High Beams unites HWLS and Mura Masa collaborator slowthai above sawing synth. Across the mixtape's 17 tracks, Flume fleshes out the many glitchy sounds he was once recognisable for, warping and distorting twinkling melodies and layering them with crisp, but punchy bass kicks and disjointed snare. In reality, this may have been true - and it worked - but Hi This Is Flume is mixtape that highlights Flume's knack for electronic experimentation and doing stuff away from the curve, while also drawing a light to those moments a little more left-field on Skin (like the crippling synth walls of Wall Fuck). With Skin's pop-girl features and bright, radio-friendly hooks, the album got a little bit of push back from old fans and electronic gatekeepers who dismissed the record as too 'saturated' and 'safe', claiming that the musician had watered down his authentic sound in the aim of finding a larger and broader fanbase. Despite Skin's mainstream appeal, Flume has always been an artist bent on experimentation Here are three things to take away from the mixtape's release:ġ.

The 17-track, 40-minute mixtape is a one-off release by the musician that gives insight into his work since Skin and what to expect from him as he continues to transform in the lead-up to his long-teased third album, enlisting collaborators new and old for a twisted, audio-visual experience worked on alongside good friend and visual collaborator Jonathan Zawada. He soundtracked Greenpeace's drive to protect the Great Barrier Reef, teamed up with AlunaGeorge, enlisted names including Golden Features for a remix accompaniment to his second album, before waving goodbye to the Skin era with the KUČKA-featuring Hyperreal.Īnnounced yesterday, Hi This Is Flume welcomes Flume's next path. In 2017, he released a pair of 'companion EPs', placing a heavier emphasis on the club-centric side of his pop songwriting by introducing names including The Preatures' Isabella Manfredi, Moses Sumney and Pusha T over sprawling productions that ranged from cinematic to dystopian. The years since Skin have been somewhat busy. It still placed his experimentation and left-field approach to dance music in the front-and-centre, but did so in a way that capitalised on his growth in the years since his debut, mixing moments more nostalgic of his early work with ones that felt like a pop songwriter finding his footing in a traditionally 'boring', Max Martin-dominated game. Vince Staples, KUČKA and SOPHIE) and pop hooks over moments a little more tender and accessible ( Never Be Like You feat. While Flume was an album that played with experimentation and the 'unknown', his second - 2016's Skin - was one that built on this and commercialised it, placing indie rappers over clunky productions ( Lose It feat. He's an artist not just in front of the curve, but defining it instead his sounds, rhythms and styles often mimicked - perhaps copied - on both a small and large scale in the years following Flume's initial forays. His break-out, self-titled debut album pushed forwards an entire sub-genre of electronica that united Dilla's hip-hop percussion with swelling synth and glitching percussion, aiding other pioneers including Rustie and TNGHT's Hudson Mohawke to bring cult-favourite sound blossoming only in the depths of Soundcloud into mainstream appeal, something we're still feeling the waves from through acts including The Chainsmokers. Since his early remixes and break-out single Sleepless back in 2011, the Australian electronic musician has been at the forefront of electronic growth and experimentation.

It's hard to find an artist quite like Flume.

Hi this is flume review