Wedged firmly at the back of the standing area filled with pretty young things, the Flume hubbub was buzzing. An audience amped by a performance from supporting act Chet Faker, arms flailed, bodies were hoisted on shoulders and throats ran hoarse when Flume graced the stage.
In a simple button-up with hair slicked to the side, Harry Streton embodied all things classic, not your usual electronic champion. Only familiar with a handful of his tracks, throughout the show he showed me not only a superior understanding of the genre, but a skill in mastering multiple sounds, textures and genres within exceptionally structured songs. He has an ear for where to guide an audience through his music, and he executes it perfectly. Not falling into the electronic trap of monotony, his songs have an idiosyncratic style, but all are unique in their own respect.
Warming up the crowd with a synth fuelled track filled with cascading African chants, Flume didn’t rely only on his mixing tables, but also an electronic drum kit. Opening up with an organic tribal sound, he shifted into industrial, dubstep influenced beats with More Than You Thought. At the introductory notes of Sleepless the crowd soared, and by ‘soared’ I mean quite literally people were thrown in the air. Some were on shoulders and some failed crowd surfing attempts. Oh to be 18, limber and equipped with moves of a Taiwanese gymnast again.
Holdin’ On was the crowd favourite. The floor reverberated and the bass was pulsing. After a few more of his hits including On Top he thanked Melbourne and feigned parting ways with the crowd. His awkward demeanour when giving the audience a fake goodbye was endearing. In fact, his whole stage presence is comforting. Here’s a kid who makes fantastic music, but is still surprised at his success. He showed no signs of cockiness and that was refreshing. Soon he was back for an encore, which featured Chet Faker. After Left Alone they played a song that is yet to be released. Flume’s overall strength is his ability to draw from multiple genres and to be able to construct strong musical structures that focus on climax.
BY TAMARA VOGL
LOVED: The bass.
HATED: That the thought of crowdsurfing made my lower back ache.
DRANK: Water.
