It has been a while since we last heard new original music from Flume. Well, the wait is over! The acclaimed artist/producer, also known as Harley Streten, premiered the video for his new song Some Minds this morning via Pitchfork. The song features Miike Snow's Andrew Wyatt and perfectly encapsulates Flume's progression as an artist, or as Pitchfork refers to him as, Australia's most accomplished producer.
The video, directed by Clemens Habicht (Tame Impala, Bloc Party, The Presets) and choreographed by Australian Ballet member Callum Linnane, is the first ever music video filmed inside the iconic Sydney Opera House. Habicht, Linnane, and Streten craft a bewitching, fluid, and entrancing atmosphere that is both eery and beautiful.
Flume had this to say about the song:
"I started the instrumental at my apartment in Sydney - first working with the drums and arrangement, then built chords around it, did some vocal bits as sketches before meeting up with Andrew Wyatt from Miike Snow in his studio in New York City. Andrew was writing things in his own head, singing ideas into his phone, I played the song over and over then after about an hour he jumped up and said 'stop' and launched into singing this amazing chorus melody. We recoded it then fleshed out the lyrics of the chorus and verses. I finished it off with the crazy ending further down the line, a few months later.
On the first album I had only worked remotely with singers sending files back and forth over the internet. I still enjoy working remotely but have also done a bunch of sessions with people in person. Sometimes its quite odd, even uncomfortable as you have never met, writing music is a very personal process for me. The session for "Some Minds" with Andrew was one of the most natural I've done. He is a seasoned pro and it really opened me up to this way of working.
I am pretty hard on myself when it comes to being satisfied with new material, I am always trying to push myself. 'Some Minds' is a song, not a track which is what I was trying to achieve with this one."
Flume had this to say about the video:
"The last four months has been the longest I've had at home in Sydney without being on the road touring and, while I love travelling, it's nice to come home to such a beautiful place like Sydney. It was humbling to be able to make something in a building so iconic. Being inside the Sydney Opera House filming overnight with no one in the building, it was quite eerie, the place has so much character. The director Clemens [Habicht] really nailed what I wanted to achieve in getting a balance between the real and synthetic, he has a great eye... It's our love letter to Sydney."
Watch Some Minds below:
Some Minds is out tomorrow on all digital services via Mom + Pop Music.
The track will make its live debut this weekend at Future Classic’s tenth anniversary FCX shows as part of Vivid Live Festival, a highlight in Australia’s cultural calendar. The two shows, which sold out in 30 minutes, are the first ticketed events ever in the Sydney Opera House’s Northern Forecourt and will celebrate the label’s anniversary with performances from Flight Facilities, Seekae, George Maple, Hayden James, Touch Sensitive, Wave Racer and Charles Murdoch with Flume headlining each night.
Flume will be on tour all summer long, with stops at Governors Ball, Bestival, Bonnaroo, Electric Daisy, and more. See below for a full itinerary.
Flume's North American Tour Dates:
06/06 – New York, NY – Governors Ball Music Festival
06/06 – 06/07 – Houston, TX – Free Press Summer Fest
06/10 – Washington, DC – Echostage
06/11 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis
06/12 – Toronto, ON – Bestival
06/13 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music Festival
06/16 – Miami, FL – Grand Central
06/17 – Miami, FL – Grand Central
06/18 – Phoenix, AZ – Pressroom
06/19 – 06/21 – Las Vegas, NV – Electric Daisy Carnival
06/20 – Denver, CO – Westword Music Showcase
06/23 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
06/24 – Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Hall
06/25 – Rothbury, MI – Electric Forest Festival
08/22 – 08/23 – Los Angeles, CA - FYF Fest