Chet Faker

Nicholas James Murphy (born 23 June 1988), known by his former stage name, Chet Faker, is an Australian singer and songwriter.  In 2012, he issued an extended play, Thinking in Textures, and signed to Downtown Records in the United States.  In October 2012, he won Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Thinking in Textures won Best Independent Single/EP at the Australian Independent Records Awards.  In January 2013, the work won Best Independent Release at the Rolling Stone Australia Awards for 2012. 

Faker's cover of Blackstreet's "No Diggity" (as Chet Faker) was featured in a 2013 Super Bowl commercial for Beck's Sapphire.  In April 2014, Built on Glass, his debut studio album, was released to generally positive reviews and debuted at number one on the Australian ARIA Charts.  Three tracks from the album were voted into the top ten of Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2014, including the number one spot for "Talk Is Cheap".  Since September 2016 he has performed and released material under his birth name. 

Career

Early career 

Chet Faker played under his stage name after people came to his shows thinking he was a different and already established musician, Nick Murphy.  He settled on the name as an homage to Chet Baker: "I listened to a lot of jazz and I was a big fan of ... the way he sang, when he moved into mainstream singing.  He had this really fragile vocal style—this really, broken, close-up and intimate style.  The name is kind of just an ode to Chet Baker and the mood of music he used to play—something I would like to at least pay homage to in my own music."  Other influences he has cited include Bob Dylan, as well as his mother's Motown albums and his father's "chilled out Ibiza CDs". 

Thinking in Textures and collaborations (2011–13) 

He first rose to prominence after his cover of Blackstreet's "No Diggity" went viral online, reaching number one on the Hypemachine chart in May 2011.  He released his first extended play, Thinking in Textures, on 22 March 2012 to positive reviews, being described as "wonderfully loungey" and praised for its ability to "mix subtlety with impressive beauty".  The EP was also popular with fans, with its second single, "I'm Into You", landing at number 24 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2012. 

Faker has collaborated with Flume and remixes of songs by MS MR and The Temper Trap.  He was a featured vocalist on Say Lou Lou's "Fool of Me", which was named Best New Track by Pitchfork in May 2013. 

Lockjaw EP and Built on Glass (2013–15) 

On 12 August 2013, Faker released a new single, "Melt", featuring American vocalist Kilo Kish.  In November 2013 Flume and Faker released an EP, titled Lockjaw.  Faker released his debut studio album, Built on Glass,  on 11 April 2014.  The album's full release was preceded by its lead single, "Talk Is Cheap", and an accompanying music video on 11 February 2014.  The album debuted at number one on the ARIA Charts. 

Faker performed at the Boston Calling Music Festival in May 2015.  Later that month, "Talk Is Cheap" was named the number-one song in the 2014 Triple J Hottest 100, while two other singles, "Gold" and "1998", also reached the top ten, placing at number 7 and 8, respectively.  In June, Faker released a new single, "Bend", a previously unreleased track intended for Built on Glass.  It was promoted by his Australian Built on Live tour in October. 

Faker released a new EP, Work, a collaboration with London-based DJ Marcus Marr on 4 December 2015. 

Nick Murphy (2016–present) 

On 8 September 2016, the artist wrote on his Facebook page, "It's been half a decade since I started releasing music as Chet Faker and all of you have been the driving force behind the music since.  There's an evolution happening and I wanted to let you know where it's going.  The next record will be under my own name, Nick Murphy.  Chet Faker will always be a part of the music.  This is next." 

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist 

Notes

As featured artist

Promotional singles

Other charted songs

Other appearances

Production

Remixes

Music videos

As lead artist

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

A2IM Libera Awards 

! 
|-
| 2015
| Chet Faker
| Breakthrough Artist of the Year
| 
|

AIR Awards 

! 
|-
| rowspan="5" | 2012
| rowspan="2" | Chet Faker
| Best Independent Artist
| 
| rowspan="5" | 
|-
| Breakthrough Independent Artist
| 
|-
| rowspan="2" | Thinking in Textures
| Best Independent Single/EP
| 
|-
| Best Independent Dance/Electronica Album
| 
|-
| "Terms and Conditions"
| Best Independent Dance/Electronica Single
| 
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2014
| Chet Faker
| Best Independent Artist
| 
| rowspan="3" | 
|-
| rowspan="2" | Built on Glass
| Best Independent Album
| 
|-
| Best Independent Dance/Electronica Album
| 
|-
| 2015
| Chet Faker
| Best Independent Artist
| 
|

APRA Awards (Australia) 

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). 

! 
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2015
| Chet Faker
| Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year
| 
| 
|-
| "Drop the Game" 
| Dance Work of the Year
| 
| 
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2017
| rowspan="2" | "The Trouble With Us" 
| Dance Work of the Year
| 
| 
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| Most Played Australian Work
| 
|

ARIA Awards 

Chet Faker received nine nominations at the ARIA Music Awards of 2014, on 7 October he won three Artisan Awards and on 26 November he won two more categories. 

|-
| rowspan="9" | 2014 || rowspan="7" | Built on Glass || Album of the Year || 
|-
| Best Male Artist || 
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| Breakthrough Artist - Release || 
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| Best Independent Release || 
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| Engineer of the Year  || 
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| Producer of the Year  || 
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| Best Cover Art  || 
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| "Talk Is Cheap" || Best Video  || 
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| "Drop the Game"  || Best Dance Release ||

MTV Video Music Awards 

! 
|-
| 2015
| "Gold"
| Best Choreography 
| 
|

Rolling Stone Australia Awards 

! 
|-
| 2012
| Thinking in Textures
| Best Independent Release
| 
|

References

External links
 

Category:1988 births
Category:Australian electronic musicians
Category:Australian soul singers
Category:Australian male singers
Category:Australian singer-songwriters
Category:Trip hop musicians
Category:ARIA Award winners
Category:People from Melbourne
Category:Living people
Category:Downtempo musicians
Category:21st-century Australian singers
Category:21st-century male singers
Category:Downtown Records artists
Category:Remote Control Records artists
Category:MapleMusic Recordings artists