How a cereal box prize helped launch a pioneer of the future bass genre
In short: At age 11, Harley Streten found a basic music mixing program inside a box of Nutrigrain. That simple discovery revealed how audio layers work, sparking a career that would eventually redefine electronic music. Today, the artist known as Flume is a Grammy-winning producer and a global cultural force.
Born in Sydney in 1991, Harley Streten began his journey into music production with a rudimentary DJ program packaged in a cereal box. By 2010, he was producing house music under the initials HEDS before adopting the moniker Flume, inspired by a Bon Iver song. His rise was rapid; he signed with the Australian label Future Classic in 2011 after placing second in a competition. His self-titled debut, released in 2012, was crafted entirely on his first laptop, even receiving finishing touches during a budget trip to London.
Flume is widely credited as a pioneer of future bass, a genre he helped popularize through his innovative production techniques. His second studio album, Skin, released in 2016, earned him significant international acclaim, including a Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album in 2017. The album's lead single, "Never Be Like You," became a massive success, topping the Australian charts and receiving a record-breaking 2.2 million votes to win Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2016. This achievement marked the first time an electronic producer had topped the list.
Beyond his studio albums, Flume has maintained a prolific output through mixtapes and collaborative projects. His 2019 mixtape, Hi This Is Flume, showcased an experimental direction, while later releases like 2023's Arrived Anxious, Left Bored continued to explore unreleased material. His career has also been marked by high-profile collaborations with artists ranging from Lorde to JPEGMAFIA. Despite occasional controversies, such as a viral 2019 video from Burning Man that tabloids negatively portrayed, Flume noted that the resulting publicity actually bolstered his career rather than leading to cancellation.
Flume's personal life has also intersected with the fashion world, notably through his 2025 engagement to American fashion designer Isabella Lalonde. As he continues to evolve his sound through collaborative EPs and albums, he remains a central figure in contemporary electronic music, balancing mainstream recognition with a persistent drive for experimental, boundary-pushing production.
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