NEW MUSIC: FLUME | ESCAPE / PALACES

To get booked to play on the biggest stage at arguably the biggest (genre-agnostic) music festival is a huge accomplishment. He was playing a primetime night slot at Coachella, the Indio, California, festival of worldwide fame and acclaim. He has just released two gorgeous tracks that he debuted live this past weekend. “ESCAPE” and “Palaces” carry some of Flume’s most anticipated features on his forthcoming album, released on May 20th, 2022. So far, he’s released tracks with stunning vocal performances from MAY-A and Caroline Polachek, and with these most recent releases, we’ve got even more incredible collaborations to dig into. “Escape,“ a track that combines one of the hottest new names in electronic music, QUIET BISON, and one of Flume’s favourite vocalists, Kučka. QUIET BISON sound design and arrangements are among the most creative in music right now. What makes this a dream-come-true collaboration is that many fans have rightly identified Flume as one of QB’s major musical influences and to see these two come together on a single track means that these two generations of talent have found a home under one singular roof. As for “Palaces,” which features British rock band Blur frontman Damon Albarn it is a gorgeous, slower-paced track with a throat punch of emotional power arriving in the back half from the vocals of Mr. Albarn himself. The song begins with a winding, piano-heavy section that feels sad and emotional. What is spectacular about this is how Flume layers in each additional element as the song progresses. After about two minutes of piano and ambient build-up, he brings in the vocals and then goes on to add rhythmic snares.