Active since the early 2000s, British producer/DJ
Chris Lake has built up a massive discography of original productions and remixes, ranging from progressive house and tech-house to vocal-driven EDM. He's scored several charting hits, collaborated with EDM heavyweights such as
Deadmau5 and
Steve Aoki, and remixed pop stars such as
Sia,
Kylie Minogue, and
Lady Gaga. He's also responsible for the Rising Music label, which has released dozens of tracks since 2005. He released his full-length debut, Crazy, in 2009, and collaborated with
Marco Lys on 2010's Cross the Line. He later released EPs with
Walker & Royce (2018's Close Your Eyes) and
Armand Van Helden (2020's
The Answer), and additionally worked with
Riva Starr on the 2021 single "Beat Freak."
Lake first made an impact in 2002, when his bootleg remixes of songs by
the Prodigy and
the Eurythmics (produced under the pseudonym Christophe D'Abuc) grabbed the attention of in-the-know progressive house DJs.
Lake's first original single, "Santiago de Cuba," was also released that year.
Lake then issued singles on labels such as Pangea Recordings and Statra Recordings, kicking off Rising Music with the release of "One Too Many" in late 2005. His first big hit was "Changes" (featuring vocalist
Laura V), which reached the Top Ten of Billboard's dance airplay chart and the Top 30 of the U.K. singles chart. Arriving in 2007, "Carry Me Away" (featuring
Emma Hewitt) topped the dance airplay chart, and 2008's "Only One" and "If You Knew" were also Top Ten successes.
Lake's debut album, Crazy, was released by
Nervous Records in 2009, containing several of his previous singles.
In 2010,
Lake split a volume of the Toolroom Knights mix CD series with
Tocadisco. Later that year,
Lake and frequent collaborator
Marco Lys produced the album Cross the Line, released by Rising Music. The single "I Said" (a collaboration with
Deadmau5) was also released that year and became a club hit. In 2012,
Lake signed with Ultra Records. He produced several singles for the label over the next few years, including collaborations with
Steve Aoki and
Anna Lunoe. In 2017,
Lake signed to
Skrillex's OWSLA, debuting with the single "I Want You." The two-track Close Your Eyes EP -- a collaboration with
Walker & Royce -- followed the next year. Additional singles "Y.O.D.O.," "Deceiver," and "Stay with Me" carried him into 2019. 2020 brought the four-song EP
The Answer, a collaboration with house legend
Armand Van Helden.
Lake and
Riva Starr released "Beat Freak," with vocalist
lau.ra, in 2021. ~ Paul Simpson