INTERVIEW: AUSSIE ELECTRONIC BEATSMITH, FLUME

From the land down under comes a young musician whose penchant for production has its roots in a cereal box, where Flume, aka Harley Streten, found a CD with production software on it and as they say, the rest is history. We speak to the electronic beatsmith about his roots in Australia, his influences, and the rumors about a Lorde collaboration.

LA CANVAS: I’m curious about your first show of the tour, in SF. How was it?

FLUME: It was really good actually. It was a great show. It’s funny ’cause the audience is still growing here, whereas in Australia it’s huge. It’s nice. [Here] it feels like I’m playing to an Australian crowd nine months ago – when it was only the music heads who came out to the show. So yeah, it was a lot of fun.

LAC: How would you compare the US audience to the Australian audience? Are they rowdier?

FLUME: The Australian audiences are rowdier, first of all cause they are Australian (laughs). It is definitely rowdier. The thing is, it’s a lot of younger people – it’s bigger there. I’m breaking into the mainstream there. I get played next to Taylor Swift – it’s crazy. There’s heaps of younger kids you know, ’cause they all know about it.

LAC: I read in some older interviews that FlyLo was one of your biggest influences. Now that you are here stateside, and you’re going to be here for awhile, have you made contact with him at all? Or any efforts towards some kind of collaboration?

FLUME: That would be cool, but I mean, I saw him – he played before me actually at a festival in Belgium. He seems cool, but I never really hung out with him.

LAC: Yeah, I’ve met him before too. He’s kind of intimidating. He’s tall!

FLUME: He’s huuugeee. He’s massive. He’s like the first buff electronic musician I’ve met (laughs) they are usually all really skinny.

LAC: I’ve read a lot about your influences, specifically about Australian acts that have been influential for you.

FLUME: There’s Ta-ku. I mean it’s usually the guys that I write with. Oh, and Hermitude from Sydney – more in the hip-hop realm. I am [also] really excited about Chet Faker.

LAC: Yeah! He’s getting really big here. I hear him all the time.

FLUME: Yeah, he might have just got to America. He’s doing a tour here. We’re both touring at the same time. We’re meeting up in New York and he’s going to sing, it should be fun.

LAC: Have you been to New York yet?

FLUME: Yeah, I come there a lot. I went to New York last time. But, yeah, it should be good. We do heaps of stuff together. We got an EP together – which will be coming out soon.

LAC: Speaking of collaborations, I read somewhere, that you might be doing something with Lorde?

FLUME: (laughs) It’s funny, cause like, I had an interview with a New Zealand press [person] and she said “Oh, we interviewed Lorde earlier this week, and she had a question for you: ‘when are we gonna do a track together?’ ” I was like, “oh, no way.” I just tweeted her, that’s literally all it was – that’s all that happened and it’s just like all these blogs and shit are like “Lorde track, Lorde track,” but it’s not even confirmed or anything. But I have sent her some stuff. We’ll see what happens. She’s a very busy girl at the moment. Her life is kind of flipped upside down. I can’t even imagine at 16 years old – so young. But, yeah, I hope it works out.

LAC: Would she be singing over your track or will you be remixing?

FLUME: You know, it might not even happen. We just have to see how it’ll go.

LAC: It seems like your music has a really sunny disposition–how might you see your sound evolving?

FLUME: I want to keep it really nice. Flume is like my pretty project, where I do heaps of melodies and stuff – I can definitely see it becoming more experimental, writing longer tracks and things, or like progressive stuff. I would like to experiment with more structures. I’ve been getting into using strings and stuff.

LAC: You think that has to do with you being into trance growing up?

FLUME: Hm, maybe. I’ve just always been attracted to the sound of strings. I’ve always been into that symphony, orchestra sound. For some reason guitars never really struck a chord with me (laughs) but uhm, I don’t know I’ve always been stuck to orchestra sounds.

LAC: I spoke to Anna Lunoe a couple weeks ago and interviewed her as well, she had mentioned you as one of the Australian artists to look out for. Who are some acts out of Sydney or Australia that you think we should keep an eye out for?

FLUME: L D R U he has some really nice tracks. Also, the dude called Wave Racer.

LAC: Are you doing anything with Charles Murdoch?

FLUME: Oh yeah, Charles Murdoch. Another one – Jagwar Ma

LAC: Ta-ku, a fellow Australian artist, has been doing really well here in the US. He’s on American labels and has done a lot of shows – do you have anything in the works out here with labels, or ever plan on moving out here?

FLUME: Well I’m at Mom + Pop in the US, they do bands like Wavves and Foals, so everything pretty much goes through them.
I can’t see myself leaving home anytime soon. I surf a lot, that’s my sport and I just got a place on the beach – it’s super baller on Manly Beach. I can’t hack not living near the beach. It’s so beautiful, it’s such a nice place, but maybe one day.

LAC: I was wondering, what is the sample in “More Than You Thought”?

FLUME: I believe it was on this CD that I bought, it was like super expensive…

LAC: Did you know what it was or did you just pick it up?

FLUME: It was made in like 1997 or 98 or something. It was super expensive, like $200, which is a huge amount. But back in the day, samples used to cost heaps.  It was this dude who went to Africa and recorded all these tribes and half the money of the cd would go back to these tribes. It was a big purchase because it was really early for us. We were trying to make African tech house and we were like “African samples!” and we came across this thing and it was the best ever – we got so much use out of that cd. It was a combination of that sample, and I do some background vocals too – so thats how it kind of worked.

LAC: What would your dream gig be right now?

FLUME: I’d like to go to Japan and play Fuji Rock. I’ve always wanted to go to Japan.

LAC: Lastly, what’s next?

FLUME: Well, we got an EP coming out with Chet Faker. I’m excited about that.

LAC: When is that slated to come out?

FLUME: Uhm that’s coming out…I don’t know (laughs) but I know in the next few months. I’m also supporting Disclosure in the UK coming up. Two more shows in New Zealand – so more touring. And then bunking down and writing some more tunes – writing a second record really.

LAC: Thanks so much for speaking with us!

FLUME: Sure, cheers to that.