So I’ve got to preface my review; going to see Flume on a Wednesday night, at the 9:30 Club, was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made in a while. Not only did he kill it, he showed me that a show can be transformed into ways that can overwhelm the mind — aural and visual. Now I’m not going to say I loved every second of it, there were parts of the set I wasn’t totally with, mainly the excessively deep minimal bass that went on for two or three song tangents. But hey, there are a lot of people who love that sound, and he always ended up bringing me back to the reason why I love him: innovative, driving dance music with basslines that will make you melt.
I can’t deny it, I peaked early. He started the show with my favorite track of his, Sleepless, and I jammed as hard as I could. The visuals, the sound, the crowd, it was an absurd mix of sweat, passion and bass. His downtempo electronica is raucous combination of clear vocals, or 90’s soul/hip hop samples, on tripped-out 90 bpm.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/66816167″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
His Wikipedia page says he is “an Australian electronic music instrumentalist, producer and DJ†but really his unique productions and his ability to remix make him stand out above the rest. What’s even freakier is that he was born on November 5, 1991, making him 22 years old. He’s so good, he sold out two shows in two nights at 9:30. And he definitely showed DC why.
Let’s get back to the show.
He dropped his version of Lorde’s “Tennis Court†and finished with his remix of Disclosure’s “You & Me†(Which is one helluva catchy song to end on). But for me, his original songs were what really stuck. I hadn’t seen a crowd get into something so chilled out when he played “Insane.†This track just shocks your system, the literal vibrations that resound within your very chest. It’s deep too, the lyrics consist of Moon Holiday telling you that “the only risk is that you’ll go insane.†What’s sanity, anyways?
“Holdin On†which features Freddie Gibbs was awesome as well, the audience was bouncing.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/113279711″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
Oh, and the visuals! What an array of images and emotion. I was so taken aback by the story going on behind him, it was really impressive. From canyons filled with lightning striking as the bass drops to colorful lights and an explosion of confetti, there was even a scene of Super Nintendo’s F-Zero being played to one of his songs — that actually made my night.
In conclusion, Flume was great and he’s definitely one to know in the future, although I didn’t understand much when he spoke in the mic…
Cheers, DC, Flume come back soon!
Photos courtesy of Brian CC Photography. Go here for more pictures: https://briancc.prosite.com/222765/3955200/galleries/flume-930