LAIDBACK LUKE

Mix Mash Mater

Part Dutch, part Phillipino but wholly legendary, Laidback Luke isn’t complaining. Life is good for the DJ and producer despite the fact he admits he isn’t particularly relaxed right now. Rather, he is a serious workaholic and if he isn’t asleep or on a plane, he’s probably behind a mixer somewhere in the world. RK talks to Luke, aka Lucas van Scheppingen, about life’s ups and downs and his return to Australia for his annual pilgrimage.

“Life is good thank you,” chimes the affable young man who now calls the Netherlands home. “Life would be so much more laid-back in the Philippines but the funny thing is, I’m never actually relaxed. My only laid-back-ness is that I’m always calm. I’m pretty ambitious and pretty much always on the go. It might be my half Dutch side doing that actually!”
Indeed, having his early roots in techno, van Scheppingen comes from the same generation as Swiss techno demigod Adam Beyer and the Slovenian wonder boy Uros Umek. “While they are more in the minimal corner now, I moved to a more electro sound,” he says. “I have a way more commercial sound now. To me it’s all about having a smile on my face when dancing to music or playing it. And singing along to it. There’s definitely some karaoke stuff in there that my Philippino heritage brings about!”
However, don’t let his commercial slant suggest that he isn’t an exceptionally astute producer, label boss and knob-twiddler. Likewise, over the years, his discography has grown so prolifically, one does wonder where he finds the time to make it happen. The simple answer is in the nature of his studio setup. His rig has evolved into a rather basic if not elegant setup that is basically a 27-inch iMac with an EMU X-board as a controller. He also uses an M-audio multi-track soundcard and a pair of Genelec 8040 monitors. “That’s all you need,” he chimes with relief. “With all the traveling I do, I consider my laptop and my Dr Dre Beats Studio headphones to be my studio nowadays anyway. I do everything on it, including mastering my tracks and the releases on my Mixmash label. I used to have a big hardware studio back in the day, but in 2012 it’s really not needed anymore. All the action is inside the computer!”
Today, van Scheppingen also makes a point about not being a genre whore. “Never,” he bites. “This is what really threw me off track in my techno days. Being pigeonholed back in the day meant I couldn’t bring in any other influences into the loopy music, where it was the hi-hat causing the main variation in the music! I love music way too much to be stuck in a style like that. When I parted with techno, I gave myself the freedom to play any type and style of music I wanted. It makes my work so much more enjoyable and fun. Let me put it this way - I couldn’t play a house track to a techno crowd but I could play a techno track to a house crowd. This is still my frame of mind.”
This flexibility and diversity has seen him complete some high profile collaborations with names like Guetta, Ingrosso and Aoki featuring on his resume. And that isn’t to say there’s no scope for more. “I’d still like to do something for Justin Timberlake, Timbaland or Madonna,” he says. “Apart from that, no-one else in particular, but I’m always open to new collaborations for sure!”
These collaborations have all been their own adventures - some of them happened online bouncing audio back and forth and some are a result of an afternoon in the studio. “Some of them are writing sessions in big pop studios too,” he says. “But it’s not all about production. There is so much more to a career in music. Man, a career really goes from the deepest lows to the highest highs. This is why I always tell my student producers to keep up. There have been at least five moments where I feel like I hit rock bottom in my career.
“There were times where I wanted to give it all up, thinking my dreams would never come through. It is these moments though, that when you pull through, you feel like a success. I had one great moment the other day for instance. I played a big club in Washington after five years and it sold out. It was a wild night! But I remember being booked there for the first time as the warm up DJ for Roger Sanchez in the very beginning of my career, when no one knew who I was. It is times like these when I realise how far I have come and it feels fantastic to think about it. I never like to stand still, so once all the reflection is done; it’s straight back to working my ass off!”
In closing, he outlines his obsession with his Pioneer setup and how it allows him to deliver all the madness his performances are renowned for. “Yes, I’m very much a Pioneer addict ever since I switched over from vinyl to CDJs back in 2003. My current set up is a trio of CDJ2000s and a DJM900 Nexus mixer. I use a 64GB SD card as my drive.”
And as for what punters can expect from his upcoming show here in early February – it’s all about fresh beats. “I’m bringing a lot of new tracks and remixes to test out and as always my favorite bootlegs and mash-ups as well. I’ve packed all of the energy and fun into my bag!”