MOONSHINE RECORDS
Christorpher Lawrence.
He's considered a superstar among deejays, "one of America's most influential deejays," according to England's respected magazine Muzik. And he'll be here as both a headline spinner tomorrow and to celebrate the release of his latest CD. Spin ‘around the world’
Kick back with the sounds of trance
master Christopher Lawrence at "Swank"By Shawn "Speedy" Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.comFor a globe-trotting deejay such as Christopher Lawrence, "Around the World" would seem an apt title to his latest Moonshine offering. From South America to the South Pacific, from Asia to Ibiza, sleep-deprived partyers from every corner of the planet have watched the sun rise with this turntable-twiddling maestro.
While perhaps not as exalted as the elite names in U.K. electronica, the California-bred Lawrence is a respected figure stateside, where he has been spotlighted by MTV and CNN, and drawn praise from such diverse publications as Spin, BPM, Urb, XLR8R and Alternative Press.
Featuring DJ Christopher Lawrence 'Swank'
Where: Club One Eleven, 111 N. King St., 2nd Floor
When: 10 p.m. tomorrow
Admission: $16
Info: www.B3CANDE.com or www.Kaizospeedgear.com
He has earned enough of a celebrity status that at least one person is known to have duped fellow citizens out of free drinks and amorous relationships by assuming his persona. At last check, Lawrence's legal team had sent the brazen offender a cease-and-desist order.
Clearly, as a sound collagist, Lawrence is partial to the sweeping crescendos of trance and hard house's relentless bang-bang-bang rhythms. "Around the World" opens with the ominous drone of the Arksun remix of Luigi's "Jet Black," which morphs into the Steve Porter version of the same song. Just as one might expect with one of Lawrence's live sets, each track sets the table for the following, and rises and falls with dramatic lulls and exhilarating highs. Album highlights include the mesmerizing thump of Capetown's "Galaxies" and the propulsive "Walking With Dreamz" by Sonik Kross.
Never one to cater to a mass audience, Lawrence has managed to outlive American radio's recent bid to commercialize trance by refusing to stray from his path. With an aggressive and uncompromising approach to deejaying, Christopher Lawrence's worldwide reputation continues to grow.
"Trance became such a dirty word," Lawrence said in a brief profile in the latest issue of Urb, "that, (in response), the deejays went so dark and deep that it just went up its own ass and started killing the dance floors. What I've always firmly believed is that people go out to have a good time. That's why people go to clubs, and that's why the more powerful progressive and underground trance has become popular again. It is one of the few types of music that has the energy to carry an audience through the night."
Besides Lawrence, veteran L.A. DJ Jason Bentley will also be featured, along with Deejay PS and Jimmy James, both members of Hawaii's Imaginary Friends.
A second room will include DJs Brett Ballou of B3Cande of Washington, D.C., and local lights Mark Chittom, DJ Dawn and Pachi.
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