LBL Looks Ahead: Five ways Laidback Luke remains positive about future in dance music
LBL Looks Ahead: Five ways Laidback Luke remains positive about future in dance music
In the continuously expanding clubhouse of DJ superstars and loud-mouthed producers, it seems all too fitting that one of dance music’s original pioneers wholly personifies his own modest title. Dating back to 1995, Laidback Luke posses over 20 years of production experience under his expert karate belt. Fueled forward by his ability to reach across genre boundaries and recreate familiar tracks — anywhere from Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night” to Jay Z’s “On to the Next One” — the Netherlands talent has proven himself as an electronic essential. Specifically, a powerhouse amalgam of electro, progressive, and tech house beats and more recently, a voice of the sound.
Hand in hand with his relaxed moniker, Laidback Luke maintains an attitude that many fail to preserve in the face of unrelenting controversy that often shrouds dance culture. While balancing a newborn, a family back home and on the road, hitting major festivals and clubs across the world while still producing new music – we couldn’t help but wonder exactly how Luke manages to stay so, well, Laidback. Following his main stage Kinetic Field performance at Electric Daisy Carnival, we sat down with Luke to find out the answer.
1. Family first
Right at the cusp of Ultra Music Festival’s opening days in late March, Laidback Luke uncharacteristically cancelled all his events and performances — but for plenty good reason. His wife and fellow DJ Gina Turner went into labor and on to deliver their new baby girl. Despite the big news, the pair had a quick turnaround and were soon back on the road to tour and production life. “Early in my career, I learned how to balance DJ life and family life,” Luke began, explaining his unruffled attitude towards a seemingly impossible schedule. “At the start of every month, Gina and I put our calendars next to each other and plan our time between countries, tours, anything.”
2. Finding comfort in travel
Believe it or not, even the most “Laidback” of DJs are vexed by the many tiring woes of traveling. When flying from Ibiza to Las Vegas for performance after performance within the matter of a few hours, Luke explained that sleep itself is hard to find, much less a comfortable studio space to produce and remix new music. But however strenuous his traveling hours, the Mixmash Records honcho still finds a way to make the magic happen. “I produce music on a daily basis: at airports, waiting at the gates, the seats, getting to the hotel, while working out, while eating room service. I can produce tracks quickly because I’ve been producing it for so long.” Luke continued to clarify that he’s long paid his dues – crediting previous studio sessions to long hours of tweaking songs and editing endlessly. “But now, I’m in a really good position.”
3. Putting peers on even playing field
In regards to Deadmau5’s upset about “festivals being branded bigger than the acts” and Pasquale Rotella’s response, Laidback Luke stepped back to explain his view on the bigger picture. Pointing out a noted festival brand’s previous failed experiment of withholding a line up and delivering less than expectant talents to a group of disappointed attendees and comparing it to his own experience just moments off of the majestic Kinetic Field stage, he elucidated his neutral standpoint. “It’s a bit of both. It is the artist, but look at what EDC is doing [this year]. The production is incredible, that’s what makes this and festivals like it special.”
4. Optimism for the genre and its community
In a recent editorial response to Seth Troxler’s defeatist view on dance music culture, Luke gave his all into combatting the all-too-common and prevalent pessimistic viewpoints on ‘EDM,’ the culture, and the people within it. “All the hate, the frustration, the commercializing, it all happened before in Europe,” He stated, touching on the evidence behind how and why he remains so persistently positive on his standpoint. “But [now], dance music still exists in Europe. There will be a segregation of what people like and enjoy, but I don’t see the harm in it.”
Through it all, Luke has consistently remained humble and well-connected to his followers and fans – just take a look at his Twitter to see – so it’s no surprise that he retains and truly understands what the conversation around both his own music and those of his peers really involves. Unchanging from his positive attitude, he continued to explain how taking in both the good and the bad reveals a promising future for dance music. “It’s really cool that everyone is talking about it, that means it means something to them.”
5. Going back to go forward with sound
Following his bright outlook on dance music’s collective future, he then began to reveal what’s to come of his own. Beyond several revealing and exciting collaborations to come (Keep GLOWINTHEDARK, Uberjak’d, Project 46, and Chocolate Puma in mind), Laidback Luke sees a new, but familiar direction to settle back into his sets and sound. “At the moment, I’m really enjoying going back to my housier roots,” In fact, there may be an ode to his origins sooner than expected, and with an agreeable collaborator. “The next track that’s coming out is actually a track with Gina on the vocals, a bit more housier with a Tujamo and Oliver Heldens vibe.”
For now, Luke plans to explore a more basic house vibe and release his collaboration with Gina next month – but as for the farther future? While he continues to live up to his Superhero repute by balancing family, travel, and his love of music, there is guaranteed to be much more to come from the confidently optimistic producer. “I’m happy dance music is everything right now.”