Arts

High Fidelity Review: “Hi This Is Flume” by Flume

We are Cameron Freeman and Quinn Robinson, and we listen to a lot of music. This column is here to share only the truth about which albums and EPs are worth your time. Each week, we pick one that’s caught our eye—regardless of genre or popularity—and run through our thoughts.

Australian wonky electronic music producer Flume’s latest mixtape, “Hi This is Flume,” builds on his previous projects without becoming repetitive, delivering a strong and cohesive sonic range over its 38-minute, 17 song tracklist. The mixtape develops a large and captivating tone throughout and continues to push electronic music boundaries, building on and collaborating with avant-garde artists including SOPHIE, JPEGMAFIA, and HWLS.

Originally popularized as a future base producer after a string of massive pop hits in 2013, Flume has progressively become more experimental with his music, aiming to remain palatable but straying away from his roots. “Hi This Is Flume” is arguably Flume’s most successful blend of wonky, glitch hop, EDM, and rap yet. Despite the diversity between tracks like the emotionally-charged remix of SOPHIE’s “Is It Cold In The Water?” and the experimental trap banger “How To Build A Relationship,” the mixtape rarely feels disjointed. The diversity of styles has the opposite effect — each track piques listeners’ interest in a new way and sets up the coming songs. Seamless transitions between each of the tracks allows the album to flow between styles without jolting listeners, further bolstering the listening experience and the tightness of the project.

The features on “Hi This Is Flume” similarly serve to diversify the album without detracting from its cohesion. Though the features on Flume’s latest mixtape take less of a role than on previous albums and LPs like “Skin,” they feel less like appeals to popularity and more like genuine additions to the music. With “Hi This Is Flume” taking the form of a mixtape rather than an album, Flume appears to have more leeway to take risks, and does so successfully throughout the project, both with features and his own production.

By all metrics, “Hi This Is Flume” succeeds as a mixtape, spurring the field of electronic music with its seamless integration of multiple styles and diverse range of collaborators. Flume’s latest project is a must-listen for fans and newcomers alike, provided a willingness to take risks with the experimental.

SCORE: 9/10