DJ and producer Flume has teamed up with singer-songwriter Caroline Polachek to release a new single, titled “Sirens.” The track comes off of Flume’s upcoming album Palaces, set to release on May 20. “Sirens” was co-written and co-produced by Danny L Harle, a frequent collaborator of Polachek.
In the new track, we hear Flume put the angelic high vocals of Polachek against a unique beat that manages to be both harsh and trance-inducing. Throughout “Sirens,” Flume’s beat seems to transition between different stages of ambience and industrial harshness, offering moments that allow pure ambience to flourish, followed by moments that chop up these synths alongside powerful, hard-hitting drums.
Lyrically, the track describes Caroline Polachek’s moments in London during the Covid-19 pandemic, and how she was affected by all of the hurting people around her. In the track, she expresses a desire to “wave a wand, to end all harm” and “stop the tide of siren cries.”
Watch the visualizer for “Sirens” via YouTube below.
Consequence Sound explains that the two musicians were long-time friends prior to the creation of the new song, quoting Flume as stating that “Caroline and I had known each other for years, but she’d just moved to LA and we bumped into each other living down the street. ” The Australian-born artist goes on to describe a bit about how the song to be, explaining that they had “started playing weekly games of Magic: The Gathering with [PC Music founder] A.G. Cook and a few friends. We started doing a session, and Danny L Harle showed me a voice note from Caroline with some very early stages of vocals. I loved it and went back in on it during the pandemic.”
Both Flume and Caroline Polachek have been on a roll with releasing new music for fans to enjoy. Previously, Flume has collaborated with Toro Y Moi to release their single “The Difference.” Polachek has recently released a single titled “Billions.” Caroline Polachek has also collaborated with various artists recently, including having a feature on Charli XCX’s “New Shapes,” and collaborating with Murkage Dave on their track “Awful Things.” Unfortunately, Polachek has recently been forced to drop out of her tour with Dua Lipa due to an ankle injury.
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat