Nathan Fake

Nathan Fake
Fake performing at La Gaîté Lyrique, Paris, April 2018
Background information
Born	(1983-03-03) 3 March 1983 King's Lynn, Norfolk, England
Origin	Necton, Norfolk, England
Genres	Electronica, techno, ambient
Occupation(s)	Producer, performer
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Cambria Instruments, Ninja Tune, Border Community

Nathan Fake (born 3 March 1983) is an English electronic music artist from Necton, Norfolk, England. He has released music on the Border Community, Ninja Tune, and Cambria Instruments labels (the latter a project by Fake and Wesley Matsell).

According to Fake, he started producing music in 2003 with the release of the Outhouse EP on James Holden's label "Border Community". Over the next few years, other singles and EPs were released, in particular The Sky Was Pink, which caused Fake, Holden, and Border Community to gain popularity due to Holden's remix of the song. In 2006, Fake released his debut album Drowning in a Sea of Love which was described as similar to the Scottish band Boards of Canada by The Guardian, and gained critical acclaim. Over the next few years, a number of remixes of the content from this album, notably the Fortdax and Four Tet remixes of the song You Are Here, further boosted Fake's popularity, and the album was followed by another in 2009 - Hard Islands, also on Border Community.

Fake has produced several remixes, notably in 2011 a remix of Radiohead's song Morning Mr Magpie was released on the remix album TKOL RMX 1234567 after being approached by the band's frontman Thom Yorke, and he has also remixed songs by Jon Hopkins, Clark, and Irène Drésel.

In 2012, Fake released his last album on Border Community - Steam Days, after which he founded the label Cambria Instruments with Wesley Matsell in 2014, the inaugural release being a split single between the two artists. The following year, he released the Glaive EP on the same label.

After a period of writer's block, Fake signed to Ninja Tune and released the singles "DEGREELESSNESS / Now We Know" and "RVK" in 2016 and 2017, followed by the album Providence. Two remix EPs - "Providence Reworks" Part I and Part II, were released later in the year, featuring Overmono, Konx Om Pax, and Olga Wojciechowska. In 2018, the "Sunder" EP was released on Ninja Tune.

In 2019 two of Fake's early EPs - "Watlington Street" and "Dinamo" were reissued on Cambria Instruments.

In April 2020, Fake's fifth studio album Blizzards was released by Cambria Instruments. It was preceded by 2 singles - "Tbilisi" and "Vectra". The album gained critical acclaim.

In April 2021, Fake released the Sanxenxo EP on Cambria Instruments, the title track being left over from the Blizzards recording sessions. Later in the year, he released Blizzards Remixes, a remix EP.

After releasing two singles - "The Grass (feat Wizard Apprentice)" and "Vimana", his sixth album Crystal Vision was released on 7 April 2023 on Cambria Instruments. The album was followed by the Guiro EP on 27 October 2023, also on Cambria Instruments, preceded by the title track Guiro as a single. According to Fake, it differs in that it is mostly "more raw and club-oriented" than Crystal Vision.

In December 2024, Fake will release the EP Covers (From Memory) on Cambria Instruments. It contains the cover versions of ‘What You Want’ by Industry Standard, ‘Positive Education’ by Slam and ‘Attached’ by Orbital. He noticed that he discovered the tracks in his youth and that they influenced him. In terms of methodology, he covered the tracks from memory without listening to them again.

Discography

Albums

• Drowning in a Sea of Love (20 March 2006) – Border Community
• Hard Islands (27 April 2009) – Border Community
• Steam Days (3 September 2012) – Border Community
• Providence (10 March 2017) – Ninja Tune
• Blizzards (3 April 2020) – Cambria Instruments
• Crystal Vision (7 April 2023) - Cambria Instruments

Singles and EPs

• Outhouse (2003) – Border Community
• Watlington Street EP (2004) – Saw Recordings
• The Sky Was Pink (2004) – Border Community
• Dinamo EP (2005) – Traum Schallplatten
• Silent Night (2005) – Border Community (7" release)
• Drowning in a Sea of Remixes (Remix EP) (2006) – Border Community
• You Are Here (2007) – Border Community
• Iceni Strings (2012) – Border Community
• Paean (2013) – Border Community
• CAMBRIA01 (Split 12" with Wesley Matsell) (2014) – Cambria Instruments
• GLAIVE (2015) – Cambria Instruments
• DEGREELESSNESS / Now We Know (2016) – Ninja Tune
• RVK (2017) – Ninja Tune
• Providence Reworks - Part 1 – Ninja Tune
• Providence Reworks - Part 2 – Ninja Tune
• Sunder (2018) – Ninja Tune
• Sanxenxo (2021) – Cambria Instruments
• Sandstone (2021) – Cambria Instruments
• The Grass (2023) – Cambria Instruments
• Vimana (2023) – Cambria Instruments
• Amen 96 (Drumless Version) (2023) – Cambria Instruments
• Guiro EP (2023) – Cambria Instruments
• Outhouse 2023 (2023) – Cambria Instruments
• Covers (From Memory) (2024) – Cambria Instruments

Remixes

• Avus – "Real (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Border Community (2004)
• Perc – "Closer (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Premier Sounds (2004)
• DJ Remy – "Scrambled (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Additive Records (2004)
• Steve Lawler – "Out at Night (Nathan's Night In)" – Subversive Records (2004)
• Tiefschwarz – "Isst (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Fine Records (2005)
• Shocking Pinks – "Dressed To Please (Nathan Fake Remix)" – DFA Records (2008)
• Vincent Oliver – "Clouds in The Haeds (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Lo Recordings (2008)
• Starting Teeth – "Venom (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Creaked Records (2009)
• Grasscut – "Muppet (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Ninja Tune (2010)
• Jon Hopkins – "Wire (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Double Six Recordings (2010)
• Walls – "Gaberdine" – Kompakt (2010)
• PVT – "Light Up Bright Fires (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Warp Records (2010)
• Radiohead – "Morning Mr Magpie (Nathan Fake Rmx)" (2011)
• Neon Jung – "Delirium Tremens (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Magic Wire Recordings (2012)
• Clark – "Growls Garden (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Warp Records (2013)
• Dorian Concept – "Draft Culture (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Ninja Tune (2015)
• Ultraísta – "Party Line (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Partisan Records (2019)
• Dominik Eulberg – "Dreizehnspecht (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Studio !K7 (2020)
• Irène Drésel – "Chambre2 (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Room Records (2020)
• Christian Löffler – "Roth feat. Mohna (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Ki Records (2020)
• Damian Lazarus – "Into The Sun (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Crosstown Rebels (2020)
• Sophie Hutchings – "Orange Glow (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Mercury KX (2020)
• GoGo Penguin – "Open (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Decca Records France (2021)
• The Micronaut – "Archery (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Ki Records (2021)
• Field Works – "Station 5 Review - Nathan Fake Remix" – Temporary Residence (2022)
• BLOODMOON, Bearcubs – "All In Place - Nathan Fake Remix" – Eat Your Own Ears (2022)
• Paradigm Shift – "Force One (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Lone Romantic (2023)
• bdrmm – "Alps (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Rock Action Records (2024)
• The Ocean (band) – "Preboreal (Nathan Fake Rework)" – Pelagic Records (2024)
• Sasha (DJ) – "How to Wear Raybans Well (Nathan Fake Remix)" – Last Night on Earth (2024)

Compilation appearances

• "The Sky Was Pink" - Fear & Loathing 2, Mixed by Luke Slater - Resist Music (2004)
• "Numb Chance" – Elektronische Musik: Interkontinental 5 – Traum Schallplatten (2006)
• "Laluna" – #savefabric – Fabric Records & Houndstooth (2016)

Collaborations

• "Lava Flow" (collaboration with Milky Globe) (2006) – LoEB

Television

• The track "Grandfathered" was used in an ad for the Motorola Pebl phone and in the television programme Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe.
• The track "You Are Here" was used in the CSI: Miami episode "Miami Confidential". The FortDax remix is used as the theme tune to BBC Four's Newswipe with Charlie Brooker and Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe.