Although a relatively young producer, Chris Lake exploded to international acclaim with the success of the mega club hit "Changes." Setting up his own label, Rising Music, has led to a string of more club hits including "Fantasy" and "One Too Many," and even an offshoot label Rising Trax that's gaining buzz with the release of underground tracks from Micky Slim and Sebastian Leger. With remixes of pop icons like Robbie Williams and Dannii Minogue, Chris has built a truly international following which is obvious from his rigorous touring schedule. With a mixed CD selling well in many markets, Chris is finishing his debut artist album for an anticipated release later this year.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: What are you working on right now in the studio?
Chris Lake: I'm working on a new single at the moment, trying to
finish it off for release in a couple of months. It's going OK, I
think.
RS: Do you have a title?
Chris Lake: I don't, no. I think we're calling it "Only One" but
I've got no idea and the working title is very, very different to
that.
RS: When you say 'we,' who are you in the studio working with?
Chris Lake: I'm actually in the studio at the moment with my wife
who is singing on most of the tracks for the new album that I'm
working on.
RS: Is the album going to have an electro sound, or where are
you going with it?
Chris Lake: I'm just going to do whatever I want with it. I've got
a few tracks down and it's going to be a lot more vocal tracks and not
straight-up dance. It's something a little bit different that you can
sit down, listen to, and appreciate. There will be some club tracks
on there, but I've got to finish it so I can't really say exactly.
RS: Did you have any idea that Changes would become as big as it did?
Chris Lake: Of course not. It's just kind of developed into a bit
of a monster. I always thought that I'd made a decent record but I
never expected it to become as big or affect people as much as it
actually has. So yes, it's been a nice surprise.
RS: Critics have said that the follow up single "Carry Me Away"
was very influenced by the Iio sound, did you have that in your mind
when you were working on it?
Chris Lake: I think people say that because one line sounds like
Iio's Rapture, so it doesn't surprise me but I think it's a bit much
to say that the whole track sounds like "Rapture." I completely
agree, though, that a couple of the opening lines sound very similar,
so I wasn't surprised when people made those comparisons.
RS: When you work on a track like "Carry Me Away" do you come up
with the track first and have someone write the lyrics or do you start
with the lyrics and work on the track?
Chris Lake: It just really depends and its different track to track.
That track was completely done in the studio with Emma one day, so
Emma was up working with me for a week and we basically put that whole
track down in about three hours.
RS: What are you working with in the studio, do you work in
Logic or ProTools?
Chris Lake: I use Ableton Live for everything on a PC. I've been on
the Apple Store pricing things up today.
RS: With Rising Music, what was your inspiration to start the label?
Chris Lake: I fancied getting a bit more control on how I released
my records. I started the label in late 2005 and haven't looked back
since as it's kind of grown and grown into what I think is quite a big
label. I'm really pleased with how it's doing and a lot of interest
is taken on each release and we're just trying to develop it. We've
expanded it to make Rising Tracks for signing other peoples' records
and I'm just really pleased how things are going.