Interview with FLUME

With an album dropping at the end of this year and tons of live performances lined up, young Sydney producer FLUME has a pretty full schedule for 2012. He’s just been added to the bill for Parklife 2012, visit parklife.com.au for tickets and details.

A few weeks ago FLUME played a sold-out Vivid Live event for his label Future Classics at the Sydney Opera House – an impressive venue. He’s keen to keep his music separate from everyday life but, has to admits that the shows are good fun.

“I had a gig in Melbourne the other week and I felt like I could tick something off my bucket list- a girl at the front got her tits out, and that was the first time that’s happened to me…we had crowd surfing on the Onra remix and  ‘Sleepless’, yeah it got pretty crazy!” (I’ve got to say-  ‘The Anthem’ Remix is very difficult not to bop to.)

But what’s it like performing at a packed music festival? FLUME had his first set in the outdoors earlier this year at Field Day and apart from being weirded out by being able to see his crowd (not usually possible in a dark club) he said that he loves the atmosphere. “I see it like a free festival ticket, so as soon as I’m done I just go out and party with everyone.” And he still fits in time to watch other acts. At Parklife FLUME hopes to catch Hermitude (he was one of their support acts this year) and Passion Pit. 

His music has been described as “floating through a moonlit sky with a violin playing goat.” I’d say it’s more of a chilled out take on indie electronica. No need to pull out any intense dance moves, FLUME himself recommends a prime listening time: “In the middle of the day, sunny day, while driving. I think it works in a car.” So maybe on the way to Splendour? “Yeah, totally, do it!”

FLUME tries to change things up between gigs, “Every show I do I’ll sit down before it and add a whole bunch of new stuff… I guess what my show was three months ago is quite different to the show now.” His feature track would have to be ‘Sleepless ft. Anthony for Cleopatra’ – in fact Rip Curl picked it up late least year and used it on an international ad campaign, which he was pretty stoked about. And some more exciting news: “I think we’re looking at doing a ‘Sleepless’ music video, even though it’s been out for a while, we’re doing a re-release soon on record with a bunch of remixes, and possibly on video.” If it’s anything like his new release “I Met You” with Anna Lunoe – super psychedelic and hippy – it should be awesome.

As far as purchasing his music goes, FLUME doesn’t care too much about illegal downloads. “It’s totally cool, I mean a lot of music I wouldn’t have discovered unless I had illegally downloaded it.” He’s got most of his tracks up on a Soundcloud and Future Classic sometimes gives out free tracks as well as releasing his work on vinyl. “Personally I don’t really mind if you download my stuff for free, I mean it’s really cool if you pay for it.” FLUME says that the music market can’t make money from just selling the music anymore; it’s more about the gigs and upping exposure.  “People talk about it more if there’s a free track, people are more likely to blog it.”

He is a solo act…but why not a personal name? Why the pseudonym? “I think it’s kind of boring really. I think it’s good to have an alias and I wouldn’t really want everyone knowing my real name as well.” Most of all, he likes to keep professional and personal separated. “You’ve got your life and then you’ve got your music. I mean it’s good fun at the shows but in everyday life, yeah, I think I’d like to keep it as is.” We’re cool with that. And we were also promised that if FLUME gets super-famous there will be no album covers with his face on them à la David Guetta.

What’s coming up for FLUME? “I’m kind of focusing on gig performances now but the album is like 95% done…I’ve got like 20 something tracks and we’re going to narrow it down to maybe 15 or 16 and release it at the end of the year. And yeah, there’s heaps of touring from now to then!”

With such an early start we had to ask FLUME, what would he be doing otherwise?

“I reckon I’d be tearing my hair out wondering what I wanted to do. Probably studying a Bachelor of Arts not knowing what I wanted to do whilst working at a newsagency. That would suck. I would have no idea what I wanted to do.”

“I don’t take it for granted either, I’m pretty happy that I’ve actually got something that I’m good at that I like doing. Just riding it out!”

Published on Purple Sneakers.