Articles - Interviews

Laidback Luke Interview

“To be honest, it’s not because of the tolerance, but it’s because of Dutch honesty that there are so many successful Dutch DJs internationally. Dutch people are always very down to earth and both stars and crowd are very critical and very open in their comments. So if you suck, people will tell you that you suck. And that makes us very good DJs. Nothing comes easy over here, we do have to work amazingly hard to succeed,” he says.

10 years after releasing his debut album Psyched Up and 16 years since he quit graffiti to concentrate on music, Dutch house DJ Laidback Luke is at the top of his game, releasing a live compilation for Roger Sanchez’ Stealth Records just a month of bursting into DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJ poll at 46,

“It definitely makes a difference,” says Luke, “It's like people are really taking me seriously now. There are promoters and people from the industry that sure look at the list and in that way it does help out a lot,” he agrees.

While fellow Dutch superstar DJs Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren and Ferry Corsten remain indelibly linked to trance, Luke (real name Luke van Scheppingen) remains firmly associated with house, not least through his enduring connection with Sanchez. Not that he’s taken up the house veteran’s penchant for burning incense and playing seven hour  marathon sets, he insists.

“That's Roger's thing. I'm not into doing long sets at all; I love to either warm up, or give a fireworks set,” says Luke.

“I don’t think I’m made for doing both roles in one night, but Roger has been a great influence on my international DJ career and he was the first to give me chances when no-one else saw me standing.”

He also admits that despite his nickname he’s been known to lose his cool, most recently in the States, courtesy of an overly intimate warm up DJ.

“This one dorky starting DJ girl stole one of my CDs at a gig in LA last week,” he complains, “That was probably the only time I lost my temper for ages, and yet it still didn't look as if I was pissed at all,” he laughs.

Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): You’ve just done the very first Stealth Live mix: how much preparation went into it: am I right in assuming it was done in one take on a computer?

Laidback Luke: “Well, thanks for the compliment, though as a matter of fact this mix is one take, recorded on a Stealth Live event, in a club and in front of a crowd. So, it was me behind the decks trying to make it a good night. As far as preparation goes, I had 50 tracks to choose from on the moment itself. So it was pretty exciting to see how the compilation unfolded in front of a packed club.”

Skrufff: How big a deal is it to you releasing a compilation these days: how much has the emergence of downloading and podcasts changed the musical landscape?

Laidback Luke: “I do think downloading and podcasts have changed the musical landscape, but I think it's still a big deal releasing a compilation. It's not that often that it happens and when it does, you can up your profile with it, do interviews and get good promotion with it. It's different with podcasts, because that's a bit more usual and more anonymous in the sense that they don’t get that much press attention. Plus, doing this compilation as an extension of the Stealth Live events which always a good one plus one, win/win situation.”

Skrufff:  It’s ten years since you released your debut album Psyched Up: how much is it easier doing what you do today compared to then?

Laidback Luke: “It's so much easier in the sense that I've become much more aware of what's happening and what's going on in the industry, but also musically. It's a lot easier for me to make music nowadays. It's because of the years of experience. And, compared to ten years ago where I was just a skateboarding kid going to school, I'm so much more orientated on the business side as well. Mistakes can certainly have bigger consequences today, but I make a lot less of them compared to when I started.”

Skrufff: You previously released a track called ‘F*ck The Revolution', what do you make of the world today?

Laidback Luke: “I think the world is in a redeveloping stage right now. You see it in everything, the econom; the industry. It's time for the big take over. I see these days as being about a new generation being about to pick up and we'll leave the old habits behind.”

Skrufff: How alarmed are you by global warming?

Laidback Luke: “I'm not alarmed by global warming. I don't believe it has anything to do with us. I believe it's a cycle of the earth.”

Skrufff: How about the credit crunch, have you been affected?

Laidback Luke: “I haven't seen the effects of the credit crunch yet, but it will surely come. But I'm not gonna’ be worried and deal with it when it comes. There's so much good stuff to enjoy for now; it would be a pity to worry about things already.”

Skrufff: Have you considered reducing the number of flights you take? Or taking up cycling?

Laidback Luke: “I'm really not the cycling kind as my dad had us cycling every freaking millisecond when I was a kid; I have a cycling trauma. From my upbringing I am a nature caring person though. But considering the amount of flights I take, it's hard to keep that up nowadays.”

Skrufff: When you were a graffiti artist, did you ever get arrested?

Laidback Luke: “Yes, I did, I was 17 years old when I got arrested. It was actually the first piece I did outdoors and the artwork itself went great. But we did it as a group and one sorry guy was really picky so he worked on it for three days in a row. He was the one who got caught in the act and then he told our names to the police. Looking back I'm glad it happened though, because after getting caught I decided to focus more on music.”

Skrufff: How did you then- and how do you today- view the opinion that graffiti can contribute to damaging neighbourhoods?

Laidback Luke: “Fuck that, I still enjoy pieces and tags.”

Skrufff: How would the Laidback Luke of today feel encountering the younger you out spraying grafitti? How would you feel if a kid sprayed your front door?

Laidback Luke: “I was the same kid, so how could I make any judgement? I still see graffiti as an art form and it's surely is a lot better than pumping heroin or stealing someone’s car radio. Like we always used to say: 'Graffiti is not a crime.”

Skrufff: You were born in Manila: have you ever gone back to DJ there? Are you perceived as a local hero there?

Laidback Luke: “I have never DJed in Manilla. I'm really sad about that actually. Though I do get a lot of props from the international Filipino community.”

Laidback Luke: Stealth Live is out now on Stealth Records.

http://www.laidbackluke.com

Article by Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)

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