Chis Lake and Marco Lys recently released their new album Cross The Line on the legendary Nervous imprint. Cross the Line has become a blend of Chris Lake and Marco Lys distinctive styles: disco infused beats, big hands in the air build ups and groovy bass lines. The album features funky house in form of Running Out, deeper house like Humanica and jazzy stuff in the form of Stay. Reason enough to go for a chat with the man himself and find out how this album came together.
Hey Chris, thanks for your time. How is life treating you lately? Hey there. I'm good thanks. Rushed off my feet touring. I've been in North America for the whole of November, which has been fantastic.
Let's talk about your new album together with Marco Lys. How did it came about? Sure, well, Marco and I have been producing a lot together of the past few years, so we decided to up the stakes and put an album together. In truth, we did it really quickly, but it was a lot of work, and very intense. I think the key is, there are great vibes between Marco and myself, and hopefully this shows through the music
What kind of equipment did you use? Could you tell us a bit about the studio magic? Sure, well when I work with Marco, we try to work on either Logic Pro or Ableton Live on the mac, as we can both run these programs and do things over the internet (Marco lives in North Italy). It's a bit tougher for him though, because he's amazing with Cubase, but I can't even begin to start using that program. I think it's horrible. I wouldn't say we're using anything else that is out of the ordinary
The album has become a varied mix of different sides of electronic music, pretty much like your DJ-sets. What’s your main goal when making a track? I've got to have fun, and feel the vibe. I really don't care what I make, I just want to have fun making it, and enjoy listening to it. I try to keep a fresh clear approach to my music making. I take inspiration from so many things in life, and in music, and I think this reflects in my releases
It is actually, but Nervous is releasing it for North America. Releasing records over here is much different to Europe, and we openly admit we're crap at it in America, so leave it to the experts, which for us is Mike and the crew @ Nervous. They rock!
How involved are you with the label and what was your share in signing renowned artists such as Deadmau5 and Sebastian Leger? Well I set up the label 4 or 5 years ago now, and I sign all the records basically. I guess I was lucky to pick up records from these artist at the time. They've pretty alright since huh? :)
What can we expect from the label in the near future? Well, I definitely want to keep doing more albums, as I've really enjoyed putting together 'Cross the line'. I think it really reflects Marco and I very accurately, so want to try tackle something different in 2011. Trying to pick up some albums from some future stars as well. There is some amazing music out there right now, and I hope everyone gets to hear it all soon
In your eyes, what are the biggest differences between the US house scene and its European counterpart? Well at the moment, the main thing is how fresh the US house scene seems to be. In places, it's like house never existed until a few years ago. The vibe of the shows as a result is electric. In Europe, we've been there, done that, got the t-shirt, but we still know how to party, it's just not quite what it's like in the USA at the moment
You have been rising to fame rather quickly, what do you consider to be your strongest points as a person or artist? Any weaknesses too, perhaps? Ohhh I don't know. I'm a fast writer. Everyone that has worked with me, calls me the riff man, because I'm constantly coming up with catchy hooks for tracks. I'd say that's my strong point as an artist, that I'm never short of ideas, but as a weakness, I have very little desire to be famous, or be seen. I just want my music to do the talking, and have great parties.
Any cool upcoming project or releases you’d like to share? I've done a collaboration with Nightriders called 'Love that sound' which I'm hoping to get out in the new year, and I've also remixed one of their tracks called Hey! along with Marco Lys, which I have to say, is SICK. Really makes the rump shake. I'm also doing a remix for a UK band called Pnau, and in a few weeks I'll be working some new Chris Lake singles with various singers.
To conclude, is there anything you'd like to share with our audience that we haven't covered yet? Anything goes! Come find me talking horse shit on twitter. Sometimes it's interesting. I think I have a hit rate of about 1 in 20 tweets being interesting (ish). My twitter is djchrislake or you can catch me on facebook.com/chrislake
