Sauce

A DJ with the most important asset any artist (and any person) can have – a sense of humour – Chris Fraser is putting on his cape and wearing his underpants on the outside as he flies down to Syrup (faster than a speeding bullet). Revered for having “more records to his name than Robert Downer Jnr and Charlie Sheen combined,” he spoke to me about moving to Sydney, and the progression of his career that, in his eyes, is a little scary …

What have you been up to in the last couple of weeks, both musically and other?
Been gearing up for the release of my first mix CD, Raw, which comes out on the 8th of September. That’s pretty much been consuming most of my waking hours (and some of my sleeping ones too!). It’s a release for the RawFM radio network I do music programming for. I’ve also just finished off a new single called Whiplash that’ll be coming out in the US on System Recordings. Plus I’ve also been putting a few remixes to bed, one of which is of the Freeform Five tune Strangest Things, which should be out in the next few months.

You’re name is Chris Fraser, but you’re also known as Chris Fresh. How confusing does this get? Which name do you use more?
I actually stopped using the Chris Fresh name about seven years ago! It still comes back to haunt me sometimes, though.

On your Myspace it mentions that you will be moving from your hometown Canberra, to Sydney in ‘07. Has that happened yet? If not, when do you move?
It sure has. I moved to Sydney about three months ago to take up the marketing role at Central Station Records. So far I’ve been loving it! It was tough to decide to leave Canberra after twenty years and so many good times, but I finally decided to make the change. I still go back there to play at least once a month.

And why are you moving? Will you be leaving a lot behind?
I felt like I needed some new challenges, plus the opportunity with the label was simply too good to pass up. Leaving Canberra was sad as it’s been such a great place to live and work, but it’s not really that far from Sydney, so it’s all good.

I also saw that you have labeled yourself as “emo”. Are you into the emo culture, or are you referring to your work?
[Laughs] You know how most people take the piss in their Myspace genre descriptions? That’s all I was doing. I could have gone for “Chinese Traditional” or “Irish Folk”, but I must have been feeling melancholy that day and went for “emo” instead. I play a fairly broad range of sounds – funked-up tech and electro, fidget-style house, indie electro and whatever else takes my fancy.

Where do you like to play the most? And where do audiences get out and dance to your sets the most?
I’ve had great sets all over the place lately. One place that really stands out was a club called Asta in Auckland. The crowd are just so enthusiastic and open-minded that it’s really refreshing. Plus the fact that they’ve got a Jager machine in the DJ box helps. I played at Family in Brisbane on the weekend and that was a blast. I also play quite regularly at Chinese Laundry in Sydney, and that’s always a killer night.

Who are the artists who inspired you to become a DJ in the first place?
Probably early stuff like Bomb The Bass, Inner City, Coldcut and even early italo house was what brought it on for me. Then the early Sasha mixtapes came along and blew everyone away. I’d always been into Depeche Mode, New Order etc, so house was an obvious choice.

Was it hard work to get to where you are now? How much have you grown, both musically and personally since the early days?
It’s been a lot of work, and doesn’t really show any signs of letting up! I don’t think you ever stop learning and growing, and I hope it stays that way. I think I’ve grown a lot in musical terms as a producer and DJ over the years. I listen back to some of my early records, and the change is almost scary! In production terms, you always keep progressing, and even DJ-wise there’s so much new stuff out there to keep things interesting.

What are you planning for the future? What would you like to be doing in two years?
Hopefully finding a bit more time to explore my new home. I’ve been so busy with interstate gigs and work at the label that I haven’t gotten out-and-about much in Sydney yet! Generally, though, I hope to be getting more original stuff done, and keeping the remixes coming. I’m also looking to start collaborating with some mates in the studio at some point, but otherwise, I say, “more of the same!”

Chris Fraser plays Syrup in Hobart on the 8th of September.