Laidback Luke Q&A

Laidback Luke plays Gatecrasher in Birmingham on Boxing Day, headlining club's White Party. We had a chat with the Dutch DJ and producer.

2011 has been a phenomenal year for you – tell us about the highlights?

Yes, it was amazing! I'm happy we stepped it up with my Super You&Me events this year. We had great events around the globe and the Ibiza season of Super You&Me with Cream at Amnesia was a success as well! Not to mention me hosting my own Super You&Me area at Creamfields festival, definitely the highlight of my summer!

Your track with Example, Natural Disaster, was a huge club smash . . . We read that you originally wanted a female artist on the vocal.

Yes, with the emotion of the track, the melody and the chords my obvious choice would be to put a female on there. I'm glad Ministry suggested Example instead as he did such an amazing job on the vocal.

What was it like working with Example – any future plans to work together?

I'm really impressed by him. One of the few artists around that puts a deeper meaning and edge into his vocals rather than the 'I'm pimping in a club like a G6' kind of deal. He's a man on a mission with a vision (a little rapping here myself, ha ha) and I can already see him making history. It was great to meet him and I do think we have similarities. We have been talking about working together again, yes.

Any other big names that you are working in the future?

My next single, Speak Up, will have Wynter Gordon on the vocal. My remix for her Dirty Talk track did so well in the clubs I figured I would like to have her on one of my originals as well. It will come out soon, I'm very excited for it!

Super You&Me has gone from strength to strength this year

I like the Super hero pun there! Yes, we had a great international start at Liv Miami this year at the Miami Music Week. Then we came with the mix CD to prepare the big Ibiza season and we finished it off at Creamfields. The tent held 10,000 people, it was packed and the vibe was intense! The grand finale of the Super You&Me year will be at Pacha in New York, where we'll be organizing it at New Year's Eve.

With MixMash having some strongly established artists on the label who should we be looking out for next?

Mixmash is a breeding ground for the new artists I train and discover as well. Ones to look out for soon are Mata, Moska, Nash-One and Dyro for instance. I'm very excited to have releases lined up by big guys like Angger Dimas, Tommy Trash and Avicii & Nicky Romero as well! My collaboration with Sander van Doorn called 'Who's Wearing The Cap' (which is me, I always wear caps when I'm not DJing) is out on Mixmash now.

The Dutch are leading the way in the dance music scene why do you think that is?

One of the main reasons I think is because the Dutch are always very picky and they will tell you their opinnion straight in the face. This kind of honesty keeps us very much grounded and makes us want to push the hardest we can. It's quite unique, I often find myself needing to tone down whenever I give an opinion outside of my country.

Dance music seems to be really developing at pace – what do you predict for 2012?

One of the bigger things that seems to be happening now is the definite crossover of Dubstep into house music. Swedish House Mafia vs Knife Party - Antidote is a good example for this. I know from more fellow DJs they are blending dubstep into house music now. Seems to be the vibe for 2012.

You played Gatecrasher Birmingham a few times and the crowd absolutely loves you – what you think of the club?

Gatecrasher Birmingham is legendary for me! I remember playing there the first time, my first steps into the international DJ scene, and playing the side room. My hype was so big, I cleared the main room! After that it was only the main room for me! I always get a lot of love from Birmingham and it's an absolute pleasure to perform there. The club and the staff that work there are really amazing! Not to mention the great crowd, thank you for your support!

What can we expect from you in 2012?

I'm definitely focussing on releasing on a more regular base then in 2011. I felt I had a lot of waiting time in between Turbulence and Natural Disaster. That needs to change and I'm already making a lot of new tracks for coming year! Bigger and better is the only way to go!

* Laidback Luke headlines Gatecrasher in Birmingham on Boxing Day. Also appearing at the club' s White Party are Eddie Halliwell, Dash Berlin, Judge Jules and JFK. The White Party dress code is that at least one item of white is required. Tickets are £25 plus booking fees.