Nathan Fake 2024
By Kit Macdonald
Nathan Fake was renowned for many things when he appeared on the UK electronica scene in the early 2000s. Being extremely young; having a name nobody could quite believe really was his name (it is); the fact that he came from and still resided in Norfolk, the decidedly uncool homeland and spiritual fiefdom of Alan Partridge. There was also his very obvious, deep well of talent as a producer, and it is that reputation that has held firm as the early novelty factoids have fallen away.
James Holden's Border Community label released Fake's first EP, Outhouse, in 2003, a few months after his 20th birthday, and also his pastoral, downtempo first album, Drowning in a Sea of Love, in 2006, setting the stage for a career that has never looked like faltering in the two decades since. Following in the footsteps of Holden, his early inspiration and patron, Fake has released his last two LPs on his own Cambria Instruments label, and maintains a reputation for deeply textured, abstract-but-danceable live sets that echo the heroes of IDM while never disappearing too far into the realms of the avant-garde.