the King Of Pop. “I guess I never got into music to get into the charts, so who knew what was going to happen with the release,” Welch said. “I was shocked to be in there at all, let alone to be next to Michael Jackson.”

Writing her first song as an 11-year-old – “rubbish flowery crap about fake break-ups” – Welch’s musical and lyrical ability was shaped over the next 12 years, playing in South London punk bands and attending Arts College.

“It really took me a long time to find my sound,” she says. “I went through a lot of different styles, but I found it in blues and soul. When I wrote Between Two Lungs, I played around with the instrumentation, that’s when I thought: – œThis is it, this is my sound.’ After that I wrote Kiss With A Fist and Dog Days, and I knew that I had found it.”

The culmination of her efforts is presented in the neat little 13-track LP, Lungs. An emotive rollercoaster of an album from the opening strums of Dog Days Are Over to the climactic close of You’ve Got the Love, Lungs drags you through the eccentric indie-soul world of Florence and The Machine.

“I’m sure some people would have preferred me to make the album less complicated,” Welch says with lightness in her voice. “But I really wanted it to be epic. I’ve always imagined a big sound since recording the first demo. And I put myself under a lot of pressure to get that sound,” she adds.

Describing her music as “emotional literature,” Welch says she uses song writing to create a metaphor for her opinions and emotions rather than working from direct personal experience.

Kiss With A Fist, a track often mistaken as an ode to domestic violence with its lyrics – œyou hit me once/I hit you back/You gave a kick/I gave a smack’, uses Welch’s metaphor to instead talk about the all encompassing power of love. “I wrote the song about passion and lust and how destructive it is,” Welch insists. “How it can bring around the destruction of each other. The song is about the energy of love. When I’m writing I like to feel overwhelmed, and I want my music to feel as though something is filling you up.”

Moving away from her original material, Welch is about to release her cover of The Source and Candi Staton’s You’ve Got The Love, as her next single. Welch claims the song elicits the kinds of emotions she one day wants to be able to express in her own song writing. “The song is sad but euphoric,” Welch explains. “It expresses love without it being romantic or cheesy. I’ve always loved to sing it and it’s been a soundtrack to all the euphoric moments I’ve had at clubs or festivals over the years.”

The Florence and the Machine version of the song has also been brilliantly remixed by fellow Laneway attendees The XX. But a remix is one thing, what if a Florence and the Machine song were belted out by an awkward 16-year-old on Idol or X-Factor?

“It would be amazing! I would love to be that mainstream enough to be on those shows,” Welch insists. “I, like the rest of my family, are obsessed with them. Though I find it quite hard to watch people be so vulnerable. Those talent shows are emotional public humiliation. I find them really hard to watch…but I still do,” she laughs.

Confessing the stage is a “vulnerable place to be,” Welch’s performance at Glastonbury 2009 was even more remarkable. Putting on one of the most energetic and high flying performances of the festival, Welch – sipping on Brown Brothers Cider – was out in the crowd during Dog Days Are Over and was seen climbing up scaffolding in four-inch heels during Kiss With A Fist.

“I think during my set I might have had the most Dutch courage on the planet,” Welch laughs. “At times during Glastonbury I would just stop and think, – œFuckin’ hell, this is actually happening.’ There are no words to describe it.”

Reeling from a year of festivals, debut album success and jet-setting (apparently Iceland was her favourite tour destination so far), Welch has already started working on her follow up record. “I had an idea with the first album which will continue on to the next,” she hints. “All I can say is its going to have a weirder soul influence.”

But for now, it’s time for a break before she takes her Machine out on a string of European shows and Australian festival dates. In her spare time, what is she going to do?

“Obviously I’ll be watching David Attenborough,” she says, laughing.

Florence & The Machine headlines St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival 2010, presented by FasterLouder. TICKETS GO ON SALE TODAY – FRIDAY 30 NOVEMBER.

Friday 29 January – Brisbane
Saturday 30 January – Melbourne
Sunday 31 January – Sydney
Friday 5 February – Adelaide
Saturday 6 February – Perth