Meet the team behind Flume
It’s easy to examine an artist like Flume and overlook the team behind them. The fact is, from a public’s perspective, we don’t see the hard work of the manager, the booking agent, the publicist, etc. We hear a finished product, we witness a killer live set, and we don’t pay much heed to the cogs behind the machine.
In reality, however, nearly every major artist has a dedicated squad behind them helping to build their brand in a professional and intelligent manner. Back at EMC Australia, Flume’s team hopped on a panel to discuss the strategy behind the international sensation.
Harley’s manager, Nathan McLay from Future Classic, moderates the panel. He begins by speaking to Flume on the origins of the project. Harley explains: “It started in 2011… Chris Emerson told me about this Future Classic competition that they had running… it was send in your best tracks… I had the Sleepless EP done and it was just kind of sitting on my hard drive for a while… so I thought I’d send it in.. they kind of hit me back and we had a meet and, yeah, signed a deal.”
The rest, of course, is history, as Flume has since turned into one of the foremost acts in electronic music. One of the key members of his team is Chad Gilard, A&R for Future Classic. Gilard explains his role as “helping shape the music and story around it and where that’s actually heading.” One of his main roles is helping Flume in the production process of his tracks: “I’m there to support and if there’s collaborators he wants to work with — remixes we want.”
Another essential member is Harley’s North American booking agent, Latane Hughes. From the first time he heard Flume’s remix of “HyperParadise,” Hughes knew he had to work with the Australian. Having been with the team for nearly three years now, his vision of the project is steadfast: “positioning is pretty important for us… we try to keep Harley straddling the line between a purely electronic artist and a regular indie rock artist.”
Additionally, there’s Jay Ryves, whom Nathan describes as the “big picture protector of the Flume brand visually,” as well as Ed Sholl, whom is in charge of “building a strategy and a team around the record” — not to mention various other key members. With such a diverse team behind him, it’s safe to say Flume’s future is in competent hands.