The new Dutch wonderkid bringing us that out of body dancefloor experience time and time again
Interview by Rob Chadwick
Hey Luuk welcome to DMCWORLD, well it seems like you’ve really been on a great run of form recently. Does it feel like you’re on the cusp of something special?
Friends and family do often say to me that I’ve been very lucky and should cherish all of this. And I do! I really love what I’m doing and it’s amazing to see that it all seems to work out. I have amazing support from a lot of great DJ’s. I’m grateful.
A lot of big names have been supporting your tracks too. What does it mean to get that sort of seal of approval to you guys?
Well, when I received the support list, I was flabbergasted to see what kind of DJ’s support the EP. Some of the DJ’s that support me are my favourite DJ’s. Steve Lawler, Richy Ahmed, Sidney Charles, Riva Starr…and a lot more great artists. When I received the support list, I jumped on the bike and listened to the EP again. While listening I was checking again who supports it, my day couldn’t get any better!
So if you could play alongside anyone else who would it be and why?
Steve Lawler, no doubt. I am a #1 fan of all his work for a long time. Catchy basslines and tight beats, love it. And I’m looking forward playing alongside Hector Couto, September 26 in Holland.
What’s been your favorite memory in house music up to this point?
A while ago I moved to Amsterdam and that was a very good move. Till now I’ve met great people and DJ’s like Bram Fidder, De Sluwe Vos, Prunk and visited a lot of great parties. Living in Amsterdam has been very good for my inspiration. A whole new world opened up for me.
How would you describe a day in the studio for you? Is each day different?
Each day in the studio is different for me. I’m very comfortable to lay on my bed with my Mac Book and headphones and sometimes I just make music on the go, in the train or in the car. Most of the time I make music at school, at the Herman Brood Academy in Utrecht, where they have a lot of studios where you can make music and the workflow there is also very nice.
How do you think your personality shines through in the music you make?
Most of my music is happy and energetic, just like me. In the EP you can hear a lot of me in the tracks. In “Arms” you hear more musicality, in “Face” you hear more badass beats and funny vocals. “Legs” is more deeper stuff.
And how does your mood dictate the sort of music that you make?
I’m very sensitive for that hahaha! When my day is good, I’m on fire in the studio and the tracks will roll out of my laptop instantly, and when I’m feeling bad or tired I make deeper stuff and more melodic arrangements.
Where are you at with your productions right now then?
It’s going very good, I’m working on so many things now and there are some pretty good projects waiting to be tested in the club. I’m a little proud of myself.
Are you really happy with them or do you still feel there’s room for improvement?
Like I said, I’m pretty happy but there’s always room for improvement, I’m really busy with creating my own sound and I think it’s going the right direction because my friends are already recognizing new work from me, so that’s a good thing.
From that point of view, what’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned when it comes to making music?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that it’s important to minimize the quantity of sounds. Get rid of all the padding sounds and get better sounds. It’s that simple, quality over quantity.
So how do you scrub up on it all? Do you read books? Watch tutorials? Do courses?
When I started producing, like 4 years ago, I watched a lot of tutorials about Cubase, because that was the daw my dad got from his school. He is a music teacher at a high school so he started to use that program in his lessons. That’s why I started with Cubase but it was sooo difficult, so I switched to FL Studio and later I switched to Logic Pro 9. I had some problems with Logic in the beginning because it’s a very different program than FL Studio. Luckily I’ve learned a lot from my classmates and teachers at school and I’ve learned the most of Logic by just trying and playing with it.
How difficult is it to do something ‘different’ in music these days do you reckon?
I think you shouldn’t have to try too hard to be different, it just happens accidently. I’m not saying that I’m different from the others, but I just do what feels good, not if it sounds like this or that track. You should always follow your guts in music.
Do you think too many producers are trying to just imitate other people?
Haha, well, that’s a funny question because a few weeks ago I was playing at a festival and I accidently played 2 tracks after each other with the same bass, beats and exactly the same old skool house stab. I don’t think that there is a lot of imitating games but in house you have a lot of standards and sounds that stand for house, so a lot of stuff just sounds the same.
Can you tell me a bit about your association with Roush and how it came about?
I had Roush on the radar for a long time because I like the releases and always was a big fan of Hector Couto. I made some music and what I thought would fit, I sent to the label and they responded, lucky me!
What’s the next step for you? And how excited are you for it all?
I’m busy now with doing what I love and I’m very thankful for what happened and is happening right now. I will be spending a lot of time in the studio and in the club. I’m very excited to release more stuff and getting more support from great artists. I’m loving what I do and I would love to do this for the rest of my life. I’m only 19 years old so…hahahaha…
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Luuk’s ‘Body’ EP is out now on Roush
Grab it here – https://pro.beatport.com/artist/luuk-van-dijk/500899
