Laidback Luke

The 34-year-old house producer and DJ known as Laidback Luke first got his kicks in his native Holland as a graffiti artist. When the thrill of the physical and legal danger wore off around the mid-Nineties, he turned to music. Still, he preserved the sly cunning of the graffiti writer in the name of his eventual record label: Stealth. His epic house sets are similarly sneaky, beginning with an easily digestible synth appetizer before winding into a banging main course. As a producer, he has released a couple of studio albums, but he has really heated up the scene with his remixes. His sound is hard, but not too hard, and undeniably funky, full of the kind of big-room bangers that draws crowds in England and Ibiza. An eclectic assortment of artists such as Underworld and Chromeo have been lucky enough to receive the treatment. And recently, Luke has been responsible for dragging tracks by Herve/Plastic Little, as well as the Black Ghosts, back into dance music charts thanks to his new takes on them. Luke’s Saturday show at Mansion should be sweaty and packed to the gills, catering to clubgoers thirsting for a change of pace from the proggier sounds usually heard around town.
Wed., April 20, 9 p.m., 2011