Live Review: LISTEN: Lorde 'Tennis Court' (Flume Remix)

24 April 2014 | 2:30 pm | Gavin Butler

In the neighbourly spirit of ANZAC day, Australasian younglings and world-conquering beatmakers LORDE and FLUME have finally teamed up to play some ball.

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In the neighbourly spirit of ANZAC day, Australasian younglings and world-conquering beatmakers LORDE and FLUME have finally teamed up to play some ball. The New Zealand songstress has already more than demonstrated her ability to pull off a smash hit, with the infectious original ‘Tennis Court’ a royal case in point.

But there aren’t many players in the game that know how to work the crowd like Australian prodigy and man on top Harley Streten.

This spacey remix by the wonderchild, (also known for his WHAT SO NOT work) builds dramatically for almost two minutes, drawn on and paced out in what at first merely seems like a more intense, more atmospheric rendition of the original—a softly rising effect, a restrained energy. Overall, this track is a darker re-imagining of the Kiwi's pop-beat single: but FLUME turns the tension up slowly behind LORDE’s verses, bringing up the lights and setting the stage for the inevitable drop.

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And it’s that drop that’s the real star of the show here: Streten hits hard with a volley of pulsing synths that bombards the eardrums; a textured, buzzcut beat that sprints, steps, swaggers, and never fails to exhilarate. It’s a stunning breakout with a punchy, almost hip-hop style hook. And whilst at more than six minutes the fleshed out remix just about doubles the original ‘Tennis Court’ in track time, FLUME keeps things interesting by injecting the brooding atmosphere with a healthy dose of synthy-groove and brostep bombast. An R&B-style beat for some R&B-style vocals.

Game, set, match made in heaven.

Words by Gavin Butler

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