Faker- Electric Dreams

Sometimes people surprise you. As you know, I like to ask each artist I interview about their influences, especially ones we wouldn't expect (Lindsay from Frenzal Rhomb had a blinder, don't forget to read about that one). Nathan, frontman for Aussie pop-rock prom kings Faker, lays one down I'd have never expected: "I was watching the movie Footloose yesterday...I think that soundtrack and the soundtrack to Electric Dreams have heavily influenced me (laughs)".

I shouldn't be surprised, I suppose. Judging by the video for the band's biggest hit to date, Hurricane, there's something quite Footloose-Flashdance-insert popular 80's dancing film here- about it: the spontaneity, the energy. They're an infectiously fun band that loves the same things their fans do: dancing, singing, rocking out. And if you've ever seen them live, you'll know what I'm driving at.

"I feel like it's kind of my responsibility...I read this thing about Bez from the Happy Mondays (a dancer in Happy Mondays employment for live shows) and how important his role was in maintaining a vibe. I found, when I first started out being in a band, is one of the most frustrating things is when you have a good show and somebody else doesn't and how do you reconcile that? I find, more often than not, if I'm moving, everyone else will follow suit...mostly, if you can keep the energy up and have a good show, that's kind of what it's about (laughs)".

Even his laugh is infectious. The seemingly shy singer seems to be most comfortable when performing- "I love the idea of dancing and people wanting to dance and sing"- getting butts off seats, throwing a crowd into fits of excitement and seeing all those arms waving and mouths singing from the words that you wrote. I bet it feels good. I wanna dance with Nathan from Faker.

Anyway, the band's latest record, Be The Twilight, combines the band's contagious hooks and addictive vibes with a more somber tone: the notion of twilight where Nathan concedes "anything can happen" and the parallel of sleepwalking as a metaphor for some of the more difficult emotions to concern.

The band recorded it in LA- "It was overwhelming, kind of surreal...I'd never been there before, but I'd kinda grown up with the whole exposure to popular culture that it involved...so coming to a place that is completely familiar but kind of alien as well to make a record was fantastic and surreal"- but the process was a far cry from the band's first album, Addicted Romantic: "Addicted Romantic was recorded in about two weeks, maybe two and a half, and it was intense. I didn't have a great time, personally, while we were doing it. This record was, at times, emotional and intense, but it was always fun...I kind of love being taken out of my element and put into a different place and different set of circumstances. There was something really 'in the moment' about making this record, it wasn't trying to reconcile ourselves with the past, it was about embracing what is, what was happening then, and that's an exciting way to make a record".

I can't help but touch on the constant line-up changes within the band, something one would perceive as interrupting the feng-shui of a functional group. Nathan is cautiously optimistic, though, as always: "I feel like we spent a good couple of months before we went away learning how to communicate as a four-piece...I guess we had it in ourselves to make this record, as opposed to trying to find another member. I just see it as part of something we do, like any organization or industry or social situation, if you someone leaves you, you band together with the people that you're with".

After "six weeks of lockdown" the band are imparting on the Be The Twilight tour, so, come November 16, you better be at the Corner Hotel to see these guys in action, or else you'll cry and everyone will make fun of you for missing such a great band.

Living in the world we do, especially comparing it to places like LA, I can't help but ask Nathan how the technological age makes him feel as an artist. I hope he doesn't get on the Metallica Soapbox and declare war on the Internet, but I can only assume he is disheartened at the path music has taken? "I get really excited by popular culture, I love understanding the way people will and won't embrace things...I feel like were making music that's relevant to our time, and all of that's a part of our time and you have to learn to swim in that, you know?". He boldly rounds that statement off with: "I think as long as people are loving music...I guess I find it less disheartening than your reality television phenomena". Bless.

Whatever you think of music today, you can't deny hearing Hurricane on the radio and wishing you could just burst into spontaneous dance (or you do, and people look at you funny in Hungry Jacks and even your best friend tells you you're a shit dancer.... I’ve said too much) or hearing- personal favourite Faker track- Love for Sale and feeling a little tug on the ol' heartstrings. Get into it, Australia!

Share this article on Facebook