Living the healthy life is not something that immediately springs to mind when imagining what a DJ gets up to, but Chris Lake is one who walks to the beat of a different drum machine. “I’ve been trying to keep healthy, eat well, plus have a half decent routine and it’s making a big difference when I’m in the studio,” he said. This might all sound ho-hum, but it’s exactly what allows Chris to jetset across the globe regularly, as well as consistently pumping out quality productions. A veritable music machine, and on his third visit to Australia shortly to play at We Love Sounds in Sydney, Winter Sound System in Melbourne and more, it seems we’re due to witnesses his newfound lease on life. “I’ve just finished eight tracks in the past month and I’ve some choice numbers to play on this tour,” he told ITM.

With his touring schedule, playlists and our listening pleasure nice and sorted, Chris filled us in on the latest happenings with his label Rising Music. “We’re just about to kick off the Rising Summer series,” he says, which he explained is, “a collaboration of releases in which we let loose a new track every fortnight involving some cool up and coming artists”. The first slated release is a tune called Violins, co-produced with friend Marco Lys and remixed by Swedish duo Sour Grapes. It’s a sublime opener, bringing a funky, techno summer breeze.

Chris loves his fans, and in an effort to closely interact with them he’s become the epitome of Web 2.0. Knowing that a simple static page just doesn’t cut it anymore and admitting to constantly “working the rooms”, of the social media scene, he added he’s in the midst of a mammoth website upgrade. “I really wanted a site that incorporated all of the things that are currently happening on the web. I like to talk with my fans as much as possible, and we’ve got all the usual suspects of social media sorted, but I wanted to incorporate something more,” he continued. “The redesign will also offer free track downloads, and in addition to having the standard information it will allow for some good intermingling.” Asked on when it will be ready he laughed, “Unfortunately these things don’t design themselves and even as we speak I’ve got someone working on them. They’ll be up real soon.”

Chris is also into video blogging, something he says he started on his recent North American tour and is now a permanent accompaniment. “We were putting up videos every couple of days after every gig, and it got a really good response. It’s something we’ll definitely be bringing to my four days in Australia”. With a seeming sassiness in front of the camera, you’d be inclined to think this one-time postal clerk would be ready to make his own movie, particularly with his leading role in the 2008 music video If You Knew. When asked on making the video he laughed, “[It was] bloody awful! I’ve put that one down to a one off experience and I cannot take anymore ribbing from my mates.” Based on that response it seems we’ll only be seeing Chris’s ad-libbed personal updates from now on – rather than him in a suit pensively glancing at the camera!

As for musical inspiration and admiration, Chris highlights two artists in a line of class acts: Timo Mass and Sander Kleinenberg. When asked what it is about these two he replied, “They were two producers that really got me into progressive. Everything Timo was doing around ’99 and ’00 I just thought was really, really good. While for Sander, one of the key things for me was the Four Seasons EP, which was absolutely awesome music”. Interestingly, while Chris said these were the early influences which made him stand up and take notice, in what seems to be a journeyman’s evolutionary path to mastery, he added his music is now nothing quite like it.

Also described as master of the rework, I asked Chris what he thought of that. “It’s an interesting one!” he smirked. “And it’s nice when people make such positive comments but its one title I’ve never really thought about”. On picking songs to remix he said, “I do get a lot of offers and for various reasons you can’t take every one on. When one does comes through though you’ve got to decide if it has enough of the individual elements suitable for a rework”. Chris then added that some tracks can be a breeze while others can prove a downright challenge. “Some can take as little as three hours, whereas for example one I did for the Rogue Traders took me three weeks!”

He elaborates that he sees it ultimately as an interpretation, and he usually only takes one or two sounds from an original. “If there’s a guitar I’ll normally always take that and cut it up into something really different”. On vocals, he offers a funny anecdote. “I’d just finished a remix for a new band One Of The People, and they’d asked for three versions: a vocal, an instrumental, and a dub. They then called saying ‘you’ve sent the one labelled vocal but there’s no vocal in it’, even though there was I’d just not used the whole sample they sent. Anyway in the end they still took it!”

Chris Lake is a burgeoning bastion of beats, but on top of that he’s also a straight-up guy, with a warm manner and a thoughtful edge to his answers; a real pleasure to interview. For those that have seen him perform before, welcome him back. For those who haven’t, prepare to be peppered by a pulsating package of progressive and house music. Let’s just hope in his quest for digital dominance, he doesn’t adopt the full internet world of virtuality, Lawnmower Man style, and relegate himself to virtually teleconferencing his DJ gigs in the near future!

Look out for Chris Lake’s artist album Crazy later in the year, and catch him at the following shows this weekend…

Friday 5th June – The Bedroom, Gold Coast
Saturday 6th June – We Love Sounds, Sydney
Sunday 7th June – Winter Sound System, Melbourne
Monday 8th June – We Love Sounds, Adelaide

Check out ITM’s Festival Pages for more info on all the winter festival action we’ve got coming up.