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Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Watch Laidback Luke’s Workshop on ‘Real DJing’
Laidback Luke performing at WinterWonderland in Helsinki, Finland on February 21, 2015.
Although the phrase “real DJing” isn’t new, A-Trak and Craze transformed it into a worldwide movement last summer in response to the rise of “button pushing DJs.”
One of the “real DJs” that Craze cited in his definition of the term was house veteran Laidback Luke. The Dutchman isn’t a turntablist, but he’s proficient in other aspects of mixing and a leading proponent of “real DJing” within the dance community.
Luke does more than represent the movement at clubs and festivals, though. He’s also passionate about educating, and gave a workshop on “real DJing” at the Netherlands’ Dancefair conference back in February.
While most of the concepts and techniques covered in the workshop are basic, they’re essential for beginners and can be useful reminders for established DJs. Watch the entire video below.
We recommend watching the workshop from start to finish, but here’s a breakdown of the topics if you don’t have enough time:
– DJs who influenced Luke’s mixing style (3:00)
– Luke’s early days as a DJ (12:25)
– Preparing for sets (14:30)
– Organizing your library and mixing different genres (16:40)
– Knowing your equipment (19:55)
– Practicing at home (22:30)
– Looking for similarities between songs (23:40)
– Being a tastemaker and differentiating yourself (30:30)
– Reading crowds (34:35)
– Creating live mashups with acapellas (37:50)
– Dealing with stage fright (49:55)
– Audience questions (53:50)
Related: DJ Craze’s Definition of a ‘Real DJ’
