“It’s incredibly vital to our community and to the reputation of Australia”: Flume talks Keep Sydney Open at the ARIAs

Tonight has, undoubtedly, been Flume‘s night tonight at the 2016 ARIA Awards, taking away four awards including Best Male, Best Independent Release, Best Dance Release and Best Pop Release and the overall Best Album, off the back of his acclaimed sophomore album, Skin.

Taking to the stage at The Star in Sydney (a venue largely associated with the stranglehold currently exercised over the local music community), Flume was vocal in his support of the smaller venues and clubs that are directly being affected by the lockout laws killing business and opportunities for artists to thrive.

Furthering his comments in conversation with us and the media offstage, Flume noted the importance of Sydney’s local music scene to him as an emerging artist.

“I saw a lot of shows before I ever made my own shows,” he explained. “I went to a lot of small venues and clubs; they were really where I saw the artists I was most interested. I performed at the Goodgod Small Club with Chet Faker, I supported him and that was one of my earlier gigs. I think it’s so important for the future of music here. That there is a scene and the interesting, exciting stuff happens in the small clubs and at the small parties and the obscure places.”

“Those are the places that are getting most affected by these lockout laws; I think that it’s incredibly vital to our community and to the reputation of Australia, which is great right now but really could be tarnished if these small places get shut down. It’s going to ruin the scene. I want to fight for it because that’s the opportunity I had; when I started out, I had a lot of great places to play and now that’s changed, so for the next generation of artists, I hope that I can grab that back.”

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