Laidback Luke is a legend no matter who you ask, and from his performance at Boo! Arizona I can tell you, he's still got it. He has been busy touring the world at places such as Belgium for Tomorrowland, China for STORM Music Festival and Amsterdam Dance Event in the Netherlands. I am super thankful that he took the time before his set to sit down and talk with me so to see what his journey has been in the dance music industry throughout the years. Laidback Luke started in 90's hailing from a family of musical talent. While he himself was not trained in any classical form of music with an instrument when he found out he could make music on a computer he was ecstatic that he could, "make the music that has always been in my head." Laidback Luke used to be a major skateboarder as a kid and he just so happened to be the odd one that liked electronic dance music versus the grunge punk and hip-hop.
Now mind you making music at this time was no easy endeavor considering the technology that was available then. "The biggest problem was samples and the amount of space they took up and I remember my stack of disk drives where I had my vocal stabs and my drum sounds and everything." This did not deter Laidback Luke though as over time he gained the experience and creativity necessary to make the music he wanted and as time went on and technology advanced, it became easier and easier for him to make new and exciting music.
His parents weren't very supportive from the beginning with his dad especially questioning whether or not music could be a viable career. The moment that Laidback Luke realized he wanted to make music was at his friend's house listening to "Pump Up The Jam" by Technotronic. "He played it back to me and he could mute the vocals and or he could rearrange the beat or solo out the chords and I realized woah this is amazing you can make music with a computer." At just 15 years old he had decided that this is what he wanted to do for the rest of his life and from that point on the rest is history.
Laidback Luke warned me that the music industry isn't always the happiness and fun you see portrayed on social media and the internet but what makes it all worth it to him is" when people message me saying your music helped them through dark time or helped them recover or met each other at one of my shows and have kids now, that is the real powerful stuff." In his long run with this industry so far I can only imagine how many lives Laidback Luke has touched throughout his countless shows, numerous releases, and his continual support of growing artists through Mixmash Records.In my book, Laidback Luke will always be considered one of the greats, and while now he has definitely earned that title, there was a point in time where he hit a low point as most artists do.
It is always good to never let success get to your head, and in 2003 Laidback Luke did. "In 2003 I had a national top 100 hit even above Justin Bieber even and I thought I had made it. So for a year, I did nothing, I hung out with friends doing nothing because I was there and I did it. In 2004 I asked my manager why no one wanted to book me and she said, 'Well you've been sitting on your ass for a year' and so I had to crawl back from that and learn from that experience." Luckily Laidback Luke recovered and continued to keep making hits, but I wanted to know what some of his influences were when he first started and now currently.
When Laidback Luke started making music hip-hop had one of the biggest musical influences of the world as rock and roll started to fade away from the global platform. Some of his biggest influences in the beginning of his music making days include, "The Prodigy, Missy Elliot, Timberland, Daft Punk, and A Tribe Called Quest." My generation mostly listened to these artists towards their downslope in the early 2000's but still to this day I listen to A Tribe Called Quest. Right now Laidback Luke tends to take his inspiration from any source he can get as he continually progresses on his journey. "I am at the point now where any kind of music I want to make I can but Skrillex's career has been incredible and what he has done but we also have incredibly talented Dutch artists that are doing incredible stuff in the background." It is important to note though that the European scene and the American scene have some vast differences when it comes to genre and the festivals.
I remember growing up hearing about how Amsterdam and the Dutch electronic dance music scene was going at a wildfire rate with crazy huge festivals and new DJ's and producers popping up every day. "The music scene and the festival scene has since died down a little bit and while there is still very much EDM talent, it is interesting that over here in L.A. there is all these new talents and artists coming up." America saw a big push for mainstream EDM with Skrillex, Steve Aoki, Afrojack and other heavy hitters in 2010 but we have since evolved in our taste by being more open to new and interesting sounds and styles. "I just heard of a producer called Whipped Cream today and with Rezz too, America is developing electronic dance music in its own way and I think it is fascinating."
Laidback Luke has a collaboration coming up with Mark Villa at Amsterdam Dance Event on their Mixmash label which is a big platform for new up and comers. Mark Villa is one of the youngest on the Mixmash label but he isn't the only one working with Laidback Luke. "In 2018 I am releasing an album that is just full of collaborations with young talent, people that are already big and more." Mixmash is a way for Laidback Luke to help out young new artists by perfecting their style and becoming better professional musicians. Laidback Luke has had some big names come out from his guidance such as Afrojack and Avicii.
Laidback Luke never ceases to amaze me with his level of talent and precision when it comes to music and the love and care he has for not only his young artists but for the industry, in general, is something you rarely see nowadays. Make sure to go follow Laidback Luke on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , Soundcloud and on his website here .
You can also check out the Mixmash Soundcloud here to stay up to date on new and upcoming music.
