RS: Talking about playing parties, how was Creamfields this year?
Christopher Lawrence: Oh it was off the hook, those people in the UK like to party. It was pissing down with rain and it didn't matter, they still got twenty thousand people. The place became mud and everybody was slipping and sliding around. The good thing I have to say about the rain though is because of the multiple arenas and tents, everybody would go to one area they wanted to go to and they'd just stick to it. So the party was really good in each of the tents, thanks to the weather.
RS: So because it was pouring, people weren't going back and forth?
Christopher Lawrence: No, it was fantastic! What I've found in the past is people would be in an arena and then when I finished and they weren't into the next guy, they'd just run over and see Sasha in the Bedrock tent. You'd see people going from tent to tent trying to catch different DJs. When it was really raining and it was dark out between the tents, people didn't want to move. So it was great and the rain focused the energy, so now I just pray for rain! <laughin>
RS: Yes, that's something I've noticed like at Ultra before. It's kind of overload where there's so many great things and you want to see everyone but it's hard to focus on one thing and keep a vibe.
Christopher Lawrence: Yes exactly, because people are moving in and out of the areas so much, that you don't get a vibe in front of the stage really.
RS: So what's been your favorite gig this year you've done?
Christopher Lawrence: I can't choose one because there've been so many good ones, but one of the best recently was in Kuala Lumpur on a Formula One racetrack. The party was sponsored by Ducati with a pretty good sized budget, so the promoters went all out. Ducati is like the Ferrari for motorcycle racing. In fact their motorcycles are red just like the Ferrari, and they're Italian as well. The party was just one area outdoors, instead of having multiple areas, and they got like eight or nine thousand people, with Donald Glaude, Scumfrog, myself, and Anne Savage. It was just one room and it had incredible sound and lights. It reminded me of the old days where events had just one room.
RS: One thing you just mentioned is how there was one room with everyone together. The dance community seems so splintered between genres, do you think events like that with just one room and everybody partying together might unite us?
Christopher Lawrence: I think so. For example, the party I played in Kuala Lumpur, Donald Glaude and I don't play the same stuff, Anne Savage and I definitely don't play the same sound, and neither does Scumfrog. But, if you put all those people together on the same stage and that's your only option, everybody listens to each DJ because there isn't another choice. If people are given quality DJs, it doesn't matter if the person's playing drum & bass, trance or house, if they're good and the music's good, I think that's more exciting than when they're going to play a party where one room's all trance. Because I'll be honest, I get burnt out listening to all trance for eight hours, I like a bit of diversity and I like hearing myself for a couple of hours, maybe somebody else for a couple of hours and a different style for a couple of hours. To me that makes a more interesting evening. Music is music, there's good music and bad music and if a person's playing a great set, that's all that matters.
RS: Thank you, that's a great quote which I will be making sure everyone reads! Is there a city you've played where you thought what am I doing here, because it's such a small town or such a strange town and then you play and are completely amazed by the crowd reaction?
Christopher Lawrence: Yes, I had one of those as well recently. There was a party in Atlanta that was really good and Atlanta had really kind of slowed down for a while. Like the rest of North America, everything was warehouse parties and raves and then thanks to the Rave Act everything had to go into clubs. A lot of cities weren't prepared to lose the warehouse parties and go into clubs so for a couple of years, especially in the US, it's been difficult because there used to be all-age events where you could get five thousand people every Saturday, and suddenly it has to move to 21 and up, close at two o'clock, and open at ten. A lot of clubs just didn't even want our music in there with the threat of going to jail for playing electronic music. So, Atlanta was one of those cities that took a good beating over this. I went back for the first time in a while and had a really good time. It was a great club, the vibe was really good.
