Flume teams up with Toro y Moi for new track "The Difference"

Toro y Moi and Flume: two artists who were instrumental in defining the sound of the 2010s. Toro y Moi first broke out in the early part of the decade on the strength of the hazy chillwave vibes he helped pioneer. Flume was at the forefront of the festival-ready drop-heavy sound that dominated popular electronic music in the mid '10s.

Put them together and you get "The Difference" <record scratch>...a deliciously sweet pop drum & bass track?

Maybe it shouldn't come as a surprise that these two increasingly chameleonic artists would join forces to explore territory previously uncharted by either of them.

In recent years, we've seen Toro y Moi evolve from his chillwave beginnings to sharpening his pop instincts and incorporating elements of disco and deep house into his repertoire, particularly under his Les Sins alias. Likewise, after smoothing things out and packing the tracklist with big name features on his 2016 album, Skin, last year's Hi This Is Flume album, scaled things back and took a noticeably glitchier and more abrasive turn that earned Flume critical accolades and an unexpected Grammy nomination.

Given more time to work together in the studio one wonders what other genre explorations might these two have cooked up? We may never know, but for now "The Difference" makes for a pretty sweet one-off collaboration that begs for a sequel.

If you're up for a road trip this summer, "The Difference" arrives with the announcement of a slate of three very big and special shows for "Flume & friends" at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado on June 8, 9, and 10.