Florence Welch Praises Jay-Z and Kanye West’s ‘Watch the Throne’

Florence + the Machine frontwoman Florence Welch is poised to release one of the most hotly anticipated albums of the year with her sophomore effort, 'Ceremonials,' on Nov. 8. But while critics are lining up to praise her new music, what's Welch packing on her iPod?

According to a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, she can't get enough of Jay-Z and Kanye West's smash hit collaboration 'Watch the Throne.' 

"I'm a huge Jay-Z and Kanye fan, and there's a song on it called 'Lift Off' that has Beyoncé on it, and it's pretty amazing," said Welch. "While we were on tour I was running around San Francisco — I like to go running outdoors in new places because you can explore the city -- and that song was playing as I was running up the hills of San Fran through Chinatown. It was amazing, seeing the trams, and suddenly you can see the sea and the bridges. It was just a really amazing moment."

Although she says she "went through a real grunge phase" when she was growing up, she listens to "high-octane stuff," like Beyoncé's 'Countdown,' on her runs. But that doesn't mean fans should expect similar sounds from the new Florence + the Machine album: Welch says she was listening to "a real mix of this tribal electronic stuff and soul" while recording 'Ceremonials,' and claims those sounds were a heavy influence on the album.