Chet Faker dazzles in the capital
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Last time a tube strike happened, Prince played. In a cloak of mystery, he played a series of gigs and Londoners fought through hordes of commuters on foot to see the legend in action.
With the return of the Tube strike a couple of weeks ago, London felt a little bit more at ease. And it certainly didn’t put off the crowds heading over to Koko in Camden, to see Australian wunderkid, Chet Faker in action. The beard commanded a fervour amongst his fans with a notable representation of Australian expats. Neo-soul laced with grimey beats is a distinct vibe that’s coming out of Melbourne. Chet Faker is one of a talented collective of musicians from Down Under who are making unusual and interesting music
. Drop the Game featuring Flume, drove the crowd wild. Here you have two of the very best of Aussie talent collaborating to create the embodiment of what is good and great about this new blend of neo-soul. One man shows aren’t unusual these days. But it’s when a musician combines haunting vocals with slick beats and instrumentation, it packs a punch. That gloomy summer’s evening at Koko, it was clear that Chet Faker had almost cult status amongst the contingent from Down Under. His performance was therefore, appropriately slick. He certainly rose to the admiration of his audience with the dubious declaration of:
“I write all my own music”. I couldn’t help but smile wryly, given that he broke the scene with his rather excellent cover of No Diggity. But hey, I’m not going to make any lasting judgements given how original a cover it was. And of course there came the material from his new EP,
Built on Glass. It’s suitably moody and introspective.
Talk is Cheap and
Melt were thoughtful but still groove-worthy and were the perfect tonic for a blustery summer evening in London. Chet Faker has catapulted into the limelight with this particular brand of RnB laced beats that’s got hipsters far and wide, waxing lyrical. Beard, beats and emo vocals: a fitting triumvirate for Chet Faker’s status as the pin up for this new take on neo-soul. 7/10 http://chetfaker.com/ Huge thanks to Liv Willars at One Beat Digital
