I love that way dance music can put you in a trance.
Chet Faker
You can't rush an art form.
It was definitely hard when I first started, and by no means do I consider my live show to be where I want it to be; it will develop step by step for the rest of my life.
I studied audio engineering at university. The background I am from, music was never seen as a viable career; it was always a hobby.
I like a lot of independent brands - Melbourne's Kloke, Handsom and Neuw Denim, and Bassike in Sydney. It's easier to be proud of what you're wearing if you've met the people behind the brand and there's more of a personal story.
I don't start my show at 200%. I like to go in slow, warm up the crowd, and bring them along with me. To hear everyone singing along is so great.
I think that connection with humans is so important. Sometimes I'll do this monologue and talk to the crowd, like, 'Come on, let's really connect here.' I don't think a lot of people understand it's a two-way exchange. Some people go to a show and are like, 'Yeah, you make me feel.' That's not how it works.
I hate fame. There's this assumption that everyone wants it - that by being a musician, I've signed up for it at some point. But personally, what I signed up for is sharing my music. I've always said I'd rather have four No. 10 songs than one No. 1 hit.
I think the most-played record in our house was the 'Big Chill' Soundtrack - so Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, the Temptations, Otis Redding. I think that's where I got my love for a good hook, a good soul hook - really smooth and warm and from the heart.
Music to me is about being honest, and it's what I've always pictured music as. I don't see the point of expressing yourself if you are going to be cryptic about it.
On my Instagram, lots of people tag me in photos of just dudes with beards, and they're like, 'Oh my God, I met Chet Faker' and I'm like, 'That doesn't even look like me.'
Sleep is getting to be like gold.
Learning to appreciate those things that aren't related to success has proved the biggest lesson.
Chet Faker's a reference to the late Chet Baker. I'm a big fan of his vocal style; it's quite fragile and soft, and that was a style I wanted to take on.
Hype is a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing if you aren't prepared to back it up.
Ultimately, I love making music more than anything. And I want to do that for ever. I don't want be on the top. I just want to keep doing what I'm doing.
In my eyes, I think it's important that if you're doing something you're proud of and that is genuine and authentic, you have a responsibility to bring that to as many people as possible, just for the sheer reason that there are musicians out there who are manufacturing emotions that aren't genuine.
I always try to work hard and get things done as soon as possible, but never at the loss of quality of the product.
All of my friends are really good dancers, which was initially why I never danced - we'd go out, and they would kill it, and I'd be like, 'Yeah, I'm just gonna sit at the bar.'
The day you stop clapping at a gig is the day your soul dies.
I have had a pretty hardcore crash course on living out of a suitcase. Some people take consistency in their lives for granted. When you have little to none, you discover it's kind of a nice thing.
I think a lot of artists get confused when people like their music; they think that means people know and like them. I'm sure there's an element of truth to that, but to me, the music I make is what I'm most proud of. I prefer to focus on that and for people to focus on the music, too.
I think diva is an inevitable outcome of the industry, and I don't think it reflects on the person at all. You take a normal human being, and basically, for 24 hours, seven days a week, apart from sleeping, you introduce them to places and things almost every minute that are brand new.
I just love a slow groove. I feel so comfortable in it. But I listen to a lot of fast music, a lot of techno and house.
All my ego wants is to be sitting by a lake in Italy. It doesn't want to be backstage, warming up.
An album is like a book or a diary or a snapshot... It just feels so like the end of a chapter when you finish one.
I think you can move to everything, but with some music, you just want to sit still. That's me, anyway.
My biggest enemy for the longest time was my head. When I first became successful, it made me anxious because I was overthinking everything, and you hear so many 'fail' stories.
I would consider my diary serves the same purpose as going for a walk or a run. They are all physical ways of clearing a mental landscape.
I have an addictive personality. I was addicted to computer games... and then all that obsessive nature just piled into music.
I'd wear all APC if I could afford it and wasn't embarrassing to go head-to-toe in one brand.
Sometimes I have to deal with trolls, and I just block them. But most of the time, Twitter's heaps of fun, actually.
Our generation's grown up with the Internet, so it's an extension of our social lives; it's an extension of us. It makes perfect sense for me to use that medium.
It's like my parents' musical tastes are the mother and father of my music. It's their fault for making me so emotional and in tune with my emotions!
When I was 21 or 22, I realized I was never going to be something else - I had to be a musician. I can't commit to anything unless I love it.
I came second in a 1,500-metre running race at school. I knew I couldn't have come first, so second was my version of first.
You can turn something into art just because of the way you tell people to look at it.
My high school career counsellor said I shouldn't pursue music as a career.
I second guess everything I do musically, and I often could spend hours on, say, one snare sound.
I remember a concert for a visiting girls school, and that was the first time I ever sang - it was always about girls - that was the main thing. But somewhere along the line, it became a cathartic thing.
What I like about Americans is if it's good music, that's the only thing that matters.
I'm a humanist at heart: at the end of the day, we are all human beings.
Most of my inspiration comes from mistakes, so every time I make a massive mistake, that usually affects me so much that I have to process that via song.
Rather than trying to create an audience, just try and create music that feels good to you.
That's what helps me keep playing: the idea of giving something to others. Because personally, I've had my fill.
I love performing. The more I do it, the more I grow into it.
Sometimes it feels like it's show after show after show - like it's 'Groundhog Day,' and you feel like you're lost in the system.
