Flume is bold, his sound design forward-thinking on third studio album, ‘Palaces’

by: Rachel Narozniak May 20, 2022

Palaces was “kind of fragmented over years,” Flume said. “Doing a session with someone in London or doing this over here on tour. So to try and piece it all together and make it make sense and feel cohesive, I’ve added a bunch of tones and textures from the wildlife on the property.” Influence from the flora and fauna of the coastal town in New South Wales’ (NSW’s) Northern Rivers, where Flume fashioned the LP, are the connective tissue of Palaces, which embodies some of the Australian producer’s boldest, most eclectic sound design yet.

Experimentation and a general genre eschewal are throughlines of the Skin follow-up. “I was always doing stuff on the grid,” Flume attested in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, adding that the realization that one “can really swerve” and doesn’t have to stay “on the grid” has “just become part of the DNA of what [he] does now.” That ethos is audible across Palaces‘ 13 tracklistings, which seamlessly assemble, despite their piecemeal production.

Though Flume has long been reputed for his blur-all-boundaries-in-the-name-of-art approach, Palaces derives its wonder and grandeur from the depth and expanse of his application of this methodology. Indeed, it feels like Flume allows the wings of this modus operandi to spread full-span on Palaces. He is characteristically audacious on an LP that can be called a collection of risks taken—and landings stuck.

With respect to features, the album’s cast of collaborators is internationally minded; NSW’s MAY-A, American singer-songwriter Caroline Polachek, British producer and composer Danny L. Harle, English-Icelandic musician-singer Damon Albarn, England’s Kučka and Quiet Bison, Spain’s Virgen Maria, France’s Oklou, Britain’s LAUREL, and Australia’s Emma Louise each touch Palaces in their own idiosyncratic way.

Palaces is led by four singles, “Say Nothing,” “Sirens,” “Palaces,” “ESCAPE,” and “Hollow.” With the rollout complete, Flume’s next step will be deploying Palaces live around the globe. “We’ve got a new show, we’re actually going to be doing videos for all the songs, and we’ve just got an amazing visual team with Zawada and Michael Hili. And honestly, the show looks better than ever, better than it ever has in the history of Flume,” he said.

Tickets to Flume’s world tour in support of the album are available for purchase here.