Chris Lake has long been a huge name in house music; the English producer achieved early recognition in EDM using the alias Cristophe D’Abuc in 2002 to create a series of bootleg remixes. Since then, Chris Lake has gone on to produce a plethora of signature tunes using his actual name, including the 2013 anthem Boneless, which he produced alongside Steve Aoki and Tujamo.

Chris Lake has had several top ten hits on the U.S. Billboard charts, he has released celebrated collaborations with Green Velvet, Destructo, and Walker & Royce. Still just 36 years old, it seems like Chris Lake has been around for ages, and he evidently has plenty of gas left in the tank.

What is less well-known about Chris Lake however is that he is a major ghost producer in house music. This ghost production work helps to ensure Chris Lake’s signature house sound reverberates around festivals and nightclubs all over the globe and makes millions of people happy.

Two of the more notable acts Chris Lake has ghost produced for in recent times are Australian house DJ FISHER, and American Valentino Khan. FISHER (real name Paul Fisher) is a former pro surfer who has emerged as a hugely popular name in Australian EDM during 2018. Formerly composing one half of DJ duo Cut Snake, Fisher has gone solo to release hits such as Ya Kidding, Stop It, and Losing it, which you can hear at EDM festivals across Australia. Losing It has been so well-received that it is up for nomination for a 2019 Grammy in the Best Dance Recording category.

Valentino Khan is also responsible for releasing one of the biggest house anthems of 2018 with his song Lick It, which has become another staple at music festivals and nightclubs around Australia and further afield.

Speculation about FISHER’s use of ghost producers began to circulate on social media platforms like Reddit and Twitter during mid-2018. Some users commented how it seemed implausible that FISHER would produce five bangers with similar sounds in such a short period of time, while other users confidently asserted Chris Lake ghost produces for FISHER. Delving further into this, a search for Stop It and Ya Kidding on the music rights organization website BMI shows Chris lake as a composer for both tracks. A quick glance at the social media profiles of both reveals they are under the same management, making it easy to arrange a ghost production partnership.

The story is similar for Valentino Khan, however, his use of ghost producers slipped under the radar a little, perhaps because he’s not as big a name as FISHER. A quick search for Lick it on BMI reveals Chris Lake is given composer credits on this track too. These findings confirm what many house music fans have long suspected—that Chris Lake’s signature sound is behind many modern house tracks.

Ghost production also works perfectly well for the likes of FISHER and Valentino Khan. They’ve established themselves as top-level brands in the music industry and have been touring the world non-stop for the last few years. Anyone who has been to see FISHER perform a DJ set knows that he is a blast to watch with fantastic energy. While FISHER and Valentino Khan are busy making fans happy with awesome sets, they can pay a talented producer such as Chris Lake to help create music that fits their image.

Bringing this argument to its endpoint, ghost production benefits the fans too. Under a ghost production arrangement, FISHER and Valentino Khan can continue to wow crowds at festivals and nightclubs all over the planet on a busy tour schedule. At the same time, fans who want to hear fresh sounds from these artists can do so, thanks to ghost production facilitating it.