I have an issue (one among others) – my pain is that there is a gaping hole where great refined electro artist should be in Oz right now. Maybe I have missed a few, but to me.. there is a distinct lack sincere electro production apart from some performances dusted around the edges of the mainstream. It causes me great sadness (whaaaaa!)
Never fear, Flume is here! Flume’s latest is something quiet refreshing in the landscape of electronic radio tracks. Its soft non-party electronic tones and lo-fi sentiments hark back to Cassius. The production on this self titled is not stupid heavy on the bass and hi end (unless you listen to it with Beats :-p). In fact the production is full of smooth mid tones, which make me want to sip on a red bull and vodka with strangers at 8am on a sunny Sunday. BUT has all the substance (no pun intended) of a late night session at a Robert Del Naja’s place. There is definite soul and intimacy in the tracks that is and beyond the 20 ish years he’s been on earth.
Self titled ‘Flume’, it has slightly European skewed vibe with lazy tempo and rhythms. And production is helped along by interesting feature vocalists such as Chet Faker. was guilty of thinking “all the tempos are similar” and “some production techniques are repeated” upon first listen, but I left it for a bit and returned, and see that it is indeed a valuable piece collection of tracks. There is a certain undiluted idealism that you can feel throughout and it is contagious.
However, it does steer towards ‘easy listening’ or really cool hold music at times. Just when it runs the risk of dipping into mediocrity at around Sleepless, the mojo returns with ‘On Top feat. T.Shirt’. That track is a catchy ditty! Space Cadet, the guest vocals of George Maple in ‘Bring You Down’ reel you back in too.
Although I like this album and it’s definitely my cuppatea, it also has a huge ground swell of support and fanaticism. It has been well received and Flume has been hailed as a saviour of electronic production in Oz music. I’m not qualified to comment on that, but I reckon this if Flume sticks to his idealism, he will go on to further successes. High fives to Flume!
Stop press: Flume is getting more and more press these days. Here is a taste on SXSW news feed SXSW
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