Laidback Luke's QnA's

[Laidback Luke]

that was 11 years ago?

Lol so whenever you see me with headphones, think that there must be something up.
In this case, I forgot my whole DJ kit! My SD, Headphones etc. I left them all in the hotel!
And found out 5 minutes before I needed to go on. Luckily, my tourmanager had a spare backup
SD from January and I could borrow headphones and a few of my newest tracks from the DJs backstage!

[Laidback Luke]

So anyway, as you might see I'm rarely on here now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them on Twitter.
Since Twitter is where I live now, I'll answer much sooner then here: www.twitter.com/LaidbackLuke

Sucks I have so little time nowadays! Sorry about that!

[rwainwright1]

I want to just say thank you to laidback luke, you have helped me so much, i promised the girl that I'm seeing that we would get to meet you at sankeys club the other night, and you took a photo with her - she was absolutely made up with that! thanks again dude!!
LAIDBACK LUKE - THE NICEST GUY IN THE INDUSTRY!

[gogytkd]

Hey Luke:D I have a friend(32yrs old), who is very talented techno DJ here in Slovenia, also he has his own label, and produced several tracks but he couldn't make it on international level . So my question is, how can DJs from developing countries, get bigger gigs on international level, cuz it's very hard to get good connections All the best to you

here's his set from last year

http://www.mixcloud.com/Peter_b/syld_2011/

[k2xl]

Luke,

I noticed that in a bunch of your tracks you do this snare on each beat on the drop. Do you have any suggestions/tips on mixing that in right? It seems like a typical characteristic in dutch house to have snare (and as you did in your laura larue track, a open hat) on each kick when the drop happens. I can't seem to get the levels right.

[Laidback Luke]

Luke,

I noticed that in a bunch of your tracks you do this snare on each beat on the drop. Do you have any suggestions/tips on mixing that in right? It seems like a typical characteristic in dutch house to have snare (and as you did in your laura larue track, a open hat) on each kick when the drop happens. I can't seem to get the levels right.

Ah you mean the clap on every kickdrum? Or the soca snare?
What you need to understand is that the snare is a mid sounding element. This means, it doesn't need any
real low end. This low end would clash with the kickdrum. So what I usually do is EQ out the low end of the
snare maybe even up until 400hz. This way the kickdrum stays clear of it's frequencies.

Mixing it down, I would recommend it to do so on low volume. I often hear more detail and definition
on low volume. Try to imagine you're listening to a dinky little radio while your mixing. Then it will
sound booming on a proper club system. Take note, the kickdrum should always win, that's the most
important element of a track!

[Laidback Luke]

Hey Luke:D I have a friend(32yrs old), who is very talented techno DJ here in Slovenia, also he has his own label, and produced several tracks but he couldn't make it on international level . So my question is, how can DJs from developing countries, get bigger gigs on international level, cuz it's very hard to get good connections All the best to you

here's his set from last year

http://www.mixcloud.com/Peter_b/syld_2011/

Nowadays with all the social media, the world is connected. It's very simpel to get to international
level, you just need a big track. The hard part is to get the world to listen to it, because there's soooo
many tracks out there. If you have the quality, try and promote it through social media and keep
it up for a couple of years. It will start moving slowly but surely.

[TranceLover007]

Hey Luke:D I have a friend(32yrs old), who is very talented techno DJ here in Slovenia, also he has his own label, and produced several tracks but he couldn't make it on international level . So my question is, how can DJs from developing countries, get bigger gigs on international level, cuz it's very hard to get good connections All the best to you

here's his set from last year

http://www.mixcloud.com/Peter_b/syld_2011/

Nowadays with all the social media, the world is connected. It's very simpel to get to international
level, you just need a big track. The hard part is to get the world to listen to it, because there's soooo
many tracks out there. If you have the quality, try and promote it through social media and keep
it up for a couple of years. It will start moving slowly but surely.

Agree to some extend with Luke statement - but you need to have few more (at least good if not great tracks) to carry over your establish but new name on the market. One "hit and run" track will never guaranty you long and successful production future

Cheers from Seattle,

Darek

[Mick]

Yo Luke. Noticed you answer questions on here every now an then so was hoping you or even a forum member could help me. I know your fist release was back in 95 but what I want to know is how did you know you was ready to start releasing stuff and how long had you been making music before your release. Thanks

[JNK]

Hello ! I have a question about your hardware. What hardware do you use on live stage and what gear do you use in the studio ? The second question is abit funny heh but I've been always wondering, how long does it take you to make a song? Lets say how long did it take you to find the ideas and to produce Night like this? And the last question is what software do you use on live stage? I know you use ableton to produce music but what do you use for the CDJs? I wish that I'll have the skill you have one day hehe !

Best regards
JNK

[Mick]

Hello ! I have a question about your hardware. What hardware do you use on live stage and what gear do you use in the studio ? The second question is abit funny heh but I've been always wondering, how long does it take you to make a song? Lets say how long did it take you to find the ideas and to produce Night like this? And the last question is what software do you use on live stage? I know you use ableton to produce music but what do you use for the CDJs? I wish that I'll have the skill you have one day hehe !

Best regards
JNK

Hello. Luke uses 3 or 4 pioneer cdj 2000's I believe with a 900 djm mixer I think. Luke only uses his laptop with ableton live, dre studio headphones and a midi keyboard. I believe it takes luke 4 hours to produce a song, 2 hours in session view then 2 hours in arrangement with a little break inbetween. There is actually an interviw online about how the song came together, don't have the link sorry.

[pleom1x]

I'm actualy wondering if you enjoyed the party in Yalta club , 'cause you didn't seem as happy as last time ... and i really hope that this won't be your last visit here... Both parties were amazingly massive , and it would be a shame to not go to another one again ..

[Laidback Luke]

I'm actualy wondering if you enjoyed the party in Yalta club , 'cause you didn't seem as happy as last time ... and i really hope that this won't be your last visit here... Both parties were amazingly massive , and it would be a shame to not go to another one again ..

Oh I loved it! The crowd in Sofia is really amazing. I was very happy to play 45 minutes of deep and more soulful
house in the beginning of my set too! I was very happy, don't worry! : )

[Laidback Luke]

Hello ! I have a question about your hardware. What hardware do you use on live stage and what gear do you use in the studio ? The second question is abit funny heh but I've been always wondering, how long does it take you to make a song? Lets say how long did it take you to find the ideas and to produce Night like this? And the last question is what software do you use on live stage? I know you use ableton to produce music but what do you use for the CDJs? I wish that I'll have the skill you have one day hehe !

Best regards
JNK

Hello. Luke uses 3 or 4 pioneer cdj 2000's I believe with a 900 djm mixer I think. Luke only uses his laptop with ableton live, dre studio headphones and a midi keyboard. I believe it takes luke 4 hours to produce a song, 2 hours in session view then 2 hours in arrangement with a little break inbetween. There is actually an interviw online about how the song came together, don't have the link sorry.

Ha ha thanks Mick. I can imagine you would know all these answers by now.

For CDJs, there is no real software. It's all inside of the players. I use Rekordbox to catagorize my music,
but you don't actually use rekordbox on stage. To see my setup google 'Laidback Luke Pioneer DJSounds 2012' and
you'll see!

[Deljoi]

Hey Luke, I got a general question for you. What's the End Game? By reading your posts I come to think all you do is work, work, work. If you are not flying you are producing music on your laptop on the road. Have you ever just considered giving yourself a break? Like let me take a month off to focus on writing music or just work at your label. It seems the touring never stops. To me you have nothing left to prove in the dance scene. People know you're name, you can sell records all day and I'm sure you are getting paid right. I feel it would be more suspenseful if you disappeared for a bit and then came back with a huge amount of bangers. Have your fans look forward to a huge surprise.

I also was disappointed to hear that you told us you were not allowed to release your track "Cambodia" because your management didn't think it was a big enough track. So are you only allowed to release huge festival anthems now a days? Kind of sad they control your music in that fashion. The best tracks don't always have to be a massive banger.

Always look forward to your FG mixes every month. The one DJ out there that isn't scared to throw a Armand or Joey Beltram track in the middle of a set! Well keep up the professional work you produce, you're an inspiration to all in this community.