Who remembers Tabú Ultra Lounge at MGM Grand? Chris Lake does. The 40-year-old British electronic music producer and DJ played his first Vegas set at the intimate venue that helped reshape a nascent club scene on the Strip.
“I first came to Las Vegas almost 16 years ago and did a few shows there, and Vegas was very different. This was pre-EDM boom,” Lake tells the Weekly. “It was fun. It sounds like an oxymoron to say Vegas has grown up, and it’s still fu*king lunacy, but the scene has grown up. And I love the general vibe today.”
He loves it because the sound in those Vegas venues, big and small, has shifted in recent years, becoming more welcoming to the type of progressive house music Lake has been making since breaking through with 2006 track “Changes.” And it’s easy for Lake to enjoy his time here, since he spins at many of the top clubs in the city. He’ll be commanding the day party this weekend at Tao Beach Dayclub at Venetian, where he’ll return August 6 for his birthday bash during a nighttime Evening Tide set.
“It’s taken a few people taking some risks and having some kind of vision on what bookings can do and what different programming can do for the benefit of the scene and its longevity,” Lake says. “Previously, the Las Vegas scene was awash with whatever was the most fashionable and impactful and of the moment, and not going beyond that.
“As it’s grown up a bit more, the events got better, and that’s why I enjoy working with Tao Group, because one of the things myself and my buddy Fisher have [discussed] is … allowing us to bring what we would bring anywhere else to Vegas and to be as authentic as possible. We love the reactions we get from the crowd, and it’s as if we get rewarded for those risks and the people get an experience that maybe they didn’t expect to hear.”
Lake has reached the upper echelon as a producer during the time he has contributed to the evolution of the Vegas club music landscape. Few headlining DJs can match his discography or versatility. Last month his Black Book Records released the Four Tet remix of Lake’s “In the Yuma,” the viral track inspired by Lake’s 2019 Coachella set, and before that, he dropped the infectious groove “Beggin’” with vocals by Aluna.
“At the end of the day, everything I do draws from this sort of reserve power I have, my passion for music. It’s very strong and drives me forward every day and leads me to work far more than I should and rest far less than I should,” Lake says. “But it’s difficult to say anything I do is work, because everything that’s built up around me is a result of this passion for what I do.”
That’s how Lake powers through the busy summers of touring club gigs, festival sets and continued creativity collaborating and making music.
As for his buddy Fisher, the fellow Tao Group Las Vegas resident with whom he shared the stage at this year’s Coachella fest, another team-up might be in the works, in Vegas.
“We’ve definitely talked about it. He’s jumped on with me several times and we always have fun, but we do have some plans to do some things,” Lake says. “There are so many possibilities in Vegas, especially when you have people who share that vision of wanting to do fun things and get people excited.”
CHRIS LAKE July 15, 11 a.m., $30-$50+. Tao Beach Dayclub, events.taogroup.com.
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