LIVE: RedBull presents Chet Faker

Day 29:  Redbull is almost through their 30 Days In LA, breaking new music with the help of an army of headliners.  The headliner this night is relatively new but commands the diehard following of an established act.  Chet Faker came to prominence in 2012 when the internet went crazy over his “No Diggity” Blackstreet cover.  2 years later his debut album, Built On Glass, has created a buzz that sold out this show in under a minute!

Redbull Sound Select artists Denitia & Sene set the tone as the opening act.  A soft mix of Electronic Soul that brings to mind The Internet and The Weeknd sonically while vocalist Denitia’s voice takes me back to the music of Esthero.  Despite the chill nature of the tracks, Sene is a crowd pleaser who options a Hip-Hop approach to engaging the audience between tracks.  Well, they are from Brooklyn.  Song of the set had to be “Divided” , a single that should get them serious blog support in the coming months.

To compliment the diversity of Chet Faker’s sound RedBull also brought in Alt-Rock band James Supercave to pick the energy up.  Based in the Silver Lake neighborhood of LA in which the venue was located the singer jokes “this gig was really convenient.”  A blend of atmospheric guitars and synths wash over a Dance rhythm section at times reminiscent of UK group Bombay Bicycle Club as well as Foster The People.

The great part of these RedBull shows are the use of the many unique venues  around Los Angeles.  The Mack Sennett photo/video studios and performance space played host this night as we patiently awaited the one man band to take stage.  The compact Australian with a beard about the size of his head jumps behind one keyboard and a rack of midi controllers to conduct with.  Electronic beats crack, blip and boom as he bounces from knob to knob with the ease of an eight armed octopus.  His voice is a rich timber full of soul.  The combination is sort of Anthony Hamilton if he were produced by Flume with a touch of Citizen Cope.  Set favorites included the Singles “I’m Into You”, “Gold” but “No Diggity” was the winner.  Whether intimately at his keyboard or dropping uptempo beats it was obvious the crowd was in his hands every second of show, leaving them demanding an encore that sadly did not happen.  Regardless, it was a show that I’m sure will linger with fondness for the weeks to come.

29 days down, 1 to go…

words and Chet Faker photos:  Dominic Painter @DJDPainter

additional photos (Mack Sennett, Denitia & Sene, James Supercave) courtesey of RedBull