ADJF Interview: DJ Luke Electrik (by TOMY)

[Cupe]

You’ve heard of myriad DJs and plenty of sound, but have you heard of DJ Luke Electr!k yet?

Luke Electrik has permeated the ears of the masses with his distinctive electronic sound and style in both the local and international music arena.

Based on the Gold Coast, Australia, Luke Electrik’s music career has spanned over nine years and counting, where he has kicked the speakers & viciously thrown down dance-floor killer sets in almost all the nightclubs in Surfers Paradise.

These clubs include Berlin, Cro Bar, The Temple, Ruby Tramp, Shooters, Mybar, Cocktails & Dreams, Element Bar, Titanium, Delanos (Clock Hotel), Q1 tower (Sky bar), The Drink and the Rose ’n’ Crown, just to mention a few…

Nationally, Tonic Lounge (Sunshine coast), Baja, Cooly Hotel, The Sands (Coolangatta), Bliss Nightclub (Ipswich), Squeeze Nightclub (Alexandra Hills), The Arena (Climate Festival, Brisbane) Favelas Nightclub (Sydney), Ballina Hotel & Birdee Num Num’s (Bris) with plenty more to come…

Resonating electro in the international scene, his unequaled flair has seen him obtain a spot amongst the best in the grand opening of China’s “Blue Apple” Nightclub, piting his skills against the likes of Adam Freeland & Judge Jules at top local clubs; “Baby face” and “Angel” on the same night.

Now back on the legendary G.C, Luke’s scope for heavy bass-lines and electro ear-pleasure has seen him gain unparalleled popularity and momentum in the Gold Coast club scene in such a short time.

Recent achievements include obtaining guest spot number 50 on the Gold Coast’s premiere radio station 105.7 Radio Metro. Interviewed by none other than Defectiv DJ’s very own Skew-If (Summerfieldayze) & Dropping sets on the Rebull Car to massive, eager crowds.

Now having stamped his mark on the festival scene @ Climate Festival 08 (Brisbane, Arena).

Things are certainly looking up for Luke.

With a propensity for brutal beats & melodic tunes to make your ears prick-up and take notice, and experience in genres as diverse as electro, fidget, commercial house, break-beat, dance, tribal, indie, trance, techno & more… Plus his music production & Bachelor degree in Audio well under way.

Luke takes a time out to answer a few questions for ADJF..

Being a DJ on the Gold Coast, how's the dance/club scene better than others you have seen?

Ok, so for about 10 years now I've played all over the coast & been lucky enough to play interstate and internationally. Throughout the years you get to know what your home crowd likes and what music they respond to (tho its never a given).

When I played in China the scene there was completely different which was a real culture shock for me. They liked their hard dance and top 40 (weird extremes of genre I know !).

Back then Electro was the "in" thing at home so you can tell it was definately fun adapting. On the club side, I noticed they invested more in their clubs, clubbers came out, got booths (all which came with a personal waiter/ress)

They were ALWAYS on the dancefloor, drinks up and shirts off, really loose! haha. I bet anyone here would too as each booth usually bought a bottle for everyone to pour by themselves!

That being said, I've had some of the most memorable, fun times back on the coast/Brisbane. Whether it was going out for Saturdays @ Platinum or Fridays @ Family, or just club hopping Surfers clubs.

You really do get a awesome crowd to DJ to some nights.... GC knows how to rock it!

Is Brisbane a high priority for you or are you focusing more on the Goldie?

Brisbane has always been a bit of a mystery to me. As most in the know, know, its not how well you play, but rather who you know. Albeit a different vibe to GC they both have their perks.

At the moment Brisbane is coming more into focus. I've been offered & played some top gigs thru some top promoters there and what with the many competitions going on like "Dirty Thursdays" I've been pooling my resources into stretching the reach to there.

You're in the Monastery Nightclub 'Dirtie Thursdays' competition. Tell us what you want to achieve out of that?

Shameless self promotion I've never been one for competitions but now it seems like a few good offers are going with the comp that I really couldn't pass up. The opportunity to be part of the crew I normally go out to support would be fantastic. A residency and the chance to play at another festival, well thats exactly what I've been looking for.

As i mentioned before I've invested some considerable time and money into standing out on the night (July 15th for those who dont know) and even went to the lengths of organizing my own prizes and giveaways on the night.

As someone who has been involved in the scene for a while, where do you think it's heading; what's going to be the next big style?

A: A great DJ once said something along the lines of "house music comes in many genres, but no matter how far it strays from its roots it ways comes full circle".

I believe with all the sub-genres and grey lines out there eventually people will return to the thing that they fell in love with. Maybe they started on hard dance or hip hop, either way, its a constantly evolving scene that will never have an end.

What's you're direction or main goal with your DJ career over the next few years?

A: Big ideas. I've recently invested into some hardware, software & a SAE audio course to improve my production skills. I'm moving more towards live performance in my sets so expect something really spectacular in the coming years.

Fav. artist at the moment? Who really gets you moving?

Who can really say they have ONE favorite ? So many genres so many producers. When it comes to storming charts and pumping out quality you cant go past Steve Aoki. Sure some might find him a little mainstream but if they just looked closer...

Normally its the mood I'm in at the time which governs what gets me going. One day it could be some driving Trance or progressive then next I wanna wig out and bounce around to Fidget or Dutch.

Fav. local DJ?

Thats a tough one. So many guys (and girls) I've grown with.

Whats really important isnt how many people you can get to come to your club (or are used to coming to your club) but rather the achievements you've accomplished. These are the things that really stand out to me. Someone who I've had the pleasure of sharing a DJ booth with many times has been James Todman from Midnite Music. In a few short years hes taken his production skills to the dance floor, started a label & from what I hear has some big things coming up !!

What's your all time fav. floor filler?

To cheese or not to cheese that is the question. I'm a big fan of anthems because they bring up good memories.

Best memory was end of the night with a few good mates at Platinum listening to Tiesto - Adagio for Strings

Any shoutouts?

To those who I've ever had the chance to play beside, you are the inspiration.

[Tomy]

awesome questions just quitely.

[Cupe]

lol, yea good interview

[CBG]

so who did what in this circumstance?

[Cupe]

i lined up the interview, tomy did the Q's

[CBG]

nicccce