You know that you have made it when they name a suburb after you, or maybe those buses marked ‘Fraser’ are actually ferrying punters to the man himself. Well they always say that DJs get all the routes, I guess in this case they were right. Either way when you google ‘dance music’ and ‘Canberra’ you are sure to find a link to Chris Fraser itching your digital triggerfinger. Chris somehow found time in his schedule to give us an insight into what it has been like in front of the silver screen.
“It’s been the busiest year of my life, so I’m sure there’s got to be a bunch of stuff. With Academy, it’s been another corker of a year. For the club to win the first people’s choice award for best nightclub at the AHAs was a real buzz, I’ve gotten 2 new radio shows off the ground on 2 different stations, started a monthly residency at what I think has to be the best clubnight in Sydney (your 2nd home), started getting the studio cranked up again and had more fun DJing than ever before.”
Looking like the bastard love child of Han Solo and Chewbacca, Chris has piloted Canberra’s millennium falcon ‘Academy’ through uncharted regions since it first opened its doors to salivating local punters. His facial hair may have grown a little since those days but this is no ‘beard-off’ ladies and gentlemen, this is the InTheMix Top 50 DJ poll and this galactic supreme chancellor of rhythm has been at the helm of the Canberran Beat Empire for longer than Sally has been poncing around Home and Away… the only difference is that his boobs have stayed the same size. So what has he been doing since last gracing the ITM Podium in 2005?
“It’s been by far our most successful year to date, which is really saying something, because we’ve had some big ones! I’m very much like a proud father with that venue, it’s been a real joy to see it grow and mature into the troublesome, poorly behaved adolescent it now is! It seems that as the Canberra scene matures, people get a better appreciation for what it is we’ve been trying to do with the place, and that means it just keeps getting better and better. I think there’s an awareness that there’s simply no other space that can generate an atmosphere like it, and that it’s uniquely there in terms of delivering a real clubbing experience. At the end of the day, that thump in the chest from the system, the great work done by our production maestro Jim Medcraft esquire and the lineups we’ve had lately make it pretty obvious why it works.”
“I think the partnership with Friction has also been a really natural step. I’ve always had a great relationship with the boys, and their commitment to pushing new talent, and particularly their vision for developing the club is why we’ve been able to establish a really rocking night in the last 9 months. Canberra’s really stepped up and responded to the acts we’ve been putting on, and we’ve never had a stronger roster of acts to work with. We’ve got a fantastic crew of dedicated regulars, and they’re half the reason the nights work as well as they do, so massive thanks to them for making it all worthwhile. Particularly the ones who let us sign their breasts.”
Like a life size action figure with added ‘Resident DJ, Producer and Club Manager’ add-ons available now, Chris is a true foundation of the scene and by that I don’t mean that he is a bronzing powder rather that he is personally responsible for a large part of what it means to experience dance music in the capital. In between Running Academy and not shaving, Chris has proven to be a rather celebrated beatmaker, seeing releases on Vicious, EQ Grey, Release (Canada) and Vapour guaranteeing that when he hangs up the styluses, he will have more records to his name than Robert Downer Jnr and Charlie Sheen combined.
“Yeah it’s been great to get back amongst it. Most of the tunes I’ve done seem to have been really well received so far, and now it’s just that really frustrating bit of waiting for them to come out. The Rollover Rockstar mix for Jeff Drake & Nash T (featuring some really good looking tall guy) is one that I’m particularly proud of since it’s a 100% Canberra affair. Then I’ve done a remix of Supafly’s next single ‘Erotic City’ which should hopefully surface soon, and I’ve just finished a mix for Central Station of a tune called ‘Nobody Move’ by Sidney, which was a bit of fun. I’m also working a new and final version of ‘Breakaway’ with resung vocals by Inaya Day, which is hugely exciting. I think it’s actually come out better than any of the other 23 (just joking) versions I’ve done before, and since it’ll be getting a full world wide release it’s a great result. And I should be starting on a really exciting remix of another classic 80s cover real soon. On the original front, I’m about to sign two of my own tunes for overseas release, which is great too. I’m really cranking it up on the remix front at the moment, plus I’ve just upgraded the studio with a new beast of a production machine too, so there’ll be plenty more to come, that’s for sure.”
With an extremely sexy voice just made for radio, it was only a matter of time before Chris found himself spreading his audio manhood across the country, hosting ‘Mixup’ for national youth outlet Triple J (2002-2004), a weekly show on the Community Radio Network, regular contributions to Ministry Of Sound Radio on the Nova network and his daily ‘FreshCuts’ mixes on the Raw network.
“Thank God for digital mixing is all I can say! The 104.7 Academy Mashups have been a new thing this year, and since I’ve been at that station for over a decade to have local mixes on there, it’s been a real thrill to get it happening. Both them and the RawFM Freshcuts daily ones have been getting a brilliant response, which is great to see. The 104.7 ones are obviously a lot more mainstream friendly with plenty of big tracks on there, while the Raw ones are very much just me playing whatever I feel like at the time. Being able to do the two types works really well, and the feedback on both is great. New music is the reason half of us do what we do, and having someone track you down after hearing something on the radio always feels good.”
He was approached by a large TV network to do a comedic series on his life growing up in Canberra called ‘Everybody hates Chris’ but it was deemed that he in fact was absolutely too popular and lovable and the pilot was handed to some guy called ‘Rock’. This gave him more time to focus on what he does best, smashing big records to thousands of screaming (and sometimes topless) Jager-fuelled punters week in and week out on the biggest dancefloor in the capital and indeed across the land. Everybody has danced to Chris Fraser, his style is like a musical disease passed through the sweat glands and into the brain causing acute cases of hysteria. I even heard about a guy that was on crutches being healed by his ‘Midas Touch’ back in the summer of 2004. He came in limping and left doing the ‘running man’, miracles can and DO happen in a Chris Fraser set.
Finally, no ITM Top 5 interview would be complete without a ‘Top 5’ of its own
1. What does Chris Fraser do in his spare time, if any?
HAHAHAHAHA. Ummm, good question, I don’t fucking know! I find getting in the kitchen very relaxing. I’m sure there are probably way too many similarities with DJing, but cooking is a great escape. I have been watching ‘top gear’ on SBS lately though too. I don’t drive and never have, but there’s something about those goofy British bastards that’s freakin hilarious. I do occasionally hit the trails at Majura Pines on my bike too, might go get some of that tomorrow actually. So there we go, it’s not all that sad!
2. Tough Question, but If you had to make a ‘Chris Fraser top 10’ for the last year, what music would you put on it to sum up your style best?
Jacques lu Cont, Trent Moller, Tiga, d Ramirez, Christopher Just, Boyz Noise, T-Rek, Tonite Only, Rex the Dog, Axwell, Chris Lake, Howard Jones, The Clash, The KLF, Big Pig, Machinations, Kids in the Kitchen. Now I’m really showing my age.
3. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Ageing a bit less disgracefully than I am right now I hope! Honestly I couldn’t say. I’m just going to keep on doing what I’ve been doing and hope for the best. I know you’re supposed to have a plan, but fuck that, I’m just going with the flow right now. DJing is at a really exciting point creatively, there’s so much you can do with the technology, it feels like you can really push things a lot further. Production wise, I’ve never felt more inspired, on the radio front I’m getting to do things that I’ve been working towards for a very long time, and I get to work with a venue that gives me an outlet for all of it! In 5 years I’ll either be burnt up and washed out or still truckin. We’ll see.
4. What is your biggest Jager-fuelled embarrasing moment of 2006?
Just look at the pics from any of the last dozen friction Fridays for the answer to that question.
5. Who will win the ITM Top 50 poll this year?
I think it’s wide open actually, we could be in for a surprise.
The Technics Inthemix Top 50 party lands on Canberra on the 1st of September with special guests Nick Thayer and Rob Kay.
If you haven’t voted yet (what’s stopping you?), make your voice heard here: www.inthemix.com.au/50
For more info on the tour please check out www.inthemix.com.au/50/2006/tour/
CourtW says...
Chris Fraser is the best