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Luke, it’s been two long years since you last played for us at Meat Free, what have you been up to in that time?

Quite a lot has changed in both my personal life and career, there’s been some challenges but I’m in a good place noq. I’ve enjoyed gigs outside of Europe, travelling to USA and a tour in China which was a truly unique experience. I also started a new project with a friend as Tracing Xircles and released our debut EP via my label. We are continuing to work together and also share a studio.

 

You’re as revered as a producer as a DJ, what can you tell us about your latest imprint – where does it sit compared to your other productions over the past few years?

 

The last few releases have been quite varied in style. With ‘Beyond The Void’ I wanted to make it more dancefloor focused with enough diversity to please different styles of djing. A strong cohesion between the tracks and a contemporary feel was also important. To people who already know my music, it will sound familiar. Hopefully the record will also introduce myself to many of the new faces we now have in the scene too.

 

What does ‘Beyond the Void’ as a name, represent?

 

As I mentioned earlier I experienced some challenges over the past couple of years, one being a period of inactivity musically. The name represents a sense of moving forward and leaving certain things in the past.  

Speaking of empty voids, as someone who has benefited from free movement subsequently contributed greatly to the techno scene, how do you think Brexit will affect the future growth of UK musicians and the scene as a whole?

It will limit the experiences currently available to us and likely cause greater isolation and deeper separation from the international music scene. Traveling could become a bureaucratic nightmare and make earning a living from playing gigs much harder than it already is.

Along with many others I’m really concerned what the outcome will be, it’s entirely possible my career could come to an abrupt end in its current form because of changes in free movement. I wish to remain European, but it looks like I will need to change my citizenship in order to keep that.

 

How do you feel being able to move to a new city, Berlin especially, has shaped and propelled you as an artist?

 

It’s allowed me to immerse myself in the scene and help build important relationships which have helped me with my career. Things would probably look very different had I of not moved.

Onto cheerier things…can you talk us through your production setup….how has that changed, if it has, over the years?

For sometime it was mostly computer based using Logic Pro X. Slowly I’ve started buying bits of hardware which have helped me to further develop my productions, learn more about studio recording techniques as well as synthesis. It can be frustrating and long winded to figure out certain problems with signal routing and connectivity sometimes however you end up working in different ways and discovering new things which also has its benefits and keep things fun and motivating.

 

Can you give us a little insight into your life outside music (if that’s possible), do you have other creative outputs?
Being a musician and managing your own career doesn’t leave much time or headspace, there’s always stuff to do so it can be hard to switch off from that mentality. I’ve learnt to accept this and just crack on and keep busy but give myself days off when I can. If I’m not gigging or in the studio I enjoy cycling outside of the city to lakes and nature. Socializing and hanging out with friends over dinner or going out to clubs and supporting friends and peers. I also spent the past months learning to drive which demanded a lot of time and energy. Now that I’ve passed I’ll likely plan some road trips.

 

As you’ve grown the label, has your creative process changed much? What have been the high points and the biggest challenges you’ve faced?

 

I think I still make music in a similar way as I always have but I introduced new things to bring diversity or better quality tools to work with, the more obvious thing being hardware. The biggest challenge is to keep delivering music regularly which maintains quality and a sense of progression. It’s important to keep positive and remain focused to do your thing. There’s too many distractions in this world, so it’s good to switch things up and change writing environment from time to time even if it’s sitting on the couch with headphones.

Finallllyyyyy, the same question we ask everyone – what can our crowd expect on the 24th August?

 

I’ll be bringing some new tracks and remixes coming up on my label. Lot’s of unreleased new music too. Along with my personal favourites from my personal collection that have helped to define my dj sets and hopefully I’ll also squeeze in a bit of early hardcore/jungle too…Looking forward!

Get tickets for Blue Hour and Miley Serious at The White Hotel HERE 

Bringing Techno to Manchester. Democratising dancefloors.

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