Interview — Flume
A Modern Play
The way Flume stages his live shows breaks with all the usual clichés about electronic music. We met the Australian artist in the morning after his performance in Berlin, talking about his show style, the meaning of home, and the simple things in life.
8. Dezember 2019 — MYP N° 27 »Heimat« — Interview & Text: Jonas Meyer, Photography: Steven Lüdtke
“Sitting in KFC carpark by myself in trackies. Life is good”—that’s the short but expressive caption to the oldest photo that can be found on the official Instagram account of electronic music artist Harley Edward Streten, better known as Flume. This very photo shows a box full of junk food, held on Harley’s thighs, which stretch under the steering wheel of a car. On the left side of the picture you can see his hand grabbing a can of lemon soda. And indeed, looking at that scene, the caption to the photo couldn’t be more appropriate: Life is good.
This culinary still life was posted on Instagram on July 4, 2012, almost exactly four months before the day that would finally put Harley aka Flume in the international limelight. On November 9, 2012 (the young Australian had just turned 21) his self-titled debut studio album, “Flume,” was released, topping the ARIA Albums Chart shortly thereafter and reaching double-platinum accreditation in Australia. What followed was a meteoric rise. The talented musician started remixing songs from such artists as Lorde, Sam Smith, Arcade Fire, Hermitude, and Disclosure, and it was not long before you could hear his catchy tunes all over the world. In May 2016 he released his second record, “Skin,” that won the “Best Dance/Electronic Album” category at the 2017 Grammy Awards. The success just didn’t want to stop. And it lasts until today.
Fast forward to October 30, 2019. With a cup of tea and some delicious pastries, we sit with Harley in the Berlin Hotel de Rome, one of the most luxurious hotels in the city. The night before, he played a concert at the Tempodrom hall—sold out, of course. Besides a couple of well-known songs, he presented tracks from his new album entitled “Hi This Is Flume (Mixtape),” which he had already published in March.
Thinking about artists of the electronic music genre, one is inclined to assume that their shows always run according to the same pattern: A musician (most often male) stands behind a desk of turntables, plays a little on the equipment and smashes his fists in the air in staccato, grinning happily all the time. For accentuating that event, there’s lots of pyrotechnics, glitter, and laser lights. A standard recipe for every electronic music show, one might think.
For almost every show, that is. If you visit a Flume gig for the very first time, you will be pleasantly surprised. and maybe a bit confused at the beginning. Here the artist is not standing behind a desk—because there simply is none. He plays the whole stage, and plays is the right word, because Harley acts more like the main actor in a modern play. It may be that, being in the audience, you don’t always understand what’s really going on. But it absolutely doesn’t matter, because you always find yourself very well entertained.
The sentiment appears to be shared. At least as far as the recent performance in the Tempodrom was concerned, there were happy faces all around—a mood that seems to have been directly transferred to Harley, sitting here in the hotel now, having tea and pastries. Life is good.
»I’m very grateful to be in the position I am.«
Jonas:
Harley, when I see the huge amount of people following you on social media, when I see all these young people coming to your show, hugging and kissing each other while listening to your music like they did last night, it seems that you’re hitting the nerve of an entire generation. Are you sometimes surprised—or even overwhelmed—by your own success and the impact you have?
Harley:
It’s all a little surreal, honestly. It’s just been growing and growing, and I guess I’m just kind of hanging on, seeing what happens, riding it out. I think I’m really lucky and fortunate. And I’m very grateful to be in the position I am—because it’s still a lot of fun.
Jonas:
Talking about that right now, you seem like you can’t really believe what happened over the last few years…
Harley:
Yeah, because it’s just been a wild and crazy ride.
»I have way more fun testing the limit than just doing a safe show.«
Jonas:
Speaking of a wild and crazy ride, your last night’s show seemed to be exactly like that. To me—who was witnessing one of your shows for the very first time—it seemed more like a modern theater play than a concert. What is the biggest challenge for you to present electronic music live on stage?
Harley (sighs):
Look, I myself go to a lot of electronic shows and it always seems to be someone standing in the middle of the stage all the time and doing stuff that no one even understands. You know, twiddling nobs, moving sliders, and so on. I just got bored by that and thought: Why not make it more interesting? What can I do to avoid being in the same spot for the whole show? Maybe I could play a little from here, then from over there, maybe I could do some things to take it away from the classic DJ show and turn it into something different, trying to give it some drama. And honestly, it’s been really enjoyable to just kind of test what I can do in terms of what people like and how they respond. I have way more fun testing that limit than just doing a safe show.
Jonas:
Can it go wrong sometimes?
Harley (laughs):
Yeah, absolutely! But that’s cool because there are infinite possibilities how the show can develop, and it’s still growing.
»I want to do the opposite of what people expect.«
Jonas:
Talking with your assistant Harry about last night’s show a couple of minutes ago, he said you guys “like it weird” and that you use to say, “Make it weirder!” when you’re planning your shows. What kind of weirdness are you looking for?
Harley:
If I personally went to a concert, I would want to see something different. I wouldn’t like seeing an artist who is so protected standing behind a big booth. That’s the reason why I thought, in my case, it could be much more interesting for the audience to see the full length of me—which makes me more vulnerable, by the way. I try to make it more personal and less like me as a little dot on a big rise-up. I want to do the opposite of what people expect. I think a lot of artists in my position are building huge spaceships with their shows and everyone tries to build an even bigger thing next time. In my opinion that’s like a big dick-swinging contest, that’s something that made me go crazy. At some point I asked: Why don’t we just not play that game? And then I started just running around on stage, doing all sorts of stuff and trying to tell a story. That’s different and definitely weird, but it’s going well so far.
»The thing I miss most is experiencing things for the first time.«
Jonas:
In your new song, “Pushing Back,” there are the following lyrics: “Sometimes I dream about going back, keeping all the things I left behind.” Did you personally ever feel that way? Did you ever feel the desire of going back?
Harley:
All the time! The thing I miss most is experiencing things for the first time—with all the joy, the excitement and the rush that come with that. And the older I get, the more I miss that. That’s the reason why I try to recreate that feeling, for example, when I’m traveling by myself. Or when I’m writing. When I want to experience something for the very first time, I need to put myself in situations that are not so comfortable. And that’s especially inspiring, to be honest.
»At home, I have a van with a bed in the back. That’s my happy place.«
Jonas:
The oldest post I found on your official Instagram channel is a photo showing you sitting in the car holding a soda and junk food in your hands. Caption: “Sitting in KFC carpark by myself in trackies. Life is good.” Have these precious moments become rare in your life? Or do you still treat yourself with this kind of “luxury” from time to time?
Harley:
Rare? This? Believe me, I make sure to have time to do that. When I go back home, I’m living the simple life. Not as complex as this (letting his eyes wander through the luxurious hotel lobby). At home, I have a van with a bed in the back. I bring my surfboards and drive up and down the coast. That’s my happy place.
»I had been working as a waiter at a Hard Rock Cafe, and I hated it.«
Jonas:
The photo I’ve talked about was posted in July 2012, which means four months before you released your very first album. What memories come to your mind when you think back to that time?
Harley:
That was a very exciting time. A few months before, I had been working as a waiter at a Hard Rock Cafe, and I hated it. It was around the time when I created “Sleepless” and a few other tracks sitting on my computer. I linked up with the Future Classic record company, they made an EP out of my tracks, and when it came out, I was able to quit my job.
»I think about going home most days.«
Jonas:
It seems that, by now, you’ve seen nearly every corner of the world. Do you ever feel homesick?
Harley:
I think about going home most days, I definitely think about my simple life in Australia. The surfboards, my van. So, I would say a little bit homesick. But I also find exciting what’s going on right now, I love this situation.
Jonas:
When you’re traveling a lot and you can’t be at home, have you created—over time—a different personal understanding of the word home?
Harley:
Yes, I feel like I have a few homes now: in the States, in Australia, but also having my dog with me. I’m relatively young, so I’m gonna do this now because I have time to live the simple life later on. Right now, I just want to seize the opportunity and see as much of the world as possible.
»It’s the simple things in life.«
Jonas:
In a few days, you’re going to celebrate your birthday. What do you wish for?
Harley:
Oh, geez! What date is it today?
Jonas:
30th October. Tomorrow is Halloween.
Harley:
We’re going to play in Amsterdam on my birthday. I think I’m just gonna get a massive joint there to relax (laughs). We’ll see.
Jonas:
There are the words “true beauty” written on your shirt. What does true beauty mean to you?
Harley:
It’s the simple things in life. Having this hot tea right here and right now, for example, this is true beauty. Or Percy, my dog. This guy right here (Harley presents the background photo of his smartphone). He’s with a friend right now, but I miss him a lot. But I have to be honest, I don’t even know. I just picked the shirt somewhere.
