The free gift wasn’t a secret decoder ring, but a CD with rudimentary production software. Streten got his start making music when he was 10 or 11, when his dad bought him a box of cereal. In the process, he helped pioneer a whole new dimension of chill. In the early 2010s, just as main-stage EDM was pushing tempos and decibels into the red, Flume-aka Harley Streten, born in 1991-went in the opposite direction, delving into hip-hop beats and airy synths. True.Australia is a long way from electronic music’s principal hubs, but don’t tell Flume: When he was just 20 years old, the Sydney producer leveraged his easygoing surfer attitude into single-handedly changing the course of electronic music’s evolution. “Amanda’s vocal has some kind of otherworldly quality to it which I love.” True, Flume. “This was one of the first songs I wrote for the record,” Flume writes. The song is intense, especially with MNDR’s screaming, desperado vocals. The chord changes are not altogether complex, but the young master is able to vary up the textures, percussion, and instrumentation enough that you’re never bored. It’s another signature, singularly Flume track. “Like Water,” the second to last track on Skin, seems to brood. This time it was different, I had Vince’s vocal first, and wrote the music around it.” That’s not a very orthodox method, but, listening to this track, you’d never guess that’s how it came about. Flume explains the process: “Usually, I start the beat first, and then the rapper gets involved. The album’s other big single, “ Smoke & Retribution,” which features Vince Staples, is another hit. On Skin, though, all rapper features are smooth and natural. At times, to be frank, it just feels awkward. Either T.Shirt or a younger Harvey was unable to make it work the song is quality, but at times you can see the seams. The song, “ On Top,” turned out to be arguably the weakest on the collection. On Flume, his first album, there was just one rapper: T.Shirt. Given his success, it makes sense that he was able to cull vocalists and rappers as he wished: this album features Beck, Little Dragon, Vince Staples, Kai, Tove Lo, and AlunaGeorge - among others.Īll that said, here are the hits - though, on an album so versatile and yet cohesive, it’s hard to pick out just a few. And this is just what Flume was able to do with Skin. You don’t just want to make the same delicious lasagna, you want to add some spices and side dishes. When your first album is a chart-topper, the overwhelming goal with your second is to keep your first album’s audience happy while you impress them further - and also as you draw in an even bigger audience. He struck a previously unheard chord, one that combined elements of EDM and bonafide instrumental hip-hop accordingly, he attracted a variety of ears. Deservedly, he became his label Future Classic’s poster boy, and drew Australian electronic music out of obscurity. His first, self-titled album - which he released when he was just 21 years old - was nearly flawless. Harvey Edward Streten confirms that he is here to stay. With Skin, the 24-year-old Australian producer managed to repurpose and surpass the catchiest elements of his first album. He completed the second-album challenge: to produce a work that doesn’t just reproduce the best features of his debut, but transcends it. Flume just released his second studio album, Skin, and, with it, achieves a feat that most artists cannot.
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