A quick google image search of Chet Faker will tell you everything you need to know about him, superficially I mean. Not that he’d fit right in Brixton village, but that he is essentially, unequivocally, my type. I guess it goes without saying, but I’m gonna say it: Australian? check. Bearded? Check. That’s all. That’s all my criteria. Mr. Faker first massaged his way through my ear canals and into my heart when he burst on the scene with a slick, dulcet cover of No Diggity by Blackstreet. Now, he’s not the first guy to cover this song, but he smashed it.
And I know what you’re all thinking, you’re kind of like, “sure, he’s great an all, but we’re never gonna get a chance to see him, Australia’s soooo far away”. That’s where you’re wrong, guys! There’s this new invention which is pretty cool and they’re like really huge mechanical birds that you climb in and they fly you were you wanna go! Essentially Chet got on one of these last month and flew all the way over here to London Town to sing a few tiny songs at a little tiny festival called Field Day.
It was a… biblical experience. His voice is like the ringtone of angels. They were like “fuck birdsong, gotta have Mr. Faker lighting up whenever JC gives us a call.” He just has such effortless cool and charisma. He’s also proponent of my favourite item of men’s attire: the checked shirt, which is such a win. This video, for the song Gold, is so hypnotic to watch. It’s also directed by Hiro Murai, who is a great director who has directed some of Childish Gambino’s stuff, and Flying Lotus’s phenomenal video Never Catch Me (which features my boy Kendrick).
Chet’s songs are punctuated by addictive melodies that serve as hooks and seduce the listener as each song progresses. His voice, smooth but with an echo of rough husk, glides effortlessly over an electro-hip-hop-chill beat. So good live. I couldn’t help it, I closed my eyes and was lost in the crowd as his sweet, sweet voice washed over me. Was an incredible experience. Five stars.
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