Chris was born and raised in Nottingham, England. was first introduced to dance music through regular trips to Cream, Club U.K., and Atomic Jam”10 Years. Now based in the Czech Republic, Chris is marking a significant achievement for Climax Digital with a special ‘REMIXED’ album. This album showcases a variety of dance music styles, from deep house to techno, and features remixes by several artists including Jean Luc, Delusion Works, Tom Fabi, Peter Kay, Michael C, Chuck Drtina, J.M. Blex, Spiriakos, Dapte, and even Chris himself has contributed with his remixes.
Hi Chris, congratulations on “REMIXED”- a significant milestone for Climax Digital Recordings. What inspired this project?
Thanks! The label is 10 years old this year which also coincides with its 100th release and I genuinely thought long and hard what significant way I could landmark this milestone for Climax Digital. I’d been thinking about putting out an album for some time, but the label isn’t just about me, it’s about all the other artists who have released music over those 10 years as well, so I decided to combine those two factors – an album featuring the work of those artists, but rather than just putting out a “best of” compilation it occurred to me to ask some of those artists to choose their favourite track from the back catalogue and remix it, that way we’re acknowledging the history of the label whilst presenting new music at the same time. Thus the album REMIXED was born.
How did you go about selecting the 10 producers for the “REMIXED?”
I wanted it to be the combination of some of the older, more experienced artists from the label such as Jean Luc or Spiriakos together with newer talent that has impressed me recently such as J.M. Blex and Tom Fabi along with artists that are consistently popular with the public in terms of streams and sales such as Peter Kay and Delusion Works. In the end, I’m very happy with the result and I think that anyone who enjoys dance music can find something that speaks to them, be it deep house, progressive, tech house, or techno.
Do you have a favourite remix from the collection?
I wouldn’t want any of those who contributed music to feel discriminated against as I don’t think there’s a duff remix on there, but personally, I really enjoyed Chuck Drtina’s remake of my own track “Senegal”.
What vision did you have when you started Climax Digital Recordings, and how has it evolved over the years?
I think anyone who has gone through the process of sending a demo to labels has experienced the same – you send it, a lot of the labels don’t bother to even listen to it, let alone reply. And if you get lucky they’ll say they’ll release it, but you’ll have to wait almost a year and once it’s out that’s the last you’ll hear from them so you never get to find out how many copies were sold or streamed, where, in what country and so on. Having been through this process so many times I decided to start a label that would be different. That’s why I genuinely listen to every demo and reply to everyone, even if it is to say “Thanks, but that’s not what we’re looking for”. I personally would rather get a “thanks, no thanks” reply than none at all. If I do decide to release it I always try to make sure the artist doesn’t have to wait, that means putting the music out within 1-2 months and once it’s out the artist gets a statement every month where he can see exactly how many copies have been sold or streamed, where, from what store etc. That’s been the concept from the beginning and it remains so to the present day.
Can you tell us a bit about your journey from the UK to becoming a prominent DJ in the Czech Republic?
I’d started playing whilst I was still living in the UK in the early nineties, mainly small events and parties at people’s houses. When I finished studying pathology at university I said to myself that before getting a proper job I’d quite like to take a couple of months off, go somewhere abroad, take my box of records with me and maybe see if I can land a few gigs, but mostly just enjoy myself a bit. Having been to Prague before a couple of times I had a few contacts and one offered that I could stay at his apartment so I flew over to Prague at the end of summer 1996 with the intention of being here for 2 or 3 months. I spent those months basically selling myself – calling clubs, giving out demo tapes (and yes, I literally mean cassettes), taking any gig that I could. By winter I was genuinely ready to move back to the UK, but then I started getting better offers for gigs at bigger, higher-profile events so decided to give it a few more months. I was lucky that I was at the right place at the right time because it was when the dance scene here in Czech started blowing up. One month 500 people turned up for an event, the next month 1000, the month after that 2000, so I was able to ride that wave. I guess when you are at the beginning of something big, as long as you do things right, you’re true to yourself and whatever you do you do with a real passion then you become an integral part of that scene. I also believe that longevity is born not only out of doing something well enough but out of not being too greedy, working on yourself so as not to stagnate and nurturing good relationships with both the people who book you and the people who pay to come and see you play.
What’s next for Chris Sadler and Climax Digital Recordings? Are there any exciting projects or releases on the horizon?
Personally, I’m really looking forward to the festival season. I’ve already got a few booked and if it’s anything like last year it should be pretty epic. In terms of the label, we’ve got upcoming releases from label favourite Dapte who also featured on the REMIXED album, a track from Desperados DJ No.1 winner D.K.O, a Climax Digital debut from DeFutaMadre along with fresh music from Efendy, Jorge Herrero and yours truly.
Are there any artists or DJs you look up to or would love to collaborate with in the future?
Probably the number one candidate would be Mark Knight. He’s played a few times at my club night at Roxy and his musical tastes are very similar to mine. I have immense respect for what he’s built out of nothing, and yet he remains modest and down to earth. Not only do I think I could learn a lot from him but also think it would be quite good fun at the same time.
Can you tell us about the most unforgettable moment in your career?
I’ve been DJing for over 30 years now so it’s impossible to choose one single moment as there’s been so many. Having the whole club clap me when I left the club after a gig, Wesley Snipes or Bruce Willis turning up to my gigs, playing in a Tokyo skyscraper, having my icons like Laurent Garnier and Roger Sanchez guesting at my Climax night at Roxy, playing for thousands at Mayday, sharing a stage with Carl Cox, Kraftwerk, The Chemical Brothers to name but a few. To be honest, just maybe travelling hours to the other end of a country I wasn’t even born in, turning up to a club I’ve never played before and yet having a string of people come up to me to say they love how I play is pretty special and I never cease to be grateful for that.
