Harley Edward Streten, more easily recognized by his stage name Flume, has exploded onto the music scene following the submission of his Sleepless EP to a competition hosted by Future Classic in 2011.His remixes of Lorde and Arcade Fire alongside collaboration with Chet Faker have easily deemed him a leader of the exodus of the new generation of artists originating from Australia. In spite of overwhelming success at a young age, Streten has remained humble, attributing success to the individuals who have helped build the phenomenon that is Flume. At Australia’s Electronic Music Conference earlier this month, Streten and the team break down the dynamics of their operations and how carefully calculated and strategic planning has allowed for the Flume brand to achieve international recognition and success. Luckily for us who couldn’t attend the conference, there is now a video of it on YouTube.
The project began with four individuals as Chad Gilard head of Artist and Repertoire explains, “all hands were on deck”, however the closely-knit team has doubled in size since. Gilard expands on the importance of keeping Flume’s original promoters “in [their] corner” despite growing fame. Whether playing for a crowd of 300 at a small venue or 10,000 at the Hordern Pavilion in Australia, those same promoters are used and Gilard makes a point to highlight the significance of this.
Streten and the team explain the vitality of creating stories and the importance of those stories carrying themselves. Approaching Coachella in 2014, Flume’s remix of Lorde’s Tennis Court had only played at a handful of selective venues. Fans were told that it was an Ella remix in order to keep the release furtive. Tennis Court made its debut at Coachella. Nathan McLay of Future Classic continues to place emphasis of creating moments like this for the audience but more importantly, including them in such moments. Debuting Lorde’s ‘Tennis Court’ remix at Coachella allowed for Flume to create a special moment in time for fans. Stories like ‘Tennis Court’ are imperative to Streten’s success and to Flume’s campaign. Gilard explains that it was “positioned for the story to pop post Coachella”. Tickets for Flume’s summer tour strategically went on sale just weeks following Coachella, snowballing into massive success for the team. Streten concludes thanking his team and assuring fans that “the music really is just one small part of the puzzle”