Hello and welcome to Magazine Sixty, Luuk. You recently celebrated your 22nd birthday at Shelter in Amsterdam. How did it all go? And can you tell us about your connection to the City and to the Club?
Thank you for having me. Well, that was quite a night haha, for me it was such an important night, because I made my debut at the club in December ‘17 with Denis Sulta and I couldn’t believe they offered me to program a night in their massive club at my birthday. For me it’s one of the best clubs on Dutch territory, wicked sound system and party vibes all night long. I invited one of my all-time faves Subb-An B2B Adam Shelton so that was already one of the best gifts I could ever ask for my birthday. Julian Alexander for the warm up, Ash & Adam on peak and me on the closing duties, dancing till the early morning with all my friends and the best crowd. Moving to Amsterdam was a good move, I’ve met the most kind people, got to see the best dj’s play and all that just within 20 mins cycling tops. That’s why this city is so amazing, nightlife=Amsterdam.
You played WOMB in Japan back in May. How do you approach DJ’ing in a different part of the world? Do you believe music is a universal language, or do certain countries (or even cities) have particular nuances?
That was one epic night, I could play everything I wanted and people went nuts. Just what you want and need as a DJ. In Holland you can notice that every city likes something else. For example in Utrecht people dig the more underground groovy house sound a lot and in Rotterdam the crowd loves a bit more techy vibes. In Amsterdam it just depends on the night and club. That’s what I love about DJ’ing, every set is different and 80% of the time you don’t know what to expect. When I’m playing an all-nighter you will hear me playing groovy minimalistic vibes for the first couple of hours, then it’s just House & Tech House, then I could get a little bit more melodic and if I feel like, you could hear me playing techno for the last 1 or 2 hours. I think it’s really important every city, country is different. It keeps DJ’s fresh and sharp.
Your sets encompass a diverse range of sounds. Which artists have been the most important influence to your style? Are there any musicians or artists outside of the world of electronic music which have also informed you?
I’m into a lot of different music, mainly electronic music of course but if I’m listening to music myself you can find me hearing a lot of Hiphop, Disco, Jazz, Funk you name it. The most important thing for me that the music has soul in it or if it makes me just ‘jack my body’ I’m more than okay with it haha. DJ’s who I look up to the most are Jamie Jones, Kerri Chandler, Apollonia and The Martinez Brothers. Musicians who I inspire me are Kendrick Lamar, Biggie Smalls, Billy Cobham and Jamiroquai. As long as it’s good music I’ll love it.
How would you say that your generation of DJ’s and the Clubbers you play to have differed from the previous? Are things the same but different, or have they evolved into something else?
I think this question isn’t relevant to me because I’m just 22 years old and only 5/6 years in the scene now, of course I’ve seen footage about raves from back in the days but I never experienced those in real life. I guess with music it’s just a cycle, every 15 years or so the sound changes back to its roots. I always look back to tracks from 10/20 years ago, I just absolutely love the oldskool sound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HP_lYJSBJc
You run your own night PUUR, in Hiversum. Tell us about the philosophy behind the night?
2 years ago a very good friend of mine came to me with the idea to throw parties in my hometown Hilversum. We wanted to give something back to the dance scene in Hilversum because there was no underground scene at all. The concept was a full on experience, theme based. So one edition you were at a supermarket, the next time you were in a car garage. I headlined and I invited local talents and sometimes bigger artists. After doing 12 editions in 3 different cities we thought it was a wrap, we decided to throw one more party and we’ve put all our last money in it, it was one hell of a emotional night but damn it was epic haha. Now it’s just time for something new 😉
Do you ever think watching DJ’s on the internet will ever replace Clubbing?
Never really thought about this to be honest, but I’m sure it will never replace the real deal. Of course it happens a lot now, you see livestreams everywhere and it’s a great way promoting your event or just for fun. Also it’s a cool way to educate kids with good music (depends on which stream of course haha) and see dj’s play although they can’t go to clubs because of their age. But nothing compares to a good dj bringing energy to an ill-lighted club with a massive sound system.
And finally. Please share with us your future plans for yourself both as a Producer and DJ?
Things are going next level now and this summer is looking so good! Playing festivals like Awakenings, Welcome To The Future, Mysteryland, STRAF_WERK and a lot of the top 20 festivals in Holland. Also there’s a lot of new music coming out, which I’m really happy about.
Luuk van Dijk’s Parallax EP (featuring a remix by DJ Skull) is out 20th July via Hot Creations. You can listen/pre-order the EP here
For more information on Luuk, be sure to check out his Facebook, Soundcloud and Resident Advisor pages
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