His first releases in 1995 were immediately noticed and got him signed on the Groove Alert imprint. His remix for Green Velvet’s ‘The Stalker’ in 1997 sped up his visibility and earned him the title of ‘Most Promising New Producer’ by Muzik Magazine UK that same year. Later on his remix for Daft Punk’s ‘Crescendolls’ gave him recognition in the international playing field and received plays by luminaries like Carl Cox.
It was Virgin imprint Labels that first picked up on his fresh sound and supported the European release of his album Electronic Satisfaction, containing the successful singles Rocking With the Best, Popmusic and Understand Me.
The release of his album also created the opportunity for Luke to perform the album tracks in a new ‘semi live’ format, literally taking his studio on the road and re-creating the music live on stage for every performance. Luke remembers this time as a limitation of his creative skills. 'I am a true DJ at heart – I want to interact with the crowd and be able to control the flow of the mood, which means that if I am confined by the set list of my album I am limited in my range'.
It was a natural progression from here for Luke to focus on his first DJ Mix album. Windmill Skill contained the Dancevalley Theme Tune ‘We can not get enough’ for that year and delivered his first Number 1 in the pop charts and was the perfect showcase for his amazing DJ skills and enthusiasm.
Laidback Luke has been expanding the parameters of House music by fusing Pop, Rock, Latin, R&B, Techno and Hip Hop and by doing this he has created his own unique sound: ‘Live Re-Mixing’. 'Which can be considered as live mixing rather than just mixing records', Luke says, 'but all the elements of the music - the vocals, the loops, the instruments - are being mixed together on the spot, depending on the audience and vibe of the party'.
Luke has great interest for the art of scratching and turntabalism in general. These days he’s practising his new scratches and beat juggles. 'It’s my dream to once win a scratch competition.,. as a House DJ!'.
In 2004 Laidback Luke started his own imprint MixMash Records, which was set up to market and promote his future releases.
After the singles F*ck the Revolution and More than Special, Laidback
Luke has recently released the Jamirrahman part II EP. This slammin’
dancehall house crossover EP consists of 5 tracks filled with pumping
beats, stabby synths, fat drum loops and a housy dancehall vibe.
www.laidbackluke.com