Imperfection is perfection.
Flume
I think Sydney has so much natural beauty; it's just a beautiful city.
There's a lot of creativity in the industry, but I don't necessarily think that the most creative DJs or producers are always the biggest ones. I think it would be nice to see more of an open culture to different music. I think that's happening. With Spotify, I think people are discovering a lot of artists they might not discover otherwise.
With Spotify, I think people are discovering a lot of artists they might not discover otherwise.
Everyone can write their melodies and chords and pianos and guitars, but what hasn't been discovered yet are tones and textures, and that's very exciting. Probably the No. 1 most important thing in my music is not to sound like anyone else.
I could do another tour, make a record that's very similar, do similar venues. Or I could make a different record, do different venues, and grow. It's exciting to take it to new places, but it's never been my intent to be the biggest thing in the world. That's not what my drive is. I want to make what I want to make, and make a living off it.
There was this cereal, and it had a special promotion with a CD inside the box that had a really simple music-making program on it. I got it, and that opened my mind to being able to make music on a computer and seeing all the different layers.
The minute I saw the front page of the 'Daily Telegraph' - me with my arm around the latest 'X-Factor' contestant - I realised I'd gone into a new realm.
I did a few DJ gigs at empty clubs, sort of as a warm-up set before Flume was a thing. I did one when I got big enough, and I had five friends come down, and they were the only ones dancing. That was one of my earliest ones. I was super nervous.
I find that if I interact more, the crowd gets way more into the music. We also have a full live show happening, and I have lighting crew that travels around with me. We've got this Infinity Prism thing, which is lots of fun. It's an optical illusion device that we carry around.
I was nine, and I was shopping in a supermarket with my dad. There was this cereal, and it had a special promotion with a CD inside the box that had a really simple music-making program on it. I got it, and that opened my mind to being able to make music on a computer and seeing all the different layers.
The thing I find frustrating about rock music is, how different can you make an acoustic drum kit sound, an electric guitar and vocals?
I'm not thinking about the next record really yet. I kind of want to do a bunch of stuff with Jonathan Zawada, the guy who did the album art. I'd like to do some crazy art installations and design some weird synthesizers and work with other people and make some fun stuff for a bit. Maybe tap into virtual reality stuff or maybe write another record.
Sydney's beautiful, the weather's great, and the air's fresh and clean, but it doesn't have the scene and the amount of likeminded people. At home, things are very comfortable, but I feel like putting myself out there a bit.
The thing I find frustrating about rock music is, how different can you make an acoustic drum kit sound, an electric guitar and vocals? It's very stuck, whereas with electronic music, new sounds are being created.
I used to never feel pressure to be creative; it's always just been a fun thing. And then suddenly, it's my job, and people are asking, 'Where's the record?'
I definitely wanted the second record to be a much more grandiose thing. I wanted to push myself and make a big statement.
'Sleepless' was the first thing that came out and really gained a lot of traction online.
Every kid has a laptop; everyone can make music, so in order to stand out, I think it's important to find that sonic identity, I think my sonic identity - and mine is finding these weird sounds that may not necessarily sound that musical, and make them sound musical.
I struggled with the pressure of having the successful record after the first record. Second album syndrome. I'm living proof; it's very real. It was like a psychological battle to be creative. I used to never feel pressure to be creative; it's always just been a fun thing. And then suddenly it's my job, and people are asking, 'Where's the record?'
To me, skin is alien and kind of weird; it weirds me out. It's strange, but it's also really intimate and personal; it's living, organic. That's how I want the music to sound; I want it to feel alien and strange, but also like it's got a heartbeat, like it's got a soul, like it's not made by a robot.
I think at first the Flume project really started out as an online thing. I used Facebook and SoundCloud, and I think we got lucky because it felt like a bit of a golden age of those social media platforms. So I managed to create quite a solid fan base online.
Along with 'Free,' where I sing quite a bit, there are additional songs on 'Skin' where you can hear my voice in the background - lots of 'oohs' and 'aahs.' But more often than not, I use my vocals to prompt other rappers and singers to feel calmer, better, bolder.
A lot of electronic music out there feels cold. I want to incorporate a human element.
I never expected to make a lot of money from music.
I wanna make weird stuff.
I love heavy music. I keep Flume nice and melodic, so I save the angry, testosterone-fueled heavy stuff for What So Not. I think it's a good defining thing for the two projects.
When I heard Flying Lotus, I was like, 'Wow, okay, everything can be off the grid.'
I've never been one to want to be the center of attention and be put up on stages every night. That's just not really my personality. I'm comfortable with it now, but my real passion is being creative.
This life and this job and this position that I'm put in, it forces you to grow up quick. I definitely got dropped in the deep end.
I had this little Bon Iver phase a few years back; 'Flume' was one of my favourite songs.
What it is now is basically I'll sit on my computer; I basically kind of play the computer as an instrument, I guess you could say. I guess I play the Mac.
I feel like I've got a pretty good presence online through Instagram and Facebook. I just keep it simple.
What So Not used to be a lot more dance-y, and now it's becoming a lot more melodic. Flume has always had that melodic thing, but it's starting to become a bit heavier, so it's just difficult to navigate between the two.
Honestly, production when you first start can be difficult to wrap your head around.
Once I'm in a situation where I can not do anything for three years and go off the map, I'll focus more on writing. Right now, I want to just make Flume awesome... and big.
My parents used to play me this album when I couldn't go to sleep. It was called 'Deep Forest.' I think it was a self-titled record. It's actually still one of my favorite albums of all time.
Making sounds that literally no one has ever heard before because the software and the technology's never been there, and pairing that with great songwriting, then that's what's exciting for me. That's what I wanna do.
I'm always really curious about, you know, 'How do you deal with success psychologically?' and all this stuff.
I think I put a lot of special attention towards creating interesting textures and unique sounds. Music essentially boils down to two main elements: rhythm and melody. I feel tones and textures often get overlooked, so I like to take my time finding the right sounds.
I think the thing that L.A. had on Sydney is an awesome music scene, especially for what I do.
Music is a job, but I figured out ways to get my mind into a place where I could be creative. I actually discovered meditation. It enabled me to clear my mind of all the drama and focus on the music.
In the right context, you can make ugly sounds, different sounds feel right at home.
I don't think I can name any names or anything, but this is what I've wanted to do for a long time: to have Flume as my creative outlet and to work on the biggest songs in the world, like pop, and come up with the idea and send it off.
It's quite fun to mess with the human voice. It's quite special in the sense that the voice is the #1 instrument that we can connect with; it doesn't sound too alien. I think that's the key is to find the line between sounding human and sounding robotic. That's an area that I like to explore a lot.
There's a lot of creativity in the industry, but I don't necessarily think that the most creative DJs or producers are always the biggest ones.
I'm just trying to work out how to write music now, because I've never had the opportunity where my number-one priority is writing music. I don't know how my brain works yet.
In the dressing room, we've just made it really Zen: low lighting, lots of candles, and fresh, healthy food.
I'm a huge fan of Flying Lotus. I like The XX's stuff.
I've been having meetings with people, just everywhere in the world, and it's like, 'Hey, really love you to work with me, send me some ideas.' That's the crazy part.
