Project Description

NICK MURPHY

The Forum Melbourne

1 May

(Live Review)

Reviewer: Alyssa Borda

.

.

LISTEN TO ‘DANGEROUS’ HERE

.

.

The Forum show opened with dance electronic artist Lou James @ 8pm. Sparse crowd of 20 age+ clean cut, fashionable pax. DJ format dropping dramatic electro sounds. Pulsating music emanating from Roland keys, MAC book and mixing stations were present whilst blue lights were flashing. Sounds were repetitive then became louder. Some sounds created on the mic were non sensical, Very cool, space age progressive with synthesizers. There was no real engagement with the crowd just pure beats. Perfect Soundscape music to take off into space! There were hip hop elements and lots of heavy bass. The sounds reminded me of mysterious producer ‘Running Touch’. The crowd were loving the vibes and certainly got everyone all ready for Nick Murphy, the headline act. Huge crowd then sets in and fills out The Forum.

.

Lou James

.

Lou James

.

Nick Murphy, (fka Chet Faker) progressive ARIA award winning singer/songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist, walked on stage @ 9:18pm dressed in a suit and commenced with heavy beats. First song ‘Hear It Now’ was performed which is a track from his latest second full length release album, released April 26, entitled ‘Run Fast, Sleep Naked’.

What a great song to showcase Nick’s distinctive soulful voice.  Lighting was great. Amazing creative progressive artist. So Impressed with his use of a bow on his electric guitar. Never seen this technique before on an electric guitar in Australia. Very dramatic. WOW! Cutting edge. Drums rocking followed by great applause.

‘Yeah I Care’ also from the new album was next. Brilliant track with heavy electronic beats and a fusion of different musical genres including electronic, indie, classical and rock. Lighting looked fabulous. Huge applause from the audience.

‘Gold’ from Chet Faker’s platinum selling debut album ‘Built On Glass’ was next. Groovy, funky vibes. Love the lyrics, great melody. Lots of loud clapping from the audience plus phones in the air. Dramatic warm red and yellow lights to highlight the song title.

Next song was a Hi-NRG one, with dancing from Nick.

4th and 5th songs were both very cool, great vibes beats were awesome.

‘Harry Takes Drugs On The Weekend’ from the latest album, is a  great feel good song. Creative songwriting. Love the sounds. Catchy chorus. Sounding a lot like Chris Martin from Coldplay on this one. Great work on the keys. Clapping heard in the audience. Wolf whistles.

‘Trouble With Us’ a certified platinum track that has reached no.8 previously on the Australian charts was next. Great song with cool vocals and collaboration with DJ Marcus Marr. Love this one, quite groovy with funk elements. Very popular with the fans as they were singing along to it. Band was amazing.

.

Nick Murphy

.

Nick Murphy

.

Nick Murphy

.

Next track had Nick performing in a white t-shirt to a blues electro sound. Saxophone was great. Pulsating beats happening. Drums powerful.

‘Believe (Me)’ lovely performance on the piano with heavy drum beats. With lights focused on Nick with vase of flowers on the top of the piano. Raw vocals.

‘Some People’ performed saw Nick back on guitar, which had the absolute WOW factor. With pulsating bass and drums electronica heaven. Then Flashing lights. Change of instrument, holds mic upside down whilst on keys. Vocals amazing. Amazing to see him changing from one instrument to another so effortlessly.

‘Never No’ with a little profanity was a powerful synth-pop song. Great vocals. Off beat tempo with alternative/indie vibes. Love the drumming on this track also from the latest album. One brilliant track.

Thank you to the audience!

‘Woo hoo’ comes from the crowd! ‘Talk Is Cheap’  followed, another ARIA certified platinum song, that reached no. 6 on the Australian charts was a very groovy song with Nick on the keys and with saxophone featured. Love the musical composition on this song. One of the best songs! Quite complex. Red and blue lights for a contrast in moods. Very popular song with plenty of fans singing in the crowd. Lots of couples swaying in the audience and enjoying it.

Single ‘Sanity’ from Nick Murphy’s first full length latest album ‘Run Fast, Sleep Naked’ was a highly anticipated performance for the evening. Loved by many fans in the audience including fan Kaitlyn, from Newport. Popular track. Lots of dancing in the audience. Very cool song with bright piano melodies, acoustic guitar with punchy percussion. Fab sounds quite pulsating!

Nick then said to the audience ‘thank you so much guys, you were awesome’. Then at 10:35pm there was a mad stampede for an encore with plenty of wolf whistles.

.

Nick Murphy

.

Nick Murphy

.

Nick Murphy

.

‘Message You At Midnight’  also from the latest album, starts with bubbles seen in the air above the crowd. Magic! The atmosphere in the audience was pretty amazing and connected. Emotional song. Beautiful songwriting. Vocals went into a crescendo. Another truly amazing song musically. WOW incredibly soft and emotive.

‘Dangerous’ penultimate song for the evening features beautiful voice and keys. Quite emotional. Vocally stunning. Drumming great.

‘Medication’ was the final song for the evening. Clever songwriting. Complex lyrics. Powerful song overall. WOW once again!! Encore was great. 10:53pm Nick finishes then walks off the stage, huge applause to a delighted audience.

Thank you to all the band. Listen to his latest album NOW!

.

Check out Deb Kloeden’s gallery of this event HERE

.

‘Dangerous’ by Nick Murphy is out now via Future Classic

Stream/buy it here
Pre-order/save the album here

.

NICK MURPHY
AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2019

May 05 Townsville, Australia – Groovin The Moo Festival

May 08 Brisbane, Australia – The Tivoli

May 11 Bunbury, Australia – Groovin The Moo Festival

May 14 Sydney, Australia – The Enmore

May 18 Darwin, Australia – Bass in the Grass Festival

.

Nick Murphy

.

Follow NICK MURPHY
Website   Facebook   Twitter   Instagram

.

.

.

AMNPLIFY – DB