HUGH LAKE

ARTIST

Hugh Lake is the 30-year-old songwriter, producer and DJ who has already made a mark on the Australian music scene with an diverse mix of creative projects to his name. 

Lake’s unorthodox journey to success follows his start as HFNR, notorious club DJ in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia; he is known for his eclectic RnB and Afrobeat influenced sets appearing alongside Sophie Grophy, Lil Spacely, Genesis Owusu, Manu Crooks, Hancoq, I.E., Kwame and 360. He soon moved into production, first in his bedroom and then in makeshift studio “The Cabin” built in the backyard of close collaborator and friend Kwasi, with whom he signed to urban label WVS/Onelove in early 2017 as “Kwasi x HFNR”. The HFNR era saw a slew of new wave hip hop projects that were pivotal in shaping the Australian sound.

In 2020 he dropped the HFNR moniker, broadening his scope as a genre-bending songwriter and producer that infuses Hip Hop, RnB, Electronic and Pop like no one else. He would show off his tastemaking, writing and production skills on Melbourne-based, South African born R&B artist Ceeko’s debut EP ‘Where Do We Begin’, which was co-written and produced by Lake in a series of writing sessions at the Alt Music studio in Melbourne. That same year in the midst of COVID lockdowns he co-wrote and produced Platinum hit “Bigger” with Stan Walker and close collaborator and fellow producer HAMLEY. They would collaborate again to mix and produce a re-imagining of the Split Enz classic “Poor Boy'' to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their seminal album “True Colours”.

He then cemented his genre-hopping presence after a move to Sydney, writing and producing the grungy rap-ballad “Riot” for Phi11a, before hopping on BOY SODA’s debut ode to heartbreak “LOVEU2BITS” alongside HAMLEY and following it up with local hit ‘Westside’ by Nardean which was winner of the Paramatta Lanes 2021 song competition.

He has been a regular DJ on the club scene in Australia since 2012 holding down residencies at Code Red Saturdays, Seven Saturdays, Pony Thursdays, Seven Saturdays. During this time Hugh has supported major international acts Peking Duk, Rudimental, Aston Shuffle, Tommy Trash, Wax Motif, and more. More recently he has taken his sound overseas to both Bali (where he was the headline act at Old Man’s Canngu) and the Philippines where he performed alongside Lara Andallo at Samsung Hall SM Aura. 

Hugh has collaborated with a number of international brands including Ableton, Ellesse, Mitchell & Ness, Red Bull, and Kayak Travel and most recently he executive produced Lara Andallo’s (Warner Australia) debut EP ‘Diamonds and Deja Vu’, as well as being Music Director, Tour Manager, and DJ for her support of Blxst’s Australian tour in late 2022, her headlineDiamonds and Deja Vu Tour, her support of Kiana Ledé’s Australia, New Zealand & Asia Tour, and most recently Souled Out Festival 2024 (Summer Walker, PartyNextDoor, Tinashe).