After ten years of stardom, Flume’s Harley Streten ditched LA to return to his native Australia. Danny Turner discovers why

© Zac Bayly

After hitting the big time with pioneering future bass albums such as the self-titled Flume (2012) and Skin (2016), double-platinum selling producer Harley Streten established himself as one of the most successful and celebrated artists in electronic music. However, after a decade at the top, the excesses of fame and non-stop touring left him feeling depressed, lonely and craving normality.

When the pandemic struck, Streten was forced to recalibrate – what had become a social and economic nightmare for most was the 30-year-old producer’s saviour. Relocating from Los Angeles to the Northern Rivers of New South Wales allowed him the time and space to heal. Stripped of his neuroticism and heavily influenced by his new rural surroundings, Streten’s third Flume album, Palaces, is his most honest and inspired to date.

Having moved back to Australia during the pandemic, what provided the impetus for your third Flume album?

“I already had a collection of ideas that started from my studio in LA and travels on tour, but when I got back to Australia I didn’t really know what direction to go in. What I did have is the space, time and clarity to lock in and finish off all of those ideas, and that’s when it all came together. I’d been touring for almost ten years pretty much non-stop with a bit of time off here and there, but it was a crazy whirlwind. From 20, my life kind of went nuts, but Covid put a halt to everything. I needed to slow down and the pandemic gave me that opportunity. For the first time in my adult life I suddenly felt inspired by living life like a normal human being.”

“IT ANNOYS ME THAT THERE’S THIS CONSTANT PRESSURE TO PUT MUSIC OUT THAT HAS A CERTAIN SONG LENGTH OR STRUCTURE THAT WORKS FOR RADIO”

What did that entail?

“Having a nice routine, being able to go surfing or waking up and going down to the local coffee shop and feeling a sense of community was a complete change of lifestyle from what I was used to. I also live in the countryside, so there’s a lot of amazing wildlife here. That’s why I called the album Palaces, because this space felt like my palace – it gave me room to just stop and think and that’s when the ideas started to flow.”