Industry chart-topper Chris Lake continues his Stay With Me tour this month, gracing clubs all over the United States and a few lucky cities in Canada with his addictive sound and classic British charm. Deriving its name from his epoynymous Black Book track, the Stay With Me tour is barely a third of its way into its twenty-six stops, reaching Illinois’ Canopy Club on September 19th. And while he may not be stopping in my city of Toronto, he will be coming to Montreal- a five-hour car ride that I am all too willing to make for a DJ I once barely knew anything about.
When I heard Chris Lake for the first time, I was a freshman in university and in a way, it was one of my first introductions to house music. The location: Western University, at a first-year pep rally. The track: “Boneless”, with Steve Aoki and Tujamo. The dance move: holding your arm straight up in the air and bouncing your hand to the beat as though you were dribbling a basketball. I’m not saying the dance move was great, but the track definitely was. At the end of my first year of university, I went to my first music festival, and as my music tastes evolved Chris Lake faded out of consciousness, and “Boneless” was relegated to a playlist in my iTunes titled ‘First Year Jams’. But the British DJ has since re-entered the music scene in full force, and his dark, deep-house tracks have me hooked in a way I couldn’t have fathomed as a fresh-faced frosh.
Chris Lake had steadily been climbing music charts in the UK and the US prior to “Boneless”, but since then his success has only grown greater, and his career has seen an explosion in popularity within the last three years. Initially finding success by releasing multitudes of highly popular singles across labels such as Mau5trap, Ultra Records and Owsla, he has since branched out by launching his own label, Black Book Records, in 2017. Collaborating with other industry greats such as Anna Lunoe, Green Velvet, Destructo, and Lee Foss, Chris Lake has achieved what some DJs will never see in their careers- consistency. Whether he’s blasting party anthem “Pizza” side by side with Chris Lorenzo in their Anti-Up duo or co-producing with Dirtybird team Walker & Royce on the Close Your Eyes EP, Chris Lake routinely creates tracks that are subject to countless Shazams by still-dancing club goers.
For us lucky Canucks, Chris Lake will be playing at DSTRKT inside New City Gas on Friday, November 8th, as one of the last stops on the Stay With Me fall tour. New City Gas, located within the heart of Montreal City, consistently makes the top 10 list of Canadian clubs every year and is the highest-ranking Canadian club on DJ Mag’s Top 100 Clubs of 2018 at number 46. The 40,000 square foot venue brings back the nostalgia of warehouse raves past, as the main building was originally a 19th-century power plant. DSTRKT, a separate section from the main room of the club, will be hosting Chris Lake and anyone willing to make the pilgrimage to see him. And while trekking out to Quebec just as Canadian winter kicks into high gear might not sound appealing to some, others will not be able to resist the bass-heavy siren song of one of the top DJs in mainstream music- myself included.
So while it is five hours to Montreal, I’ll be able to endure it knowing that I’ll finally be able to cross one DJ off of my ‘must-see’ list. And I was lucky enough to get a ride with a group of fellow concertgoers who are in the same boat that I am- we heard the call, we could not resist, and soon we will answer.
