Line-up

Headliner
Chet Faker Last time in Chicago: 1 year ago

Venue

Vic Theatre

3145 N. Sheffield Ave., 60657, Chicago, IL, US

www.victheatre.com/

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Additional details

Doors open: 19:30

Concert in your area for Electronic, Indie & Alt, Pop, and Funk & Soul.

Find out more about Electronic and Pop.

Chet Faker biography

Chet Faker (real name Nicholas James Murphy) is an Australian songwriter/electronic producer out of Melbourne, Australia. He is a beardy, plaid-garbed exponent of this new breed of singer-songwriter, that takes the precepts of the indie-folk ballad and fuses them with down-tempo, electronic trip hop.

Like Sohn, Oliver Tank, James Blake and Dawn Golden, amongst a teeming crowd of others, Chet Faker is an example of the electronification of the one man band, a Millennial phenomenon that casts a wide net and draws an eclectic haul from the edges and recesses of Electronic Dance Music.

He rose to prominence in 2011 when a cover he had recorded of Blackstreet's "No Diggity" went viral online, having been smattered across a range of music blogs and rising up the ranks to be featured on music reviews sites and attaining the No.1 slot on the respected net-arbiter Hypemachine’s chart.

He then released the “Thinking in Textures” EP to a warm reception from critics, who lauded its loungey, laconic intricacy and refinement. Its single, “I’m Into You” landed a spot on the 2012 Triple J Hottest 100 chart, coming in at a respectable No.24.

In April 2014 he released his highly anticipated debut full-length album “Built On Glass” on the Future Classic label, which also put out his three track collaboration with wildcard Sydney DJ, Flume, the previous year. It was recorded at the Arts House Meat Market Studio in North Melbourne. “Built On Glass” shot to No.1 on the ARIA Charts within a week of its release and wooed international audiences with its single, "Talk Is Cheap".

The album champions Faker’s pioneering R’n’B electronica crossover sound. It is full of low, humming distortions, crackling, intercut samples and loops, and contrasting textures underpinning his crooning, affecting vocals.

Swelling net-popularity as well as collaborations with rising global stars, Flume and Kilo Kish, and remixes of The Temper Trap’s “Trembling Hands” and MR MS’s “Dark Doo Wop” had set the standard for Chet Faker. He was already a recognised name despite not having had a full-length LP come out, a bedroom sampler who had risen to prominence with a little help from Web 2.0. Now he’s the red-bearded trailblazer leading the peloton of neo-soul genre benders and laying the foundations for the vast swathes of aspiring artists to come.

Live reviews

I've heard that Chet Faker's beard is hair from his head that has moved down his face in order to hear the music better. Faker, aka Nick Murphy, is an Australian singer, songwriter, producer, music maker and has been creating waves ever since the drop of his Thinking In Textures EP, and is only getting bigger and better. His debut album, Built On Glass, came into our lives in April this year, and hasn't been one to forget. Everything this man puts his hands on turns to Gold, from his earliest tracks that you can find on Soundcloud all the way to his latest spin on Sonia Dada's 'You Don't Treat Me No Good'. A small venue such as Koko was perfect for the crowd rocking, panty dropping, performance of the bearded hero. Chet gets deep into the music, hitting out classics such as 'Cigarettes & Chocolate', his take on Blackstreet's 'No Diggity', as well as new tracks, including favourites such as 1998, Blush and a mellowed out version of 'Talk Is Cheap'. Faker could have saved his voice on 'I'm Into You' as the crowd sang every word out load along with him. With a voice that can make a Lion purr, and piano skills to match, Faker captivates the audience, loving every minute of it as much as the listener.
Chet Faker isn't 'the best thing to happen since sliced bread', he IS sliced bread, producing original sounds infusing a mix of all the genres you could possibly want; from jazz, to pop, to folk, to electronica, mixing them all to together and serving up delicious tunes direct to your ear holes. Hats off and high-fives to the man.

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