Laidback Luke interview

Laidback Luke interview

22 April, 2010 | 6.42AM

• Written by: Christen Reutens
• Filed under: Music News: afrojack, avicii, laidback luke, mixmash

Over the past few years, Dutch producer and DJ Laidback Luke has gone from being The Netherlands’ brightest house talent, to one of the biggest names in global dance music.

His three nominations in this year’s Beatport Music Awards are the icing on the cake for the shy yet affable producer who is currently enjoying the biggest year of his career thus far.

Despite his soaring profile in the electro house and progressive house scenes, Laidback Luke continues to sprinkle magic dust on a new generation of house producers that includes Avicii, Bart B More, SonicC, and Afrojack.

Via his online forum, Luke has mentored and tutored hundreds of hungry aspiring producers over the years, and now with the launch of a new Super U & Me compilation series, he is giving young guns the kind of professional support that is essential for nurturing young talent.

We caught up with the Dutch remixer, house music sensation, and boss of Mixmash Records, to chat about future talent, his new compilation, and “trance 2.0”.

How are you Luke?

Great. I’ve just had a crazy weekend of gigs in Egypt, France, Ireland, and the UK.

It sounds like you’ve really blown up in the past year or so.

Yeah, it’s a dream come true. It has definitely taken off recently. I sometimes wish I had a teleportation machine, or could clone myself to be able to handle everything. I’ve worked really hard to get to this point, and I feel blessed to have pulled it off.

What would you say was intrinsic to the success you now enjoy?

There were a couple of things that really helped me push through. At the beginning, I had a lot of support from Roger Sanchez. He really support my music in the early days, and helped me arrange a couple of tracks.

And then, when I met up with Steve Angello in the studio, that really helped me hone my production. Just seeing the way the Swedish House Mafia produce changed my whole attitude.

How so?

How fast they make tracks really inspired me. I had been putting out records for 10 years before I met Steve, but seeing the way they produced instantly created a second career boost.

Plus the bootlegs was something they really encourage. How they deliberately use the internet to promote bootlegs. So it was a combination of things that helped me succeed.

The bootlegs is something you’ve certainly become known for in the past two years.

With my booitlegs, a lot of times for instance, like my recent Paul Johnson ‘Get Down’ bootie, the original was one of my all time faves.

But I felt it had always lacked a heavy bass and kick for me to play out. So whenever I do bootleg, I structure it so I can play it out. It’s all about making it work on my floor.

Your new Mixmash compilation contains a few tracks that started out as bootlegs?

Yeah, my Tiesto ‘Flight 643’ bootleg. I hammered that all year, and then it finally got to be a legal remix.

My La Roux one - that was one of my favourite mix combinations that I used to play live in my sets, by playing an accapella over ‘My G.O.D.’ (Guns On Demo).

It was tricky to get that licensed, as it was more of a DJ tool.

How’s your label Mixmash coming along?

It’s going really well. My ‘Super You & Me’ compilation is celebrates me taking Mixmash to next level.

I’m treating like a real company now and really investing money into it, and hiring personnel. We’re doing full artwork and that sort of thing.

It’s basically a platform for me to release a lot of new talent that I discover on my web forum. I get so many good demos, and I guide people and train them on there for years.

Like Afrojack and Avicii?

Yeah, I’m really proud of producers like Afrojack, Bart B More, and Avicii, who are now doing well, and I am quite proud that I was able to help these kids do well. You can’t pay money for that kind of satisfaction. It’s really rewarding to help people.

But after years of studio advice, why take them on as a label?

I feel I can offer more of a direct way into the professional industry through the label. Instead of them finding a structure and a way themselves, I can easily put their music out, and let them play at my Super You & Me events. I help their whole career now.

Tell us more about the ‘Super You & Me’ compilation.

The Super You & Me comps will be a series. I’m really looking at having other people continue the mix as well as push new talent through it.

Like Avicii? He mixed CD two.

Avicii has had a really successful year in terms of production. I know it took him years and years to cope with my criticism on my forum, and in the end he pulled through. People don’t know his DJ skills, but he’s a very capable DJ as well, so I thought he would be a good candidate to mix the second disc.

What sort of criticism do you offer new producers?

I’m really punctual with my criticism. I tell them things like how to tweak the bass, what frequencies to work in, what plug ins I like, and what direction they need to go in terms of style.

A lot of my critism of Avicii in the beginning was about his style. I told him he had to change it up as he was all about electro house, which I could see was going to die very soon, so I told him to focus more on the minimal tech big room sound that he had been experimenting with. At first he was not really sure as he really loved those big electro bassline, but now he’s switched to the tech stuff he has been really rocking it.

So you like to boss them around then?

I do feel like I’m a bit of a boss.

Are you trying to create an army of ‘mini-mes’?

Ha, I’m like a DJ daddy! To be honest, for me it’s all about the future of house music, and about the next generation. It’s important to continue to have quality producers and DJs who can keep this thing going.

Is that feeling - that urge to help a new generation - something that has come with age?

Well my first record was in 1995. I sometimes do feel a little like I’m getting a bit older. In the first part of my career, I was always this Dutch house prodigy.

Now I feel like a DJ dad. But I keep up with the young guys. These last few years have actually been the best years of my career. I’m just always worried about how I can contribute to the continuity of house music, and help people to enjoy the music I love so much.

After all your years of experience, where do you see house music going next?

House music will get even bigger than it is now. It is finally a music genre that cannot be denied any more, and just as valid as rock or hip hop. It did become really business orientated, but I’m confident people with passion and the real people who work hard to create the music will help it to grow.

What do you think of the hip hop community embracing dance music recently?

I have big hopes for house music crossing over in America. All the big hip hop artists want to make dance music now. Some people are worred that it will become too big and too commerical, but on the other side, a healthy underground scene will develop as well.

There is always good quality underground sounds in dance music, and a rebelliousness that never dies. In the end to me, that’s what it is about. I’ve had so much pleasure and good times from house music.

Have you had any big hip hop artists calling you up for remixes or studio help?

Yes, but I probably shouldn’t give you any names. I’ve been doing a lot of demos for big American record labels recently, and it’s looking like America will be dominated by dance in the next couple of years. We have to thank David Guetta for that. He opened up a lot of doors for people in our scene.

How was Miami’s WMC for you this year?

Miami every year goes up and up. This was my most successful WMC ever. I was amazed. I didn’t realise how big we had become in the US until I held my own ‘Super You & Me’ night, and we sold out.  It was a road block. I never would have expected that, as the year before I threw a small party and we had a hard time to fill it.

There’s definitely something in the air in America. Dance music is going to be so huge there soon.

Do you think there’s something about your sound that translates well for American audiences?

Some people try to pin me down to one genre. But I heard someone say once that Laidback Luke is all over the place - that’s his style. Of course, you can always here my energy, and I’m quite commercial, in a grimy rebel kind of way. But I like to experiment with lots of styles.

For example?

Well, my MSTRKRT remix was like a Dutch Caribbean thing. Whereas my Moby remix was more of a tech thing, and my new track ‘Till Tonight’ is a trance tune.

As is your new track with Lee Mortimer - ‘Blau’ sounds very trancey.

When I speak to people, they think the trance bit came from me. I’m not sure if this will burst Lee’s bubble, but Lee was actually a huge trance head, and when I told him I was kind of flirting with trance, he jumped at the opportunity to experiment with it.

So we made the riff, and with his help, we made it pretty trancey. And then we switched it over to the sound of 2010. Bart B More described it as “Trance 2.0”. For me, I have this theory that we could make trance the new electroclash.

Electroclash was good, because it was so bad. I’m trying to bring trance back, but in more tougher house jacket. I want to bring a hip movement to trance, with tribal and house influences going on. It’s really cool to have these really big trance riffs inside a tough house jacket.

And then, you also remixed the classic trance cut System F ‘Out of the Blue’.

That System F remix, and my new single ‘Till Tonight’, are like a cross between old skool David Guetta vocals with Swedish House Mafia trancey basslines.

Back in 1992 when I started out, we didn’t have all these sub genres. It was cool to have a 4/4 kick drum with loads of different styles of music over the top.

Why not bring back trance?

Laidback Luke presents Super You & Me - Tracklist

Follow the links below to listen to and purchase individual tracks.

CD1 – Mixed by Laidback Luke

1. Tony Senghore ‘If You Came Here’
2. Drop the Lime ft. Carrie Wilds ‘Set Me Free’ (Lil Silva Remix)
3. Kissy Sell Out ‘Garden Friends’ (Laidback Luke Edit) with Laidback Luke ft. Goodgrip ‘Rocking with the Best’
4. Tai ‘Rocking the Set’
5. Tonka ‘Jack Track’
6. Wynter Gordan ‘Dirty Talk’ (Laidback Luke Remix)
7. MSTRKRFT ft. John Legend ‘Heartbreaker’ (Laidback Luke)
8. The Prodigy ‘Out of Space’ with SonicC ‘Stickin’
9. Man&Man ‘Le Cabaret Hologramme’ (Lazy Flow Remix) with Laidback Luke & Diplo ‘Hey!’
10.  Oliver Twizt ‘Gangsterdam’
11.  System F ‘Out of the Blue’ (Laidback Luke Remix)
12.  Laidback Luke ft. Jonathan Mendelsohn ‘Till Tonight’
13.  Tiesto ‘Flight 643’ (Laidback Luke Edit)
14.  Robert Armani ‘Ambulance’ (Boriqua Tribez Remix) with Martin Solveig ft. Dragonette ‘Boys & Girls’
15.  Calvin Harris ‘You Used to Hold Me’ (Laidback Luke Remix)
16.  Crookers ft. Kelis ‘No Security’ (Bart B More Remix)
17.  Laidback Luke & Lee Mortimer ‘Blau’
18.  Laidback Luke ‘My G.O.D (Guns On Demo)’ with La Roux ‘Bulletproof’
19.  Moby ‘Wait for Me’ (Laidback Luke Remix)
 

CD2 – Mixed by Avicii

1. Style of Eye ‘Grounded’
2. Kohlbecker & Eilmes ‘Tabasco’
3. Hardwell ‘Display’
4. Tristan Garner & Gregori Klosman ‘Fuckin Down’
5. Johan Wedel ‘He He’
6. David Amo & Julio Navas ‘Heart Beat’ (Abel Ramos Olso with Love Remix)
7. Cicada ‘One Beat Away’ (Arno Cost Remix)
8. Dinka ‘Elements’
9. Phonat ‘Set Me Free’
10.  Solu Music ft. KimBlee ‘Fade’ (Avicii 2009 Remix)
11.  Bob Sinclar ft. Vybrate & Queen Ifrica & Makedah ‘New New New’ (Avicii Meets Yellow Mix)
12.  Tim Berg ‘Alcoholic’

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