Chris Lake is a relatively new phenomenon on the scene. With his signature sound of electro infused progressive he has found many a loyal fan in both the electro-house scene and the progressive scene.
With his breakthrough track ‘Changes’, Lake has had many ears turning his way since. Such was the success and quality of the track that it has been snapped up by Apollo Records and re-released with the vocals of Laura V. Replete with mixes from the Soul Avengerz and Dirty South, the track proved very damaging to dance floors across the globe.
As is often the case with these kind of things, though, Chris Lake is far from a one hit wonder. Having reworked tracks by Leftfield and The Prodigy – the latter having seen an official release on XL Records – he has been a constant murmur in the scene, with his music played by those that know for years.
A beacon of hope to all who would follow in his footsteps, Chris worked in a Post Office as recently as January of this year. He took the fateful decision to make a go of it professional just under 12 months ago. “I was spending way too much time and money on it and causing my girlfriend and family too much stress to continue the way I was going. So I gave myself an ultimatum – 1 year to get my shit together and make a go of this lark or give it up.”
Luckily his plan worked, having applied himself for the last few months he has scored collaborations and remixes that saw him work with the likes of Toolroom Records, Rowan Blades, Chris Haberhsam and Rhythm Code. That said, he opted not to use his real name for the Prodigy track he remixed, something he admits wasn’t the best move he could have made in marketing terms, but he can now look back on and laugh. Interestingly, he’s a self-confessed forum addict, but he realised that all this time he was wasting online could be put to much better use.
While Lake has been involved in the scene for many years, it is only recently that he can say he has had a degree of success with which he is happy and content about. And what success it is; his upcoming tour of Australia sees him travel halfway around the world to play in a scene that is hugely receptive to his sound at the moment. Furthermore, he has worked on the Electric Boutique compilation, which is yet another feather in his bow.
Comparing today’s scene to that of yesteryear, when there were a lot fewer fish in a much smaller pond, the bar is inevitably set much higher today, so much so that it is sometimes hard to even see where it is. With the surge forward in music production technology Lake concurs that in today’s market it is a lot harder to achieve success. That said, given his drive and abilities it is little surprise that he has been one of the new school’s over achievers.
The genre of electro house may well be a dirty word in many circles, and while Chris staunchly defends it as “fun music not to be taken too seriously,” he also admits that he far prefers the production side of things to DJing. Less so than the sounds of deep house and progressive, he finds the electro-house equivalent to be a much more easy going crowd of clubbers more intent on having a good time, rather than getting serious about the music and doing too much chin stroking.
“Dirty is the key to my sound – be it house or progressive or whatever I decide – it’s all about having a good time and enjoying yourself!”
Chris Lake tours Australia later in October and into early November, don’t miss out:
Oct 27 – Stonefest, Canberra
Oct 28 – Musica Summer Series Harbour Cruise, Sydney (day)
Oct 28 – Family, Brisbane (night)
Nov 3 – Fibre, Adelaide
Nov 4 – Calypso, Gold Coast
Nov 6 – Queensbridge, Melbourne
