Laidback Luke

Lucas Cornelis van Scheppingen (born 22 October 1976), better known under his stage name Laidback Luke, is a Filipino-born Dutch DJ and record producer. He is the founder of Mixmash Records and is widely credited as a key figure in the rise of electro house and Dutch house music in the late 2000s. He has collaborated with artists including Swedish House Mafia, Steve Aoki, David Guetta, and James Brown, and has remixed recordings by Madonna, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Daft Punk, and Depeche Mode, among others.

Early life

Lucas van Scheppingen was born to a Dutch father, Kees van Scheppingen, and a Filipina mother, Lucy Baruelo, in Manila, Philippines. The family relocated to the Netherlands during his childhood, and he grew up in Hoofddorp, a town in the North Holland province, together with his younger brother, Asley. He has credited his musical cousins in the Philippines, John Mark, Joseph, and Jed, as early influences on his love of music.

As a teenager, Luke developed parallel interests in graffiti art, martial arts, and electronic music. His introduction to club music came through a school dance, after which he became fascinated with the mechanics of DJing and music production. A friend who owned an Amiga computer introduced him to sampling and music software, sparking his interest in production. He invested in a synthesizer and began crafting his own tracks, drawing early inspiration from Chicago house's hard-charging rhythms and the funky hard techno sound emerging from Europe at the time.