How Chet Faker's Sound Became the Soundtrack to Every Coffee Shop
2024-10-14 · 5 min read
Nick Murphy, better known as Chet Faker, created the sonic template for the modern coffee shop. His 2014 debut Built on Glass, featuring the platinum single Talk Is Cheap and his cover of Blackstreet's No Diggity, established a sound so ubiquitous in cafes worldwide that you could argue he invented a subgenre.
The formula was deceptively simple: warm analog synths, understated beats drawn from downtempo electronic music, and Murphy's breathy baritone vocals floating above everything with effortless cool. The production was sophisticated enough for headphone listening but mellow enough to function as background music.
Talk Is Cheap became a cultural moment beyond music. The music video garnered hundreds of millions of views. The song appeared in commercials and TV shows and became one of the most Shazamed tracks in Australian history. It crossed from indie electronic circles to mainstream consciousness.
His pivot to releasing music under his real name, Nick Murphy, from 2016 to 2020 was commercially quieter but artistically rewarding. Albums like Missing Link explored more experimental territory with live instrumentation and stripped-back arrangements.
The return to the Chet Faker name with Hotel Surrender in 2021 represented an acceptance of his sonic identity while pushing it forward. The production became warmer and more organic. Songs like Low and Feel Good retained the coffee shop DNA but with deeper grooves and more confident songwriting.
Murphy's influence on the ambient-adjacent pop landscape is enormous. Artists like Tom Misch, FKJ, and Jordan Rakei all operate in sonic territory that Chet Faker helped define. The modern coffee shop playlist is essentially his invention, even when his songs aren't on it.
