His facebook reads “Laidback Luke is the master of evolution” and rightly so. Since minting his debut release in 1995, Luke’s authority has only strengthened with the changing tides of dance music. Boasting collaborators to-date as varied as Diplo, Example, Lil Jon, Hardwell and Swedish House Mafia, his music shows a rare balance of both chart and credible club success. The wealth of remixes and personal bootlegs under his belt begs no exception, with credits ranging from Daft Punk, Green Velvet and Depeche Mode to Robin Thicke, Madonna and Mariah Carey. Adding house sideline Nouveau Yorican alongside wife and fellow DJ Gina Turner to the equation, his agenda continues to push boundaries and break norms at every given opportunity.
We had the privilege to catch up with Luke at Ultra Music Festival and know about his Miami voyage so far. A few very interesting questions that we had in mind were answered to perfection by the maestro himself. Here’s the whole interview:
1) Hello Luke, how are you? How was Miami?
I’m doing very good. I’m very happy to be here in Miami. Although I’ve just had a few hours of sleep because of the crazy parties at Miami Music Week and of course Ultra, it’s been wonderful. Thank you for having me here.
2) Let’s get some in depth on the parties you played at here.
It’s pretty interesting because I’ve been to many techno parties here. My wife is a techno and Deephouse DJ and she has performed 3 times already. I tagged along and heard some really good music. We have been good friends with many underground DJs and I’m always that EDM guy who hangs around these cool dudes.
3) You did tour in India quite some time ago. How was the experience?
It was very exciting and I can honestly say it reminded me of coming to America for the first time and DJing there. There was a major spark that I saw there and I really want to go back to India soon because the scene is becoming bigger and bigger there.
I think India is the country upon which everyone’s eyes are. It’s a big market and everyone can sense it. It can be so beneficial for the country too and the Indian DJs and producers with the expansion of the EDM scene there.
4) ‘Ones To Watch’ is a very exciting label of your’s. It has been supporting a lot of young talent and some really good music. Can you explain us more about it and how you came up with the concept of having a label that stands up for new talent?
5) One concept that you always have that people look forward to, the ‘Super You and Me’ concept. How did the idea come up? It’s a very exciting concept because everyone is always anticipating which DJ will dress up as which Superhero. It’s kind of like the Halloween stage in Dance Music perhaps?
3 things that made it happen for me. I developed this at Amsterdam. The scene over there was becoming too serious and my most fun times was havign crazy silly fun with my friends getting drunk, pushing each other. So I wanted to bring it all back.
Secondly, in th Netherlands when we had illegal house parties, we always had themes for example to come dressed as a Chinese guy or someone else. if you were not dressed up, you were not allowed to come in. This added up to the anticipation for the night. The whole thing added up to the idea.
And thirdly, what I like about my Dance Music, as a DJ or as someone from the crowd, you feel like a superhero and feel invincible. You can leave all you troubles behind and just enjoy.
All 3 of these combined to form the whole concept for me of Super You and Me.
Laidback Luke at the Super You & Me stage Tomorrowland 2014
6) What will you dress up as this year at Tomorrowland?
Well last year we ahd a contest to design a costume for me and my colleagues. we are going to do the same to design the outfit. I’m going to keep it as a surprise this year !
7) For an artist’s career, what is the meccah point in Dance Music?
it’s a tricky thing. Sometimes i look at Avicii and feel he has pretty much done it all. he has worked with Coldplay, U2 and more. Even the likes of Hardwell who has done a sell out stadium tour and I wonder what’s next? It’s going back to the clubs.
And that’s what I am doing going back and enjoying and taking the people back on a trip like ho we did in the 90s. You just grab the crowd and move them with you and it’s a nice experience to bond with the crowd. It’s difficult to do that in a festival as it’s difficult to connect with so many people together.
8) There is an ever increasing genre war between EDM vs Underground. Do you think new sounds such as Ethnic sounds, Jungle terror and more we have a new winner here?
It’s a good point and I feel with the coming of Jungle Terror, there is a whole new market of tracks and sounds. My track ‘Beat Of the Drum’ has sounds from instruments from Indonesia. And with Asian and Indian markets becoming bigger, this will be a very new interesting development that will give a whole new dimension and plenty of new sounds to Dance Music.
9) Finally, your take on Ultra this year.
As with every year, it’s getting bigger. I enjoyed playing this year too. The Worldwide stage is always like one big party with a good vibe. The energy, the crowd…you can never complain about.
10) Any message to your fans in India?
“India! I had such a good time playing there. The clubs the scene is about to explode. It definately is the new America. Get me back to India soon!” Here you can read more about Bollywood fashion news.
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