The alias of electronic musician and producer Harley Edward Streten, Flume makes atmospheric dance music inspired by house and U.K. garage. Recruiting collaborators from across genres, he rose up the main-stage ranks with his 2012 debut and his Grammy-winning 2016 sophomore effort, Skin.
Born in Australia, Streten began producing his own music in his early teens. Several years later, he won a competition held by
Future Classic and subsequently signed with the label to release a 2011 EP featuring the track "Sleepless." The following year, Flume delivered his debut self-titled solo album, which featured guest appearances from
Chet Faker, Jezzabell Doran, and
Moon Holiday, among others. In his homeland, it topped the ARIA album chart and went double platinum; in the U.S. it was issued on the
Mom + Pop label. A deluxe edition of the debut followed in November 2013 with cred-enhancing contributions from
Ghostface Killah,
Boldy James,
M.O.P., and
Killer Mike. The same month, he released his and
Faker's collaborative Lockjaw EP and toured the U.S. with
Disclosure. Several ARIA Awards -- including Producer of the Year, Breakthrough Artist, and Best Dance Release -- were handed to him the next month.
Streten spent the next couple of years touring and released the single "Some Minds," a collaboration with
Miike Snow's
Andrew Wyatt, in 2015. His 2016 sophomore set, Skin, featured collaborations with
AlunaGeorge,
Little Dragon,
Vic Mensa, and
Beck. The single "Never Be Like You" featuring Kai was a worldwide hit, along with "Say It" featuring
Tove Lo. Later that year, Flume released the Skin Companion I and Skin Companion II EPs, which included contributions by
Isabella Manfredi and
Pusha T, respectively. Skin also won several awards, most notably the 2016 ARIA Awards for Album of the Year, Best Dance Release, and Best Independent Release, as well as the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album.
He returned in early 2019 with the surprise mixtape Hi This Is Flume. The atmospheric set featured appearances by
HWLS,
slowthai,
JPEGMAFIA, and
SOPHIE. The mixtape also earned Flume his third Grammy nomination, for Best Dance/Electronic Album. Quits, a split EP with
Reo Cragun, appeared in August of that year, followed a month later by the single "Rushing Back," which featured
Vera Blue. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi