Music

“It Was Kind Of Crazy”: Flume Has Finally Addressed The Ass Eating Incident

"At first, I was kind of stressed out about it."

Flume eating ass burning man photo

Want more Junkee in your life? Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook so you always know where to find us.

Earlier this year, Sydney-grown international pop superstar Flume, AKA Harley Streten, ate ass on stage at burning man. You might remember something about that, on account of the fact that it set the internet on fire.

Yep, nobody could get enough of the brief four seconds of footage, and it prompted conversations on everything from ass-eating etiquette and styles to Flume’s evolving role in pop music, to what makes a good stage performance. Basically, it was nuts, and it lasted for ages.

But during the furore, Flume himself was rather quiet. His only response to the fracas came in the form of a single selfie of himself noshing down on a peach, accompanied by an apology to his mum. Then, in his characteristically enigmatic style, he shut down.

That is, he shut down until now. This week, in a wide-ranging interview with Mixmag, Flume clarified the exact circumstances of the ass-eating — and confirmed that yes, the initial madness in the press made him very stressed.

“It was kind of crazy,” he revealed. “I didn’t expect it to go viral honestly. But, I woke up one morning to thousands of tweets and chaos. At first, I was kind of stressed out about it … But, I think it was funny. It’s definitely the most press I’ve ever gotten. It’s fine, I don’t mind. I think it’s hilarious.”

In the same interview, Flume also discussed his desire to put on something more than the average electro show — something with verve and difference.

“I got sick of seeing electronic music artists just standing in one position the entire show twiddling knobs, pressing buttons. I kind of just thought, how about I just go and be entertaining and have some fun up there.”

Looks like the ass-eating was part of a broader plan to extend the boundaries of what EDM performers are capable of. Read the full interview here.