Chet Faker has released his new single Can You Swim?, a poignant preview of his forthcoming album A Love For Strangers, scheduled for release on 13 February 2026 through BMG.
Can You Swim? continues the introspective territory explored across Chet Faker’s catalogue, with Nick Murphy, the ARIA-winning songwriter, musician, and producer behind the moniker, presenting a meditation on emotional endurance. The song depicts a relationship viewed through the metaphor of turbulent tides, as Murphy questions whether love offers buoyancy or a plunge into uncertainty. His fragile vocal delivery sits over a stark piano arrangement, creating a soundscape that reflects the tension between perseverance and surrender.
Can You Swim? follows the recent single This Time For Real, which examined the weight of expectation that shadows artistic success. Murphy has been gradually unveiling the emotional architecture of A Love For Strangers, a record that recaptures the sense of personal exploration that first shaped the Chet Faker project. His intention to revisit this creative impulse comes after a decade defined by reinvention, experimentation, and periods of reflection.
A Love For Strangers will be the successor to 2021’s Hotel Surrender, and its foundation was formed during a period of rediscovery. The milestone ten-year anniversary of his breakthrough album Built On Glass sharpened Murphy’s desire to reconnect with the energy that defined his early work. Built On Glass remains a critical point in his career, debuting at number one on the ARIA Charts and placing three singles in the top ten of Triple J’s Hottest 100 of 2014, including the chart-topping Talk Is Cheap.
Nick Murphy first rose to prominence in 2011 with his cover of Blackstreet’s No Diggity, which went viral and positioned Chet Faker as one of Australia’s emerging electronic and soul-leaning innovators. His debut EP Thinking In Textures arrived in 2012 and became a defining release, earning Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Best Independent Single/EP at the Australian Independent Records Awards. Its track I’m Into You reached number 24 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2012, signalling his rapid ascent.
Murphy continued building momentum with collaborations alongside Flume, including their 2013 EP Lockjaw, and further expanded his global profile with the release of his debut album Built On Glass in 2014. Major festival appearances followed, as did the release of the Work EP with Marcus Marr in 2015.
In 2016, Murphy made a significant shift by retiring the Chet Faker name and releasing music under his birth name. This period included the album Run Fast Sleep Naked in 2019 and the instrumental release Music For Silence in 2020, which first appeared on the Calm meditation app. Later that same year, he revived Chet Faker with the single Low, signalling a renewed connection to the identity that first brought him international attention.
With Can You Swim? now out in the world and A Love For Strangers approaching, Chet Faker is also preparing for a run of Australian festival appearances. His live shows have been a pivotal part of his artistic evolution, with performances that merge intricate electronic textures, soulful vocals, and jazz-inflected improvisation.
The upcoming dates are:
5, 6, 7 December – Meredith Music Festival
28 February 2026 – A Day In The Gully
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