The Belly Up Aspen

For Chris Lake, making people dance is more than a career: It’s an obsession. Over nearly two decades, theGRAMMY®-nominated artist has become one of house music’s most compelling figures. In that time he’s livedmany lives as a producer, DJ, and label head, all connected by his ability to make big moments both onstageand in his music. Recent singles such as “Summertime Blues,” his brisk but breezy collaboration with SammyVirji, and his songs with Aluna – the smoldering “Beggin’” and hypnotic “More Baby” – have yieldedappearances on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Expertly occupying the middle ground betweendance music’s underground and commercial realms, the British producer’s finely-tuned ear for club-forwardbasslines and catchy vocals plays a large role in his success. Ultimately, it’s the result of following his creativeinstincts. “I guess I primarily make stuff for me and what feels good for me,” he says, “but I try to give it myflair without taking it too seriously. I’m not scared of a song, I’m not scared of a melody, and I’m not scared ofa moment. I just try to have fun with this stuff.”After making his breakthrough with a string of No. 1 singles in the late 2000s, Lake moved from the UK to LosAngeles as dance music began bubbling up in America. Within a few years, he had signed a record deal,earned a GRAMMY nomination, and co-created a crossover hit. As his profile soared, he recognized that he nolonger aligned with the path in front of him. “In a simplistic form, it was a case of stopping listening to anyoneelse and just following my own intuition, my own moral and musical compass,” he says. So Lake started overagain, beginning with his reconnection to house music.“Operator (Ring Ring)” ignited that second spark. The 2017 single, a dizzying tech-house team-up withDances, premiered with the coveted label of BBC Radio 1’s “Hottest Record in the World” and snowballedfrom there, becoming the official anthem of HARD’s Holy Ship! festival. Co-curating Skrillex’s OWSLA housecompilation, HOWSLA, offered another major career boost, followed by more singles like “Turn Off the Lights”and “Lose My Mind.” In 2018, Lake and FISHER headlined EDC Las Vegas’ main stage in a double coronation:of tech house as the new sound of popular dance music, and of both artists as its faces. The set spawnedUnder Construction, their B2B event series which has spread the tech-house gospel across the US, including aHollywood Boulevard takeover in 2023 with over 12,000 fans. Two heavyweights touring together is abusiness no-brainer, but for Lake, it’s a venture of pure friendship. “There’s no work,” he says. “The best wayI’ve ever described it is: Under Construction is a party with me, Fish and our friends and family, and we allowother people to watch it happen.” In another rare feat, he closed out Coachella two years in a row, includingan electrifying 2024 performance on the Mojave stage as one-half of Anti Up with Chris Lorenzo.In addition to DJing and producing, Lake is the founder of Black Book Records. Launched in 2017, it’s home tomany of his biggest tracks in recent years, such as “A Drug From God,” his sky-scraping collaboration withGrimes’ AI girl group, NPC; the transcendent “I Remember”; and the long-awaited ID “In The Yuma” (ft. Aatig).Releases from heavyweights like Green Velvet, Armand Van Helden, and Kevin Saunderson prove its status asa coveted label for producers, but Lake has also undertaken Black Book Records as a developmental platform,helping launch newer names including Cloonee, Miane, and Mochakk. With his years of experience, he feels aresponsibility to not just increase their exposure, but guide early-career artists in navigating theindustry. Through special events like the recent Black Book Records On The Pier weekender and an exclusivecollaboration with premier technology-enabled fashion brand MNTGE, the label’s reach is ever-expanding.“We’re not just looking to put out big records and make lots of money,” Lake says. “We care about artists, wecare about the scene, we care about events, and the bigger picture that’s relevant to the dance scene. Mostlabels struggle to put that all together and I feel very proud that we’ve managed to do that.”In the midst of an ongoing tour, Lake pauses to think about what keeps him going almost twenty years on.Perhaps more than making people dance, his specialty is leaving dance music’s people and culture better than2024he found it. “It gives me this increased love of the power of a single song and the effect that it can have onanyone’s life,” he finally replies. “I love the idea that I have this blessing to make a song and give one or morepeople that feeling. It’s just amazing, and I feel like as the years go on, I get better and better at doing it.”