I love me a good cover song. Vancouver indie electronic act On Planets has satisfied that thirst with a newly-released take on the Bon Iver classic “Flume”.
On Planets is one dude and his computer — Sean Wharton. I previously fell in love with the song “Spectacle” and have been closely following his journey since. The intro to his version of “Flume” is almost sinister, before the vocals kick in.
The instrumentation is beautiful, very Flume-like (ironic considering the song title), with a dash of James Blake. It features a lot of different stuff — synths, drums, live violin, flute, and vocal samples. Give the cover a listen below:
“A friend and I once chatted about this song and it made realize how vague and cryptic the lyrics are at face value, while somehow being resonant and evocative at some deeper level,” On Planets posted to the song’s Soundcloud page.
“It’s such a beautiful song that it almost transcends meaning; it is open to interpretation, but arguably better without it as just a wash of vowels and consonants. This song is one of my favorites to play late at night on the deck or at a campfire. I love the tranquility of the original version, but the way it comes out whenever I try to sing it is always kind of bold and raw. I felt that such an open-ended song deserved another version, so here it is, a little gutsier.”
We are looking forward to seeing more from On Planets in the coming years. Hoping for a return to Los Angeles sometime soon!
