Chet Faker keeps it real

Nick Murphy is girding his loins. The bearded electro-soul crooner, keyboardist and producer, better known as Chet Faker, is making the most of some rare time off in Brooklyn, visiting doctors for flu shots and vitamins, sleeping in and eating as much as he can.

"Everyone gets run-down, regardless of how healthy you are, with the amount of touring I've been doing," the 26-year-old Melburnian says.

After finishing another US tour, Murphy headed to the UK and Europe for more sold-out shows, including his first in Poland and Romania. He's excited but also scared "because the touring is insane. It was booked a long time ago before I knew how much I could physically withstand, but I'll be OK".

The final date is in Glasgow on November 22. Murphy then zooms home for the ARIA Awards on November 26. The unassuming musician is this year's leading nominee, with nine, thanks to the success of his chart-topping debut album, Built On Glass.

Murphy already collected three trophies at the nominations event, including the coveted producer of the year gong, which he dropped off at his mum's place before flying to the US.

The other awards went to Eric J. Dubowsky for mixing Built on Glass and Tin & Ed, who designed the album art.

"Not to belittle any categories, but it was nice that the work was recognised with those ARIAs," Murphy says. "Not just me as an artist."

When asked which of the other gongs - best male artist, album of the year, breakthrough artist et al - he might like to slide next to the producer trophy on his mum's mantelpiece, Murphy is typically diffident.

"You'll have to remind me which ones I'm nominated for," he shrugs. "I don't want to get my hopes up for one or think that I haven't achieved something just because I haven't won an ARIA."

Murphy seems to be taking his achievements in his stride, or simply not taking them in at all.

After playing in electro outfits around Melbourne, he took on the Chet Faker moniker in homage to jazz great Chet Baker.

Three years ago his down-tempo cover of Blackstreet's No Diggity went viral, as they say in the classics, sparking massive interest in his solo recordings.

No Diggity featured on 2012 EP Thinking in Textures, which only built on the tsunami of expectation for his full-length debut.

Working without a record deal, Murphy constructed Built on Glass over the best part of two years in a studio inside converted North Melbourne meat markets.

"It was my first album and you only get one of those ever," he says of the process which saw him discard more than 60 songs.

"It was totally about doing something I was happy with even if no one liked it. Honesty was a huge thing."

Late last year Murphy signed with boutique Sydney label Future Classic, also home to friend and collaborator Harley Streten, aka Flume. Last year, the pair released the platinum-selling single Drop the Game.

The straight- talking muso says he went with Future Classic because they offered the best deal.

Featuring the singles 1998, Gold and Talk is Cheap plus Melt, a collaboration with New York songstress Kilo Kish, Built on Glass was finally released in April this year, going straight to No. 1. This week the album earned a J Award nomination for Australian Album of the Year.

Since finally unveiling Built on Glass, the studio hound has been unleashed on the road.

"I've played over 100 shows this year already," Murphy says. "Those ARIA nominations were the first indication it was even going well, apart from the occasional person telling me. It's weird . . . I don't see it going well because I'm in venues and airports all the time.

"Half the time, people at my shows don't even have my album. I've been at shows and people come up afterwards 'Dude, I've never even heard of you, my girlfriend brought me tonight. That was awesome'.

"It wasn't a live project when it started," he continues. "It was supposed to be a studio thing. It sort of evolved so far beyond what I thought it was going to be."

He currently keeps himself creatively fulfilled by expanding and polishing the live show. He hints that audiences at his two shows at the Perth Festival Gardens in February can expect something different to previous visits.

"I can't tell you exactly what because I don't know," Murphy says.

"But the way this year's gone, the show is different every month. Every two weeks there's something new, just because I've been doing it so much. I can guarantee you it will be different next year.

"I don't want to pigeonhole myself into one kind of show, then people will get bored and I'll get bored."

Right now Murphy doesn't have time to be bored.

He barely has time to take stock of the big moments, whether that's topping a chart or No Diggity featuring in a commercial during the 2013 Super Bowl.

"Sometimes the really big things I forget about," he laughs. "My brain is almost like 'I don't know how to process that, let's forget about it'."

After the ARIA Awards and some more overseas commitments, Murphy plans to take a short break - his first since he assumed the jazzy moniker.

Maybe then he'll see the forest for the trees.

'Half the time, people at my shows don't even have my album. I've been at shows and people come up afterwards "Dude, I've never even heard of you, my girlfriend brought me tonight. That was awesome".'