Laidback Luke
Laidback Luke is a veteran of the industry brings fire to the stage every time he performs. BOO! Arizona 2017 proved to be no exception as the crowd went crazy during the set. For an overall bass heavy night, Laidback Luke gave the crowd a something that was unique to the night. The set’s light show really set him apart from the other sets of the night. All in all, it’s no surprise that his name is argued for the best at BOO! Arizona 2017 and we have come to expect nothing less from this superstar. We sat down with him and he is incredibly humble and full of wise insight to the world.
Q- You do a lot of martial arts and stuff as well, beyond producing and DJing. How do you get your mind clear, not even just between shows, just in general, in life?
I’ve done a lot of meditation in the past, but it felt so good that I had to quit it because I didn’t wanna go back into like real life situations. So, I’ve done that, but the truth is stress is as big as you want to make it. Stress is all inside of your own brain, so a lot of things are not as intense as you would like to make it. A lot of things you can actually control, even things that are going to surprise you.
So, in my kung-fu we have this thing we call looking “through 13 windows,” which means if you are going to start a day or week that is very stressful, that’s very packed, you can already anticipate a whole lot of things coming. You can be like: “Okay so on Tuesday I need to do this, this, this, and this. And I’m going to encounter that, and those type of people.” And then when it really happens you’re ready for it; mentally prepared.
Q- How do you think music is going to impact your family as you grow older? Do you plan to pass this down to your children?
Good question. My daughter is very musically gifted, but I have this theory that it will always skip a generation. So, my kids don’t really care about music. Think about your own parents; even if your dad was an astronaut, you’d be like: “that just my dad doing his thing you know?” So, for my kids, I’m their dad doing the DJ thing, and their like yeah whatever we grew up with it. But you will always see it skips a generation, but perhaps their kids will want to be involved with music.
Q- Have you ever had an embarrassing moment when you’ve been starstruck by somebody who a super big name, since your name, Laidback Luke is one of the most well-known names in EDM?
For sure! There is this Dutch K1 fighter, K1 is a big kickboxing league I used to watch all the time on Dutch television. And I saw him once at the airport, and he’s a big guy, like 6’5 and I recognized him. His name is Remy Bonjasky. I was like: “oh Mr. Bonjasky, Mr. Bonjasky can I have a picture please?” and he was really cool, a real gentleman. So, you know with shaky hands, I took out my iPhone and I tried to snap a picture. And I said thank you so much, and he strutted on because he had to catch his flight. I looked at my phone and I missed the button.
Q- So you like completely missed the picture?
Yes! I missed the picture! And there I was with my shaky hands! So, whenever people come up to me and they have like shaky hands I’ll often just grab the phone and take the picture because I know exactly how they feel.
Q- Since it’s getting close to Halloween let’s start going into a theme. Whats your favorite scary movie?
Oh, I’m really bad with scary movies. Fun fact! I hate scary movies. I really get scared. Like a little girl! I will pee my pants watching anything that has to do with the paranormal. So, I wouldn’t even know how to- well okay so when I was- wow I’m really old- When I was a kid I used to watch Nightmare on Elm Street so that would probably be my favorite because I didn’t see anything else.
Q- Well, you’re not really old, but you’ve had some time to think of some Halloween costumes. What do you think is the best Halloween costume that you’ve ever had.
Well, I grew up in the Netherlands, so we don’t really have Halloween. So, ever since I started DJing in America and starting a family here I noticed what that’s about. I never really dove into it. I think I did have a Super You And Me party during Halloween where I had a makeup artist come in and paint my face like Two-Face from Batman for Halloween.
Q- What other events is the star Laidback Luke playing?
I’m doing my Super You And Me run across Vegas, San Diego, San Francisco that is going to be really big. My girlfriend and I are going to have matching costumes. I’m very excited for it.
Q- Who are some of your favorite people who you have collaborated with people who you have collaborated with?
I really enjoyed working with Diplo. I enjoyed working with Steve Aioki. Devid Guetta, I made a lot of tracks with, which was fun as well. I once tried to make a track with Derro, and that guy blew me away! He’s one of the most talented producers in the world. But, we never got to finish the track. I basically ended up testing him out to see what his capabilities were. [Like] Okay, you do this and that, and you make cord structures like that, and melody changes like that. And he could do everything and more.
Q- If you could name some artists outside of the EDM genre to collaborate with who would you name? Like R&B maybe Rap, Rock, and Roll.
Still one of my all-time favorites is Justin Timberlake. I would love to collaborate with him.
Q- What are you most excited for, for the rest of 2017?
There is going to be a new track I’m going to be releasing with our youngest talent of Mixmash records, Mark Villa, I’m going to do a collaboration. And currently, I’m working on an album full of collaborations.
