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Features
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Christopher Lawrence Unfolds
Reported by Steve Anderson
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Submitted 01-10-08 20:53
Christopher Lawrence is a man on a mission; he’s back to his best and on the path back to the heady heights of the DJ Mag awards table. With a successful radio show and plenty of releases coming out, HarderFaster thought it was high time we caught up with Chris and sent DJSA Records and SAME Music Studio boss Steve Anderson to find out more.
Hi Christopher and thanks for speaking to Harderfaster today. Firstly we know that you have in the last while moved to Melbourne, Australia and are now based there. Why Australia and how is it working out so far for you?
I moved to Melbourne last December because that is where my wife is from and my son was ready to begin school. We had no family in Los Angeles and because I am on the road so much, it has been difficult on my family. My father lives in Australia as well so we both have family there. Australia also has a better quality of life than the US and isn’t ruled by a moron like Bush. Of course, the flights to and from Australia are very long, so I now take off every third weekend so I can at spend some quality time at home.
What’s your favourite part of your new home city and why?
My favourite part about Melbourne is the coffee. There are no Starbucks with their grey water coffee, instead, there are heaps of great little cafes that serve excellent espresso. People in Melbourne also have great style, lots of black.
You are American by nationality and built your career being based in the USA up until this year. How is the trance scene in the States and how does it compare to other clubs and scenes globally?
The trance scene is huge in the States and is among the best globally. Just ask any trance DJ, they all want to play here. The US has one of the best scenes in the world right now. Last month I played to 60,000 people at an event called Nocturnal Wonderland in Los Angeles. Not many cities can match that.
I recently reviewed your mix compilation Unfold #2 and enjoyed the listen throughout very much. You frequently get tagged as a psy trance DJ, do you think this is accurate – and if so how do you see the psy trance developing over the coming year or two?
I wouldn’t call myself exclusively a psy trance DJ because I play a wider variety of music. That being said, I think the psy trance producers are responsible for the best trance music being made today. The quality of the production is incredible. There is a wide variety of styles within psy as well. It is not all full on, there is some amazing progressive psy that has groovy, bubbly baselines. Overall, psy trance is quite sophisticated compared to most of the stuff that is passed off as trance.
You also run your own radio show Rush Hour on DI.FM. Can people expect to hear a taste of what you play in the clubs, or does it cover off any other styles and/or genres?
My radio show is a combination of the sound I play out and some of the great music that I find that may not fit in my club sets but is too good not to play. Rush Hour has turned out to be a great outlet for me to play a more diverse set than I normally can at festivals and clubs. The show is doing great, we are now syndicated on Worldspace global satellite as well as on over eighty FM stations worldwide.
How are you settling into talking on the microphone?
I still feel awkward speaking into a microphone. I am at home behind the decks, but I don’t ever think I will be the singer in a rock n’ roll band.
You have a very busy DJ schedule, but what can we expect to see on the production front from you in the near future?
Between a chaotic tour schedule, I have just finished a new compilation with John 00 Fleming called Global Trance Grooves: Two Tribes which was released last week. I am excited about this CD because not only does John’s sound and my sound compliment each other, we are also great friends. It was a fantastic opportunity for us to team up and of course we will be touring together to support it. I have just released a new track called Gotham on Audacious Records and I have another track called Continuation that is a collaboration with Nicholas Bennison that will come out on my label, Pharmacy music. I have also diversified my sound on a collaboration with vocalist Stu Stone who did that fantastic track Breathe a while back, plus a remix coming up for a #1 hit by a Latin pop star which I think will surprise everyone.
I read previously that you felt trance music was in need of being saved. Can you tell us what you meant by this, and how has trance developed since then for you?
A few years ago it seemed as if trance was getting a bit stagnant. Most of the DJs were playing that epic commercial sound and so the producers were making that sound to please the DJs, but it was a tired sound. I think Ferry Corsten was one of the key players in the revolution that lifted trance’s game. He began producing and playing a tougher electro influenced sound. Other influences came by the way of techno and, as I have already mentioned, there is the whole psy trance infusion. Trance is having a huge renaissance right now.
Last summer you played at Jules’ night Judgement Sundays in Ibiza, as the mecca of clubbing in Europe, how did you find it - and are there any European dates coming up for you soon?
Judgement Sundays is arguably the best night on the island and it is always a blast to play. Later this month I have dates at the Gallery at Ministry of Sound in London and Creamfields in Bucharest. I also have more dates in the UK and Poland next month as well as a tour of Brazil.
One festival that doesn’t get a lot of coverage over here in the UK is the Burning Man festival, and I know you have played at this previously. Every DJ I have spoken to that has done so says this is the best festival in the world, do you agree and what do you think is it that makes this desert festival stand out?
Burning Man was life changing for me. And yes, it is by far the best festival in the world. I can try to explain why it is special, but like everyone that tried to explain it to me, words don’t do it justice. It is something that everyone has to discover for themselves. There is a sincerity and pureness as well as a freedom unlike anything you can possibly imagine. It is the great equalizer where egos disappear and are replaced by awe and wonderment at what the creative human spirit can achieve. That might sound like bullshit, but if you go, you will understand.
What’s your fondest or weirdest memory of Burning Man?
The most intense experience was being caught out on the playa in 60 mile an hour winds in a massive dust storm. Apparently it was the worst storm in the events history. You could not see one foot in front of you. We had to get off our bikes and walk in a tight group with our goggles and headlamps on. We lost all sense of direction. We came across a geodesic dome and climbed in for shelter. It makes you realize how fragile we are and how important friendship and trust is.
With the controversy of the DJ Mag Top 100 Poll situation last year, and the clarification that followed – will you be campaigning for votes personally this year or how will you be approaching this?
Well, I certainly won’t be hiring any marketing managers! Like most DJs, I personally dislike campaigning and that is why we hired someone to handle it for me last year. But with less than spectacular results on that front, we have brought the campaigning back in house this year. I think all DJs will be doing the same thing, pushing the vote on their websites and MySpace – I’m sure it drives the fans mad. Either way, I hope my fans will be fighting to get me back in there. I’d also like to say that I’m grateful to DJ Mag for clarifying what happened last year.
Ok, onto some other stuff now – I saw that you get some weird contact on MySpace. Give us an example of one message or contact that stood out or freaked you out apart from your psycho jail fan?!
Here is an interesting message that I received recently:
Quote:
| hey how you doing I would just like to fill you in on a little something ok
if we were in person it would be alot more specific I would like to tell you
a little bit of what I know I cannot teach anyone what I know but I would
like to tell you a little bit of what I know I would appriciate it if you
would not tell anyone please
ok no more than a foot and a half to a foot away
have left foot to the side have right foot standing on tip toes on the ball
of your foot on tip toes charge forward
with index finger under the eyelid and eye cavity tear down rip their eyes
right out of their head return back defense position
tear the throat out grab behind the adams apple into the muscle touch behind
the adams apple and pull down and tear out
grab behind the ears tearing the ears off bring the head to the knee on top
of the gumline then bring the elbow down to the back of the head below the
skull above the shoulders then throw them down on the ground if you feel
that you should
side of the hand to the side of the head in the temple strike the side of
the head with the side of your hand to the temple
so I will just tell you this I would appriciate it if you wouldnt tell
anyone I just wanted to tell you a few things take care I will talk to you
later |
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Here is a second message from a different perspective from another fan:
Quote:
| and hopin you beez well. please remember to always take care of your heart.
dunno what made me send this one... |
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What would be your preferred audience for playing to – 40,000 clubbers at a festival, or 400 bikini-clad girls on Spring break at the WMC?
That’s easy, 40,000 clubbers at a festival. I want to play for people that love music. I have played for the 400 bikini-clad girls on Spring Break before and it was depressing. Who’s paying attention to the music with all that flesh bouncing around?
Lastly is there anything major that you would still like to achieve in your career that you feel you haven’t so far - be it with your label, radio show or anything else?
I am very happy with the direction that my career is going right now and all that I have achieved. There are always new parties to play and new music to make, but I love what I am doing right now. I think that is always the best way to approach life.
Thanks for talking to me today Christopher, have a great year and we’ll be keeping an eye and ear out for you somewhere soon. All the best! Steve Anderson.
Thanks for the interview, Steve, it was a pleasure.
With thanks to Monster Media.
For more info on Christopher Lawrence: http://www.christopherlawrence.com/
Unfold #2 is available on Fektive Records now
Photos courtesy of Monster Media. Not to be reproduced without permission.
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Other Features By Steve Anderson:
Radio One Taken Over By Tramps?
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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