Faker (band)
Encyclopedia
- "Faker" redirects here. For the cartoon supervillain, see Faker (character). For the comic book, see Faker (comics)Faker (comics)Faker is a six-issue comic book limited series that started in July 2007 by Vertigo, written by Mike Carey, art by Jock.-Plot:Minnesota college students Jessica, Yvonne, Marky and Sack are at a party when an ex-girlfriend of Marky's slips a bottle of "Angel's Kiss" into their drinks. Angel's Kiss...
.
Faker are an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
, formed in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 1996. The band consists of vocalist Nathan Hudson and guitarist Nicholas Munnings.
The band has released two studio albums, and despite forming in 1996, Faker's first studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
Addicted Romantic
Addicted Romantic
Addicted Romantic is the debut studio album by Australian indie rock band Faker. Record label Capitol Records released the album on 13 June 2005. Four singles were released from the album; "Quarter to Three", "The Familiar"/"Enough", "Love for Sale", and "Hurricane". Of these, "Hurricane" was the...
, was only released in 2005. Prior to that, the band played multiple local gig
Gig (musical performance)
Gig is slang for a musical engagement in which musicians are hired. Originally coined in the 1920s by jazz musicians, the term, short for the word "engagement", now refers to any aspect of performing such as assisting with performance and attending musical performance...
s, and also released two EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
s. In 2007, Faker became a mainstream success with their second album, Be the Twilight
Be the Twilight
Be the Twilight is the second album released by Sydney-based Australian band, Faker. It was released on 17 November 2007. "This Heart Attack" was the first single off the album, it was released on 13 October 2007...
, and went on to continue touring nationally.
Formation and early releases
Faker was formed in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, in 1998. It initially consisted of Nathan Hudson, Paul Youdell, Chris Deal, Marco2000 and Andrew Day. The band spent five years performing small gigs around Sydney. They also released two EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
s in this time: Sound Out Loud released 5 March 2001 and Kids on Overload released 15 October 2001. Both these EPs were released to minor success, however, Teenage Werewolf was put onto heavy rotation by Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
and remains a fan favorite. Due to a planned move to France, Marco2000 left Faker in 2000 just after the recording of the band's debut Sound Out Loud EP and the band continued sans clavier. Faker were joined in 2003 by Paul Berryman
Paul Berryman
Paul Berryman is an Australian musician who has played drums for alternative rock bands The Superjesus, Faker and Miss Mandaband-References:...
after the departure of Day. Hudson described this as "the true beginning" for the band. After the recording of Addicted Romantic
Addicted Romantic
Addicted Romantic is the debut studio album by Australian indie rock band Faker. Record label Capitol Records released the album on 13 June 2005. Four singles were released from the album; "Quarter to Three", "The Familiar"/"Enough", "Love for Sale", and "Hurricane". Of these, "Hurricane" was the...
longtime bassist Paul Youdell and guitarist Jonathan Wilson left the band, being replaced by Nicholas Munnings and Stefan Gregory respectively. In 2006, Phil Downing left the band, citing communication problems with other members. After that point the band's lineup of Hudson, Berryman, Gregory, and Munnings, remained unchanged, until Paul Berryman
Paul Berryman
Paul Berryman is an Australian musician who has played drums for alternative rock bands The Superjesus, Faker and Miss Mandaband-References:...
left in March 2008. He was replaced by Lucio Pedrazzi.
Faker's debut album, Addicted Romantic, was released on 13 June 2005. The album spent one week, at #44 and the next week at #69, on the ARIA Albums chart. Three singles were released from the album; "The Familiar", "Hurricane", and "Love for Sale". None of these songs made the ARIA Singles chart, but "Hurricane" reached #21 on the Triple J Hottest 100
Triple J Hottest 100
The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll, based on the votes of national Australian radio station Triple J listeners, in order to determine their favourite song of the year. Voting is conducted by the internet and begins roughly two weeks prior to the new year for the previous year's songs...
, 2005
Triple J Hottest 100, 2005
The 2005 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on 26 January 2006. It was the thirteenth such countdown of the most popular songs of the year, according to listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J....
. Addicted Romantic was nominated for the inaugural J Award
J Award
The J Award is an award given by influential Australian youth radio station Triple J to Australian Album of the Year. It is judged by a panel of members of the music industry, led by Richard Kingsmill...
, won by Wolfmother
Wolfmother
Wolfmother is an Australian rock band from Erskineville, Sydney. Formed in 2000, the group was originally a trio composed of vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett. Wolfmother released their self-titled debut album in October 2005,...
.
On Addicted Romantic, Faker worked with producer Lindsay Gravina (Magic Dirt
Magic Dirt
Magic Dirt are an Australian rock band, which formed in 1991 in Geelong, Victoria, with Daniel Herring on guitar, Adam Robertson on drums, Adalita Srsen on vocals and guitar, and Dean Turner on bass guitar. Initially known as Deer Bubbles and then The Jim Jims, they were renamed as Magic Dirt in...
) at Birdland Studios, shortly after signing to Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, who would become very supportive of the band's work. The album was heavily influenced by sexual motifs
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, with Hudson commenting "The first track on the record is about casual sex and confusion through sex". Rather than treat sex as "wrapped up in cotton wool", the band intended to be open, upfront, and aggressive in their discussion of the topic.
Be the Twilight
Faker's second album, Be the TwilightBe the Twilight
Be the Twilight is the second album released by Sydney-based Australian band, Faker. It was released on 17 November 2007. "This Heart Attack" was the first single off the album, it was released on 13 October 2007...
, was released on 17 November 2007. It has thus far peaked at #24 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
. The first single from the album "This Heart Attack
This Heart Attack
"This Heart Attack" is the first single from Faker's second album Be the Twilight. It was released digitally on 13 October 2007 and physically on 27 October 2007...
" was released on 27 October 2007. The song has peaked at #9 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
, and also reached #5 on the Triple J Hottest 100
Triple J Hottest 100
The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll, based on the votes of national Australian radio station Triple J listeners, in order to determine their favourite song of the year. Voting is conducted by the internet and begins roughly two weeks prior to the new year for the previous year's songs...
, 2007
Triple J Hottest 100, 2007
The 2007 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on Australia Day, 26 January 2008. It was the fifteenth countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by the listeners of Australian radio station Triple J....
. The second single, "Are You Magnetic?", was released on 12 July 2008.
Be the Twilight was recorded in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
with producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Paul Fox
Paul Fox (producer)
Paul Fox is an American record producer, who is best known for producing such bands as Faker; The Green Children; Björk; Gene Loves Jezebel; 10,000 Maniacs; XTC; Phish; Sunfall Festival; Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians; The Sugarcubes; Too Much Joy; They Might Be Giants; Edwin McCain; Semisonic...
(XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
, Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, The Sugarcubes
The Sugarcubes
The Sugarcubes were an Icelandic alternative rock band formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. They received critical and popular acclaim internationally.-History:...
, They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
). The band wrote 45 songs for the album before traveling to Los Angeles, where they trimmed this down to 12. The songs were influenced by the band's surroundings at the time of recording, with Hudson stating "[t]here's a whole directness that exists in L.A. and I kind of feel that we put that in the record". Hudson said that after "putting all the things you've ever experienced" into Addicted Romantic, the band were able to record Be the Twilight "more in the moment." Be the Twilight took its name from Hudson's fear of the dark; Faker insisted they "name the album after the twilight just to annoy him". Following the release of Be the Twilight, Faker embarked on an album tour, playing with fellow bands Children Collide and E.L.F. The tour commenced on 15 November 2007.
Critics generally responded well to Be the Twilight. Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
rated it highly, stating the band "has made a record that will instantly please fans". Likewise, Webcuts Music awarded it 4.5 (out of 5) saying "Faker are one of the few exciting and honest, heart-on-sleeve acts that exist in Australia. Be the Twilight is almost perfection". FHM
FHM
FHM, originally published as For Him Magazine, is an international monthly men's lifestyle magazine.- History :The magazine began publication in 1985 in the United Kingdom under the name For Him and changed its title to FHM in 1994 when Emap Consumer Media bought the magazine, although the full For...
saw it as "less annoying" than Addicted Romantic, and gave it 3 stars.
In 2008 the band appeared in major slots at a number of Australian outdoor festivals, and toured extensively.
In Early 2009 the band joined Pink
Pink (singer)
Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....
on the Australian Funhouse Tour
Funhouse Tour
The Funhouse Tour was the fourth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Pink. The tour supported her fifth studio album, Funhouse. The tour visited Europe, Australia and North America....
dates.
Get Loved
The band released several demos via SoundCloudSoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform which allows collaboration, promotion and distribution of audio recordings.-History:SoundCloud was originally started in Stockholm, Sweden, but was established in Berlin, Germany in August, 2007 by sound designer Alex Ljung and artist Eric Wahlforss...
over the end of 2010 and announced on their Facebook page that the new album would be called "Get Loved". On 25 May The CSS Remix of their new single "Dangerous" was released on SoundCloud via their Facebook page.
APRA Award
- 2009APRA Awards of 2009The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2009 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards ceremony occurred on 23 June at the Peninsula in Melbourne, they were presented by APRA and the...
Most Played Australian Work win for "This Heart AttackThis Heart Attack"This Heart Attack" is the first single from Faker's second album Be the Twilight. It was released digitally on 13 October 2007 and physically on 27 October 2007...
" written by Nathan Hudson.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart position AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
Certifications | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Addicted Romantic Addicted Romantic Addicted Romantic is the debut studio album by Australian indie rock band Faker. Record label Capitol Records released the album on 13 June 2005. Four singles were released from the album; "Quarter to Three", "The Familiar"/"Enough", "Love for Sale", and "Hurricane". Of these, "Hurricane" was the...
|
44 | ||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Be the Twilight Be the Twilight Be the Twilight is the second album released by Sydney-based Australian band, Faker. It was released on 17 November 2007. "This Heart Attack" was the first single off the album, it was released on 13 October 2007... |
24 |
|
|||||||||||||
| 2011 | Get Loved
|
To be released. | ||||||||||||||
EPs
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Sound Out Loud
|
| 2001 | Kids on Overload
|
| 2005 | The Familiar/Enough EP
|
| 2011 | How Did We Not Get Loved?
|
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
Triple J Hottest 100 Triple J Hottest 100 The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll, based on the votes of national Australian radio station Triple J listeners, in order to determine their favourite song of the year. Voting is conducted by the internet and begins roughly two weeks prior to the new year for the previous year's songs... |
||||||
| 2001 | "Teenage Werewolf" | — | — | Sound Out Loud | |||
| "Kids on Overload" | — | — | Kids on Overload | ||||
| 2004 | "Quarter to Three" | — | — | Addicted Romantic Addicted Romantic Addicted Romantic is the debut studio album by Australian indie rock band Faker. Record label Capitol Records released the album on 13 June 2005. Four singles were released from the album; "Quarter to Three", "The Familiar"/"Enough", "Love for Sale", and "Hurricane". Of these, "Hurricane" was the... |
|||
| 2005 | "The Familiar"/"Enough" | — | — | ||||
| "Hurricane" | — | 21 | |||||
| 2006 | "Love for Sale" | — | — | ||||
| 2007 | "This Heart Attack This Heart Attack "This Heart Attack" is the first single from Faker's second album Be the Twilight. It was released digitally on 13 October 2007 and physically on 27 October 2007... " |
9 | 5 |
|
Be the Twilight Be the Twilight Be the Twilight is the second album released by Sydney-based Australian band, Faker. It was released on 17 November 2007. "This Heart Attack" was the first single off the album, it was released on 13 October 2007... |
||
| 2008 | "Are You Magnetic?" | — | — | ||||
| "Sleepwalking" | — | 62 | |||||
| 2011 | "Dangerous" | — | — | Get Loved | |||
| "—" denotes singles that did not chart. | |||||||
Music videos
| Year | Song | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "Teenage Werewolf" | Chris Bamford |
| 2002 | "Kids on Overload" | |
| 2004 | "Quarter to Three" | |
| 2005 | "The Familiar" | |
| "Hurricane" | ||
| 2006 | "Love for Sale" | |
| 2007 | "This Heart Attack" | Stephen Lance and Damon Escott |
| 2008 | "Are You Magnetic?" | Dan Reisinger |
| "Sleepwalking" | Luke Eve | |
| 2011 | "Dangerous" |