Introducing: Luke Alessi

With his records being played by huge artists at revered clubs worldwide - as well as a summer smash collab on his hands - Luke Alessi is one of the hottest names in the dance scene right now. Based on the Australian DJ and producer’s recent track record - including spins from Jamie xx, The Blessed Madonna, Bonobo, Chris Stussy and DJ Tennis - his musical ability is in no doubt. “Sometimes, it’s not necessarily about making the most technical thing, or even brilliant songwriting,” the 31-year-old suggests, describing himself as a raver first and foremost. “It’s just knowing the dynamics within a record and the push and pull of a dance floor – what makes people tick at the right time, and how to build that kind of energy.” 

This combination of knowledge and instinct stems not only from 13 years of producing, but his own upbringing within a household where music would play from morning until bedtime. “My dad always had the radio on at home,” Alessi recalls, adding that he would hear a lot of Micheal Jackson’s songs as a youngster and went to see KISS for his first live concert. When it came to dance, Armand Van Helden and Daft Punk were most influential and, from the age of 18, he spent every weekend at nightclubs. “I started off as a raver,” he says of the Melbourne house and electro scene that was “really popping off” between 2011 and 2015. “I wouldn’t miss a Saturday night!”

It was around this time that, after a friend gave him a crack copy of FL Studio, Alessi began to make beats himself. “I started mucking around with Vengeance packs,” he says of being given 12 gigabytes worth. While he was “locked in from there,” his studies came first and Alessi enrolled onto an architecture degree – though he didn’t stick around for long. “About six months in, I said to my friend ‘what the fuck am I doing? I can't do this’.” Instead, all he could think about was going home and working on music.

After deciding to quit uni, he started working full-time as a labourer for hire from 5am until 5pm – and would then go on Ableton for eight hours. “Every time I was at work, I would have my headphones in with tunes on,” he recalls, describing music as “an obsession.” Having started off creating minimal, he switched to commercial deep house upon getting his first manager; “being a young kid, I was influenced by people around me giving their opinions”, he reflects, “and I realised it could be a way to actually make music a viable career.” 

Originally releasing under an alias (LESSI), he describes the project as “semi-successful” (that’s selling himself short, considering the millions of streams those songs have clocked up). However, Alessi didn’t feel fulfilled: “for the most part, I was making different music to what I was actually listening to.” When he turned 21, a trip to Europe with friends proved the revelation he needed: not only did Alessi go to Ibiza and Berlin for the first time, he ticked off both Space and Berghain. “I discovered a whole world of music that I hadn't previously been exposed to,” he says of hearing “proper techno” for the first time. 

“From that point, everything changed,” he reflects. “I came home and re-evaluated my whole situation.” Alongside stopping producing and DJing for two years, he changed his project entirely, ditched the alias and went back on the dance floor “to actually see how it works.” Having this connection with dancers helped build his understanding: “there’s a difference between making a really nice record and one that goes off on the dance floor – one that DJs will actually play. As creative as the record could be, it needs to be functional.”

Looking back, Alessi says he “needed that circuit breaker – to start being comfortable in my own skin.” Deciding to release under his own name was pivotal too: “I’ve been testing out the waters in different places, but always still making what was relevant to me at the time,” he says. Though eventually landing on a loop-based, groove-driven signature that blends old school and hip house, he says his sonic is “always changing – I try to keep it as fluid as possible”. 

For Alessi, the turning point came when, amid local success, his artist friend Jordan Brando (with whom he and producer William Kiss co-run the party series not without friends) had been offered to remix Australian band Lastlings’ song "Deja Vu." “We were at the gym together and he said he didn't have time,” Alessi recalls, “so I said ‘send me the stems and I'll have a play’.” Putting himself forward proved a catalyst for his career to take off as, following three months of radio silence, it was released on RÜFÜS DU SOL’s label, Rose Avenue. “That gave me the platform and exposure that I hadn't had before,” he says.

Since then, things have snowballed and Alessi has gone from having his records - including 2024’s seductive After Five EP on Life and Death - spun by the likes of Mano Le Tough and Carlita to being the one playing them at clubs across Australia, America and Europe. 2025 is set to be his biggest year to date, however: he’s already released an EP on Peggy Gou's lauded Gudu Records label (Hold Up’/‘Rambla, with William Kiss), collaborated with DJ Tennis (down-the-rabbit-hole acid trip "Dale Dale") and most recently, teamed up with Chloé Caillet for summer-anthem-in-waiting "The One," which features the unmistakable voice of Jocelyn Brown.

“It’s the best story,” Alessi teases of the latter, which has since been spun by Jamie xx, The Blessed Madonna and Chris Stussy, turning the clock back to the summer of 2022. Having heard that Caillet had played one of his older records during her set, Alessi sent a playlist of his tracks over. The pair started talking online and, as he was due to be spending the summer in Europe, she invited him to stay at her place in Ibiza so they could write tunes together. “I was meant to be there for five days, and we spent the first four partying,” he recalls. “Not much writing got done.” Nonetheless, they became friends and DJ’d together at after-parties. “We just bendered and, on the last day, jumped into the studio,” he says of "The One," which Alessi and Caillet created within a few hours. 

Amid a vocal search, Caillet suggested Jocelyn Brown’s classic ‘Somebody Else’s Guy’, which Alessi hadn't previously heard. “I didn't have any preconceived ideas of how the track should sound,” he says, adding that clearing the sample was “almost impossible”. Having initially settled on the idea of handing 50 white label vinyls out to their favorite DJs, ‘The One’ has unexpectedly become a TikTok hit. “We didn’t have the mentality that it would be some sort of viral success,” Alessi recalls. “It’s been cool to sit back and know we weren't trying to do any of that.”

Along with its viral status, the track quickly rose to Beatport's #1 overall top spot only a week after its release — a clear favorite and must-have dance floor weapon amongst selectors. "In that moment at the studio, I felt like we had truly connected — not just personally, but creatively," Calliet tells Beatportal. "There was a real alignment in how we approached making music. The very next day, we made "12 Inch Acid," which became our first release. Safe to say, Luke and I clicked from day one."

Reflecting on his journey to date, Alessi says “it’s been a dream but it also feels like a natural progression that I've been working towards for such a long time.” Such perspective has also reframed his idea of success: “it hasn't happened quickly, and I'm glad”, he ponders, “because I've only found my groove and sound that resonates with me in the last year and a half. I initially wanted it all to come a bit quicker,” Alessi concludes, “but now I feel like I can do my own thing."