Flume

The debut album from Australian electronic musician/producer Flume, aka Harley Streten, Flume is an atmospheric, experimental mix of electronic dance-oriented sounds that touches upon aspects of R&B, indie rock, and pop. Working with a bevy of artists including George Maple, Moon Holiday, Jezzabell Doran, Chet Faker, and New York rapper T-Shirt, Flume crafts tracks that are more like soundscapes than actual songs. More often than not, bits of melodies and lyrics pop up here and there, but tracks never quite gel into a hook in any traditional sense (although a few, like "Bring You Down," have a Dido-like trip-hop/dubstep quality). Which isn't to say these aren't catchy recordings. On the contrary, Flume has a knack for layering beats, instruments, samples, and vocals in a way that grabs your attention and creates an evocative, somewhat hypnotic mood. While not necessarily dancefloor-oriented, Flume's debut certainly fits into a post-2000s club vibe and DJ culture that borrows liberally, and often with inspired aplomb, from cut-and-paste hip-hop, avant-garde electronic composition, ambient pop, and contemporary R&B. ~ Matt Collar