Interview: Chris Lake on his Sia ‘Buttons’ remix

Interview: Chris Lake on his Sia ‘Buttons’ remix

27 November, 2008 | 3.50PM

• Written by: getinkat
• Filed under: Music News: sia

When you’ve worked with the likes of Kylie, Robbie Williams, Mark Ronson, Lilly Allen and Deadmau5, it’s pretty safe to say you’re in demand for remix duty. It should come as no surprise then that the latest name added to the remix list of Chris Lake is hot-to-trot Australian songstress Sia.

Famed for her canny knack of picking the best producers to work on her original tunes, this year saw her dominate the dance charts with ‘The Girl You Lost To Cocaine’, thanks to a crossover hit remix from Sander Van Doorn. Now she’s back in the clubs once again with a Chris Lake re-rub of her hidden bonus track ‘Buttons’, from her album ‘Some People Have Real Problems’.

‘Buttons’ also got remixed by Markus Schulz, Canadian whizz kid Jimmy Vallance and electro-clash darlings CSS, but it’s Lake’s remix that is keeping DJs happy the most.

We caught up with Chris Lake to find out more.

How did the opportunity to remix ‘Buttons’ come about?

Well a little while ago I was asked to remix a track for Robbie Williams. It turns out he and Sia share the same management. They liked the work I did for Robbie, so I guess it came about from developing a reputation with the company. I’m glad they did, I’m personally a huge fan of her work.

Her vocals certainly work in dance music. Were you given just the vocal stems and given the opportunity to make what you felt was best out of them?

Yeah pretty much, it’s definitely my preferred method of working with a remix track. It gives you an extremely high level of creative power. Sometimes less is more – if you’re given too many parts it confuses what comes naturally to you – and there’s just too much to work with.

Sia’s ‘The Girl You Lost To Cocaine’ was remixed by both Sander Van Doorn and Stonebridge earlier in the year and was a huge success. Why do you think her voice works so well on dancefloors?

Well to be honest, it is not easy to work with her vocals because the tracks she writes are all in a slow tempo, so they have to be chopped and retimed to work with a house groove. It takes a lot of time and effort to go through that process. Although once this is aside, yes, her voice is a joy to work with. She is so talented and quite easily my favourite singer.

So what’s the best software for doing this type of remix?

Ableton Live, I love it! Who doesn’t? I actually wrote a piece on my rising music blog a few months ago, questioning the new meaning of a ‘live’ performance.

My thoughts came after seeing a piece written by James Holden on the topic. Obviously this software and the ease at which it can be used has given so many more people the opportunity to make music, but for the professional producers out there, the opportunities are massive. 

How has the track been received so far in the clubs?

Well I’ve been playing it in clubs for the past six months and I’ve got to say it works literally every time. Obviously it’s not for the deeper nights, but when it’s just about a really good party, people seem to lap it up.

Do you enjoy doing remixes as much as your own work?

I’ve gone off them a bit now. Not because of what I’ve done, or what I’m still being offered, but simply because I’m enjoying writing my own material so much right now. The next few years hold a very exciting future for me and the label, exploring different musical avenues and working on entirely new concepts. There’s just so much going on!

As the year begins to come to a close, what has been your favourite gig and your favourite track of 2008?

Favourite gig is a hard one, but playing at the Ibiza Cream closing party was amazing. What a crowd! Favourite track, again, when we’re talking about a whole year this isn’t easy, but Deadmau5’s ‘Slip’ has to be up there. A great piece of music which is almost impossible to write, and every time I’ve played it the floor goes mental.

And what’s in store for you in 2009?

My new single ‘If You Knew’ will be hitting the digital shelves very early in the year, followed soon after by my debut album which I’m really excited about. I can’t wait to have all my material put together in an album format – I think it’s something most producers will always aspire to, I certainly have. After that, I have a world tour launching at WMC ’09. 

• (5) Comments
• (1784) Views
• Get Sia 'Buttons' (Chris Lake Remix)