Chet Faker

With just over two months until Chet Faker’s Built on Live Tour kicks off, Frontier Touring are pleased to announce an array of incredible musicians and DJs to round out the line up. Hand-picked and approved by Chet Faker himself, Silicon, Awesome Tapes From Africa and Cleopold will join Faker at each of the East Coast shows in his biggest venues to date. Otologic will DJ between sets at the Melbourne and Sydney shows with a Brisbane DJ yet to be announced.

Hailing from New Zealand, main support Silicon (aka Kody Nielson) is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and producer with a musical background stemming from his family roots - his father is a jazz musician and mother a Hawaiian hula dancer. His musical journey began with experimental noise band The Mint Chicks; he then formed Opossom with iconic singer songwriter Bic Runga; and most recently played a significant role co-writing, co-producing and playing keys and drums on Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s third album Multi-Love of which his brother Ruban is singer, songwriter and guitarist.

Now, under the moniker Silicon, he has so far this year treated us to three soulful, retro-futuristic electronica gems with ‘God Emoji’, ‘Burning Sugar’ and ‘Cellphone’. His debut album Personal Computer will be released on 28 August (through Domino) and will be augmented by a simultaneous unveiling of a series of 29 paintings of Silicon’s ‘Emoji’ icon subsequently leading to an exhibition in New York and London. Having performed for UK and European audiences, his live show promises to be an imaginative, diverse and de-linear musical journey.

Beginning as a blog to bring the obscure and wonderful sounds of the African continent to public attention, Brian Shimkovitz's Awesome Tapes From Africa has developed into a critically acclaimed vinyl label, re-releasing records by African artists and solidifying his mission to take African music global. His DJ set, projected via twin tape decks, draws on this archive to bring highlife, fuji, benga, tsonga disco, soukous, hip-hop, rhumba and ethio-soul, among countless other genres to the audience.

LA-based Australian singer-songwriter Cleopold crafts blunt, honest songs with confidence and sonic precision. He has penned tracks for Miami Horror and Cassian and collaborated with Bag Raiders and Chet Faker. His debut single ‘Down In Flames’ is the first taste from the artist who will release his debut EP through Chet Faker’s own boutique label Detail Co this October.

Melbourne DJ duo Otologic are responsible for keeping the audience abuzz in between sets at the Melbourne and Sydney shows.  Hailed as cult figures in Melbourne’s underground scene, the duo throw their own parties and bring international talent to Melbourne, having played the coveted Meredith Music Festival closing slot, Splendour In The Grass, Rainbow Serpent, Dark Mofo, Strawberry Fields, Summadayze, Parklife, Stereosonic, Future Music Festival and more.

This line up of eclectic support artists are sure to heat up the audience before the main event and certain to create a festival atmosphere at each show. Tickets to all shows are selling quickly. Don’t miss out on your final chance to see Chet Faker in 2015 with an expanded band, some yet to be announced special guests and a few surprises along the way on the Built on Live Tour this October and November.  

Chet Faker is set to embark on an East Coast tour this October and November, playing his biggest venues to date. Taking place in iconic and much-loved venues, Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl and Brisbane’s Riverstage, the Built on Live Tour will have Chet performing an all-new show, featuring an expanded band with guests, never before performed live songs, and more than a few surprises along the way.

It will be a final celebration of his multi-platinum, chart-topping album Built on Glass. Chet completely sold out his entire 13-date tour earlier this year including a remarkable two Hordern Pavilions and five Palais Theatres. The 'Built on Live’ Tour, the last time Chet will be on home soil in quite a while, is set to be just as popular. 

Chet says:

“I’ve played over 200 shows since the album came out, and during that time the songs and the show itself has evolved so much further beyond the recordings.  This tour is a last chance to put everything I’ve learned over the last few years into practice and see the songs played in their full capacity before I put the album to rest."

To round out the Built on Glass campaign, Chet today premiered a previously unreleased track ‘Bend’ on triple j.  Written during the Built on Glass recording period, Chet explains the track's history:

“'Bend' was on Built on Glass until the last minute. I recorded it in 2013 and kinda wanted to put it out since. It's always felt like a part of Built on Glass and since this tour is the sort of live "director’s cut" of the album it made sense to release this before it lost context."

The track will be released on 19 June via Future Classic in Australia.

Chet Faker took out five wins from nine nominations at the 2014 ARIA Awards including ‘Best Male Artist’, ‘Best Independent Release’, ‘Producer of the Year’, ‘Engineer of the Year’ (Eric J Dubowsky) and ‘Best Artwork’ (Tin&Ed) for his debut LP Built on Glass (Future Classic).  He also picked up the J Award for 'Australian Album of the Year’, topped the station’s Hottest 100 with ’Talk Is Cheap' and scored  the #1 spot on the listener-voted triple j Best of 2014 Top Ten Album poll, amongst an array of achievements.

Chet’s hard work internationally is paying off too. He made well-publicised performances on Jimmy Kimmel and Ellen and has sold out all his headline shows this year, including three Terminal 5s (NYC), two Club Nokias (LA), three Trianons (Paris) and is set to play Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, and FYF Fest (amongst others) over the northern hemisphere summer.  Check out the shining press reviews below.

‘Chet Faker Just Wants a Genuine Emotional Connection’ (Profile) – Rolling Stone

‘Chet Faker: 'What I like about Americans is if it's good music, that's all that matters'’ (Profile) – The Guardian (US)

‘On the Cusp of a Breakthrough, Chet Faker Soars Through Sold-Out NYC Run’ (Live Review) - Village Voice

‘20 Best Things We Saw at Coachella 2015's Weekend Two – ‘Best Modern Soul’’ - Rolling Stone