Turn Off. Turn on. Shut down and restart. The three fingered salute. The Vulcan nerve pinch. CTRL ALT DEL is synonymous to PC computers, Windows, technology, rebooting and geek culture. In psychology, it’s a reference to reserved, cautious, introverted personalities. Either way, Chris Lawrence is the man behind the decks when CTRL ALT DEL spins his sets and breaks out his own tracks – four of which have already been signed to Bomb Squad, another making its way to Central Station mid year and his latest track OH doing the rounds from the label of Dim Mak producer Deorro, Panda Funk. CTL ALT DEL is the new emerging breed of Producer-DJs – where the emphasis is on the production side of music more so than the DJing – with his unique brand of progressive house and electro bounce flooding the circuit on the dancefloor and across iTunes.
He will certainly be shutting down systems for a complete reboot with the launch of Lost Bar & Nightclub this weekend, where we sit down and chat what we can expect to hear from him on the dancefloor, why the Melbourne Bounce is so big ad the CTRL ALT DEL signature sound.
How did you first end up behind the decks?
I was always around music growing up. My grandfather was a drummer and my grandmother a pianist. I learnt the piano at a young age and then the drums. I moved to Melbourne a few years ago and found a passion for EDM. Grant Smillie got me hooked on DJing and I have been going at it for about eight years now.
Bounce is a sound that’s been taken over by even the Swedish House Mafia crew, yet the irony is very few Melbourne-ites love it. How would you describe Melbourne Bounce, and what is it about the bounce sound that grabs you?
Bounce is a slowed down psy-trance bassline with a few other elements. I guess it’s the ‘in’ sound but it’s a sound that’s evolving. I hear all the time bounce is dying, bounce is dead, but I believe it’s evolving. Everyone is playing it so I don’t know how people think it’s dying. You have guys like Zac Waters, Dimatic and Jay Karama who are evolving the sound so I think it has a long way to go yet. Bounce is a fun, uplifting and energetic sound.
What would you say is the CTRL ALT DLT signature sound?
I would have to say it’s a Bigroom Bounce sound. I’m the same as every other DJ out there and trying to stay ahead of the game but it’s still a tough gig.
Prog house and electro bounce seldom meet on the dancefloor: how do you make the underground sound of one and the main room of the other meld together? And what do you try to achieve with each set?
I like to change it up in my sets. Gone are the days of playing one genre in your sets. You really have to be up-to-date with what’s out there. The music is changing all the time, and you find different elements in all music these days. I try to give the crowd what they want so they have a good time, but I also like to through a few new underground records in there and educate them a little.
The Gold Coast and Brisbane work really together in terms of producing and releasing electronic music. What are your observations of where it’s come from and where it’s going?
It’s a very exciting time for Aussie producers. There are so many talented kids out there killing it with production. The young guys coming through are where our music in the country is heading, and the future looks bright.
You’ll be leading the launch of Lost Bar & Nightclub this Saturday: what can we expect to hear from you on the dancefloor?
I’m really looking forward to Saturday night. I have a few new tunes of mine I’m going to play for the first time so I’m excited for that plus a few bangers as always. I always have new music so keen to play some of that too. It’s going to be LOOSE.
