Christopher Lawrence – Dark Side (Compilation Album) + Interview

On June 4, 2018 by ocedm

For over two decades, Christopher Lawrence has been one of the most well known and respected names in dance music. The Los Angeles native now captures the progression and energy of a complete open to close set in his new “Dark Side” compilation album. Twenty-nine carefully chosen tracks ranging from progressive house to psytrance are split into two Opening and Closing mixes.

The Opening Mix consists of tunes by Matter, Digital Mess, Harper and Green, Hot TuneiK, Supacooks, Jerome Isma-Ae and Alastor, Stan Kolev and Matan Caspi, Th;en and Starkato, Paul Thomas and White-Akre, Rolo Green, Third Party, Pete K, and Cory Laser, Basil O’Glue, Skober.

The Closing Mix includes tracks from Freaked Frequency, Liquid Soul, Christopher Lawrence and Fergie & Sadrian, Vini Vici, Gaudium, Timelock and High Jacked, Pitch Bend, AudioFire, Coming Soon!!! and WAIO, X-Noize and Sonic Species, Yar Zaa, Faders, Sonic Species, Relativ, and Christopher Lawrence and No Comment.

Read on for an interview with Christopher Lawrence about his “Dark Side” compilation album, the changes he’s seen over the past twenty years, and some tracks that he’s currently into!

Hello Christopher, thanks for your time! Your compilation mix “Dark Side” was recently released on your label Pharmacy Music. How did you decide which tracks to include in each mix?

Choosing tracks for a compilation is the hardest part. I begin by making a playlist with my favorite tracks, but it is not possible to use them all, so then it becomes a process of elimination and choosing the tracks that work best with each other. It is like putting a jigsaw puzzle together, trying to make the tracks fit together in a way that seems effortless and creates a musical journey. “Dark Side” is made up of two mixes, so it was made doubly complicated. In the end, I was super happy with how the two mixes flow and build in energy.

How long did it take to pull everything together before the mix compilation felt right to release?

It took far too long before it felt right to release! I am a perfectionist, which makes completing things really hard. I thought I had finished the mix twelve times for the Open mix and eleven times for the Close mix, if that gives you an idea. I finish a mix, then listen in the car and in headphones, making notes on mixes I can fix or tracks that could be edited to make it tighter. The process from choosing tracks to licensing to mixing to release took five months.

What’s your thought process when it comes to creating mixes, like the Opening and Closing mixes in “Dark Side”?

I actually planned on doing one mix, but realized that it was going to be too long to release because there is a limit to how long a file can be for digital downloads and streaming. Since it was going to be split into two mixes, I decided that it would be much more interesting to create an opening mix and a closing mix that captured the sound of my open to close sets. This worked out better in the end because each mix has a unique sound, the first being progressive house, techno, and trance, and the second psychedelic trance. Each mix stands on its own or can be listened to consecutively for an epic journey.

You’ve been active for over two decades now. What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in the music industry?

The biggest change over my career is the transition from analog to digital. When I began DJing in 1992, DJs played vinyl records on turntables, there was no internet, and the only way you could hear this music was to go to a rave or on a mix tape. Now, DJs play digital files on digital players, anyone anywhere in the world can stream music on any device, and anyone with a laptop can produce music from their home studio. This has truly been a revolution in the way we experience music. I will always love the tactile experience of cueing up a record on a turntable and dropping it in with the next track and keeping it in time with light touches to the vinyl, but it is so much better now with all the advances made by the digital age. It is absolutely amazing what we can do now. Looking back, it was like the dark ages.

What’s you summer schedule look like?

Summer is looking great. I just got back from a fantastic show down in Buenos Aires. Up next is a new Pharmacy branded night that we are doing with the incredible Pulsar production team. The show will feature Pharmacy artists Triceradrops and No Cliu as well as Pulsar artists Kahn, St Black and Hanz Dwight. Following that is a boat cruise I am playing in New York which should be amazing. Then it is off to Europe, so, yeah, it’s going to be a fantastic summer.

Favorite Song of 2018 so far: A collaboration I did with Fergie & Sadrian titled “Ajna” on Pharmacy Music.

Best track to play at peak time: “Wormhole” by ESP on Tip Records.

Unexpected remix to switch things up: “Don’t Go” by Scot Project on Outburst Records. It’s not so much a remix as it is a banging tech trance track that samples the Yazoo track “Don’t Go” from 1982.

Vocalist you’d most like to work with:  None. I am not interested in working with any vocalists right now. I am really into a deeper darker sound that is purely instrumental with a few vocal samples for effects.

Upcoming artist to watch for in 2018: I’ll recommend three. Fergie & Sadrian have been around for a few years, but they are in top form right now. The same with Synfonic and No Comment. All three are killing it.

Take a listen to a few tracks of the “Dark Side” Opening and Closing mixes below and grab your copy of the compilation album today!

Christopher Lawrence – Facebook / Twitter / Soundcloud

Purchase

Stan Kolev & Matan Caspi – Enigma (Original Mix):

Spektre – Forged In The Heart Of A Laserbeam (Skober Remix):

Christopher Lawrence & Fergie & Sadrian – Ajna (Original Mix):

X-Noize & Sonic Species – Euphoria (Original Mix):

Christopher Lawrence – Dark Side (Compilation Album) Tracklist:

Opening Mix:

1. GuyRo ft. Chris Sterio – Zen (Matter Remix)
2. Digital Mess – Limitrophe (Original Mix)
3. Harper & Green – Terra Firma (Original Mix)
4. Matteo Monero – Anunnaki (Hot TuneiK Remix)
5. Supacooks – Aftermath (Original Mix)
6. Jerome Isma-Ae & Alastor – Reflection (Extended Mix)
7. Stan Kolev & Matan Caspi – Enigma (Original Mix)
8. Th;en & Starkato – Rina (Original Mix)
9. Paul Thomas & White-Akre – Dark Heart (Extended Mix)
10. Rolo Green – Stanton Works (Original Mix)
11. Third Party, Pete K & Cory Lasser – Like This (Original Mix)
12. Basil O’Glue – The Mars Project (Original Mix)
13. Spektre – Forged In The Heart of A Laserbeam (Skober Remix)

Closing Mix:

1. Freaked Frequency – Solar (Original Mix)
2. Liquid Soul – Wake Up (Original Mix)
3. Christopher Lawrence & Fergie & Sadrian – Ajna (Original Mix)
4. Vini Vici – Ravers Army (Original Mix)
5. Perfect Stranger & Yotopia – Twist in Hell (Gaudium Remix)
6. Timelock & High Jacked – Illuminati (Original Mix)
7. Ace Ventura – Altern8 Patterns (Pitch Bend Remix)
8. AudioFire – Fact or Fiction (Original Mix)
9. Coming Soon!!! x WAIO – Create The Machine (Original Mix)
10. X-NoiZe & Sonic Species – Euphoria (Original Mix)
11. Sonic Species & Volcano – Riding The Wave (Original Mix)
12. Yar Zaa – Relative Vision (Original Mix)
13. Faders – Flying Objects (Original Mix)
14. Sonic Species – The Force (Original Mix)
15. Relativ – The End of Time (Original Mix)
16. Christopher Lawrence vs. No Comment – Horizon (Original Mix)

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