Show Review: Flume

At only 21 years, Sydney-based producer Harley Streten, otherwise known as Flume, has amassed quite the following—enough to play to a sold-out and excitable crowd at the Echoplex last week.  For the duration of his hour-long set, the beat smith who donned a shirt emblazoned with a giant LV logo, kept attendees consistently grooving to his intricately crafted tracks. At every direction, arms were flailing, bodies were convulsing, and as far as the eye could see, numerous girls atop of someone else’s shoulders had their fists pumping towards the sky—a definite sign that a) the roof was on fire and b) a good time was had by the masses. 

The music that Flume played, which came straight off his self-titled debut that dropped earlier this year, is already a no-brainer for a fun electronic show. His tracks, which often infuse hip-hop and R&B elements along with the synth-y quality that occupied video games of a bygone era, are all easy to listen to. Unfortunately, all these songs that I have been listening to on repeat for months, all the ones that I love, being amplified in almost the exact order of the album, did not automatically translate to a live show I could rave about. What Streten makes up for as a talented producer, he lacks at being a DJ that could mix and re-create a set with same energy that his recordings ooze. I really wanted to be blown away by his performance, but the outcome just fell a little short for me. Regardless, the show still felt like an over-packed dance party, which really is the best kind.

Opening for Flume were emerging British DJ Dauwd, and Parisian beat maker Para One, whose set that featured everything from mid 00’s techno to a little Ginuwine, made the Echoplex resemble more like what I would imagine a rave in Ibiza to be like, which seemed a little out of place for the venue. This one mediocre experience will definitely not deter from attending a future Flume show. Hopefully next time, Streten will incorporate a little more live mixing to his set and hopefully next time, this Candy will not forget her arm kandi. Thanks to IHEARTCOMIX for hooking me up with the tickets!

- Candice Aman, Live Show Director and member of TEEN GRRL SQUAD