Released on July 17, 2015, Currents became a hypnotic turning point for Tame Impala. Kevin Parker took his love of psychedelia, his fascination with human emotion, and his growing affection for synthesizers and shaped a record that invited fans onto a moving walkway of sound. The songs bend genre, swirl through transformation, and feel like personal letters wrapped in chorus effects. You’ve heard “Let It Happen,” “Eventually,” and “The Less I Know the Better”—but here are five facts you might not know about this shimmering masterpiece.
1. One song had over 1,000 vocal takes
Kevin Parker recorded more than 1,000 partial vocal takes for just one song on Currents. That level of layering creates an immersive and emotional vocal texture throughout the album. Every nuance is considered—each falsetto, echo, and breath locked into the final mix like pieces of a sonic puzzle. It’s part of what gives the record its unmistakable intimacy.
2. “The Less I Know the Better” used a guitar to play synths
For the first two minutes of “The Less I Know the Better,” every sound was made using a guitar with a MIDI pickup running through a Roland GR-55 guitar synthesizer. Kevin used the guitar as a controller, unlocking orchestral stabs, wavy textures, and disco-funk bass without ever touching a keyboard. The result is lush, melodic, and endlessly replayable.
3. The album’s visuals came from fluid dynamics
The artwork for Currents was inspired by a real diagram of vortex shedding—a concept in physics that describes how fluid flows around obstacles. Kevin remembered it from science class and saw a perfect metaphor for the album’s themes of transformation. Artist Robert Beatty turned that vision into one of the most striking and recognizable covers of the decade.
4. Inspiration flowed from an abandoned power station
Kevin spent hours walking laps around the South Fremantle Power Station in Western Australia while writing Currents. The vast, eerie space and its crumbling beauty helped shape lyrics and moods across the album. He described the location as both terrifying and inspiring, a place that filled his mind with rhythm, reflection, and sound.
5. “Yes I’m Changing” arrived like a dream
Kevin once said he doesn’t even remember writing “Yes I’m Changing.” The song came to him so fluidly, it felt like it had written itself. That ethereal quality matches its emotional core—a gentle letting-go wrapped in synth waves and slow-motion drums. The song became one of the album’s quiet centerpieces, offering reflection without needing answers.
Currents thrives on movement, both physical and emotional. It’s an album of turning tides and inner rewiring, crafted with care and clarity by one of music’s most meticulous creators. Ten years from now, people will still be finding new sounds hidden inside it—and dancing along.
