Name: Cristoph
Start: 2022-02-26T22:00-08:00
End: 2022-02-27T04:00-08:00

United Kingdom

Cristoph

After a sold-out two-night run at the Brooklyn Navy Yard alongside Eric Prydz, Christoph returns to New York for a solo headlining show in an intimate setting. The British DJ/producer's soaring melodics and driving low-end progressive house have captured the hearts of millions of listeners globally. Dancefloor filling future classics like "Breathe" with CamelPhat and Jem Cooke, "Out of Reach" with Yotto and Sansa, and "The World You See," with 

 have catapulted into the top echelon of a new wave of producers reviving a classic sound in dance music. Join us in welcoming this genre-defining producer to the stage for an extended set at Quantum Brooklyn. 

Franky Wah

What genre would you describe your music as?

Melodic house and techno

Where are you from?

Yorkshire, UK

What age did you start DJing?

23

If you weren't a DJ, what would you be doing for your career?

I would have followed in my dad's footsteps and become a farmer.

What's your favorite artist/style of music outside of dance music?

Alicia Keys without a doubt.





“I was 11 years old listening to this trance classic, counting bars, listening differently. I remember thinking, is this how 11-year-olds listen to music or is it how producers in the making hear music.” Luke Storrs, AKA Franky Wah, has many musical moments from his past for which the memories are so vivid, he can recount who he was with, what he was wearing, and where he was. Despite seeming to have a brain built for music, Luke tried out many other things in life before determining that success in music gave him the greatest feeling over any other type of success. 

“I’ve gone in and out of all sorts of stuff in my life. I did football, bodybuilding… I came in seventh in mister universe. I competed on world stages at bodybuilding, I played against Manchester United in football in a stadium at age 16... none of it filled the purpose I was seeking in music. You strive towards these goals… but compared to playing the main stage of Creamfields, it just didn’t feel the same.” 

Luke’s first release came in 2017, a proper tech house EP heater called ‘House Party.’ Although the track was received well and has high-quality production, Luke’s sound has changed tremendously over the years. As he has matured, the music he listens to has changed and he has fought to define his own identity. “I think age had a lot to do with it. When you’re younger your musical palette is less influenced and you’re playing/making more what you hear outside. As I grew, tech-house didn’t stimulate me enough in the studio… I took piano lessons for three years and wanted to put it in my music. I couldn’t do that with tech-house.”

It took Luke time to fully realize where he wanted to take his sound. There were many moments over the years that helped push him across the line. He described attending Sonus Festival in Barcelona as a pivotal moment for his sonic transformation. “I had one of those moments to a record by Bicep (‘Opal - Four Tet Remix). I remember coming back after thinking I needed to play and make music like that. It was a sign from the universe. The feeling I had on the dancefloor, I had to replicate that in my sound.”

Luke’s sound began to transform in 2018. Although he was not producing the type of melodic house that he is now, the seeds of growth began to show. His ‘Motives EP’ was highly experimental and felt melodic for something in the world of tech-house. He followed this with the track ‘What Have You Done’ and ‘Disco Inferno,’ all of which strayed from his earlier sound and incorporated melodies and deeper bass sounds. 

For Luke, it was about slowly breaking the mold. “Tech house can be formulaic. I was trying to stay in the boundaries of the genre while also pushing and staying fresh. One of the EPs was with Steve Lawler and it helped open doors for me. The work rate was so high, in 2018 I put out 48 records. I wanted people to see my stuff. Eventually after ‘Get Me High’ (January 2019) I wanted a fresh start where we worked to be more strategic about rolling out music.”

‘Get Me High’ turned out to be the pivotal track of Luke’s career. It launched him into different conversations and allowed him to start 2019 with a fresh perspective. “So many different people were able to play it. Tale Of Us and Solomon were hammering it, but so was Tiesto and Nervo… Annie Mac supported it and premiered it first.” The support felt universal and led to a collaboration that to this day, still blows Luke’s mind.

Legendary DJ Sasha told Luke that the track was a staple in his set, and when he was building his entire sets around when he would play it out. Eventually, the two linked up in the studio to produce the incredible ‘Haunted EP.’ “For anyone aspiring to climb that ladder… I’m from a village with 800 people. There’s no scene… Anything is possible. [Sasha] is an icon. To work with him, it was so career and life-affirming for me. Am I really at this level where I’m worthy of working with this kind of artist?”

The inspiring moments kept coming for Luke. In 2019, he was booked to play the main stage of Creamfields. He describes the experience as one of the first moments where he truly felt like his career was on the right path. “I always joke that the stage is pretty much the same size as the village that I come from. We live for those moments as artists. I had flown in from Ibiza playing at Hi. It was the first real feeling of wow this is going somewhere… It keeps me going, looking forward to these moments.”

Since conquering the main stage of Creamfields and releasing music with Sasha, Luke has been on an absolute tear. He has since released music with Anjunadeep, collaborated with Lee Foss, and taken the Beatport #1 throne with his biggest song yet, ‘The World You See.’ The Cristoph collaboration released on Pryda was just another moment of recognition for Luke. “We’re great friends now. We’re planning a tour together with you guys over the pond. WE’ve got more music coming. Some are more universal sounding, but mate we’ve got some absolutely disgustingly dirty warehouse records coming too.”

For Luke going forward, it’s all about continuing his climb up the ladder while remaining humble and self-critical. He is working on a visual component to match his plans of a live performance, and will be launching his own label soon full of “big dark dirty warehouse music.” 2021 is looking to be another landmark year for this rising star, and per Luke’s instructions, we best keep our ears to the ground for his coming releases. “Believe me when I say, you are not ready for the next collab with Cristoph. Just remember this conversation”

Artche

In 2018 Artche floored melodic house fans with his stunning vocals for Christoph’s “Voice of Silence.”  His silky voice and heart-piercing lyrics melted over Christoph’s emotive sonics. The two Newcastle, UK artists formed a firm bond and continue to flex the boundaries of their combined talents with releases like “The World You See,” featuring the talents of Franky Wah. Remarkably, Artche never struck out to become a vocalist. It was a hidden talent realized in frustration. 

“It was born out of impatience for getting other singers to sing on the tracks and like, trying to find good ones. And the hardest bit is trying to find a good writer,” he tells me. The process of honing talent out of a sense of immediacy is one that Burn has mastered.

He prefers to work quickly. So in a moment of frustration, he recorded vocals for a demo purely as a placeholder and sent it to his manager. He thought it was rubbish, but his manager convinced him that there was potential. 

It’s not just his velvety voice that compels listeners to stream his tracks in the millions. He is a talented writer as well. The introspective lyrics from the 2021 chart smasher on Pryda Recordings, “The World You See,” illuminate the painful aftermath of a break-up.

“Rub the tears from my face. Scratch my eyes more than I take. One mistake. Share my heart, you watch it beat. I feel the pain, knock me off my feet, I'm on my knees.”

He’s humble when I ask where the talent to write reflective and relatable prose stems from. “This is another thing that was born out of desperation. I'm just winging it the whole time.”

He tells me, “The World You See,” is one of his most personal and meaningful songs. “I’d literally just broken up with my ex like two weeks before making [it]. I moved from Manchester because it was already locked down. So, I had to move back in my parent’s. So, I'm moving on studio in the spare room. And yeah, just kind of like used that experience to write about that.”

It came out surprisingly quickly for a song on a label as large as Pryda. While he's used to waiting for up to two years for songs to release, “The World You See” was written and released in less than a year. It’s a powerful COVID age anthem and its impact was monumental. “I think the most emotional ones are though,” he explains. “I think that one kind of resonated with a lot of people.”

When the conversation turns to his musical background, it becomes clear how he harnesses the power of melody so readily. He admits that he’s loved every musical style. From his early love of pop-punk to the first time he heard Snoop Dogg’s seminal “Gin and Juice,” he’s always been captivated by good storytelling. He learned to DJ with hip hop records on a pair of shitty belt drive turntables, just like so many DJs did in the late ’90s and early aughts.

His life changed when he heard a recording of Tiesto at Dutch Dimensions 2002. Halfway through the six-hour mix, Tiesto drops “Voyage” by Yahel and Eyal Barkhan. Artche became an instant trance fan. He's DJed and produced many forms of dance music, but trance holds a special place in his heart.

“I think that I still have those kinds of influences in my music, right with the melodies and stuff.” 

He’s happy that progressive and trance have made their way back to the forefront of dance music. After ten years, he’s found his way back to his roots.

He tells me that he doesn’t necessarily have a clear-cut lane. “I've liked all different kinds of music, always make every every kind of music,” he says. His surplus of beats and lengthy release cycles of other labels led him to launch his own imprint Yusual. In a given week, he’ll go from writing hard techno to elegant breaks. Yusual is an outlet for his usual style but in some unusual ways. It also means tracks come out on his schedule and with his visual aesthetic intact.

His recently released track “Waves” is a great example. Snappy breaks beautifully undercut its sophisticated undulating synths. Releasing it on his label meant he had complete creative control. The simple yet compelling music video features dancer Carly Jo Naylor performing an impassioned contemporary solo. Shot, directed, and produced by Burn "Waves" is further evidence of his homespun talent. 

Yusual is becoming more than a self-release platform. He's even more excited at the opportunity to push the talents of other artists. 

“So the next release will be somebody else called Emiliano DeMarco. That's the first guy I've actually signed… [Yusual] was initially just for my own music. But I always get amazing promos. So I just thought, you know what, I'll put out that I'm accepting demos. The one that Emiliano sent me wasn't actually a demo. So he just sent it to my promo address. But I was like, ‘I need this track!'"

Artche is the consummate creative. As he continues to add artistic endeavors to his portfolio, it’s evident that he encompasses a founding tenant of dance music culture. The fierce DIY spirit that propelled the architects of techno and house to create a sub-culture from discarded drum machines and inside abandoned warehouses lives on in Artche’s multi-talented efforts.

Cristoph Live in Brooklyn - 26/11/21

Relive the first hour of Cristoph's set recorded at Duggal Greenhouse, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York on Friday November 26th

After a sold-out two-night run at the Brooklyn Navy Yard alongside Eric Prydz, Christoph returns to New York for a solo headlining show in an intimate setting. The British DJ/producer's soaring melodics and driving low-end progressive house have captured the hearts of millions of listeners globally. Dancefloor filling future classics like "Breathe" with CamelPhat and Jem Cooke, "Out of Reach" with Yotto and Sansa, and "The World You See," with Franky Wah and Artche have catapulted into the top echelon of a new wave of producers reviving a classic sound in dance music. Join us in welcoming this genre-defining producer to the stage for an extended set at Quantum Brooklyn. 



READ - Gray Area Spotlight: Franky Wah





READ - Gray Area Spotlight: Artche



Cristoph

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