Before Luke becomes an official part of the Visionquest roster, he teams up with Visionquest founder Lee Curtiss to have a little chat about all kinds of stuff. Music to pony rides.

Hey Luke!
Thanks for taking the time to speak with us. You’ve become a busy man over the years with a big release schedule and an even tighter gig schedule. Which relaxation activity would you prefer most and why?

A. Skinny Skiing
B. Going to bullfights on acid
C. Making and wearing tiny hats

LH:

C. Making and wearing tiny hats.
As most people know I’m a hat guy. It’s a normal part of my daily outfit as it helps me stay a bit more incognito. So I would spend my time researching hat making and maybe incorporating some of my engineering skills to create hats that would allow me to disappear all together.

You’ve been releasing on a lot of respected techno labels such as Carl Craigs Planet E and Omar S’ FXHE. Now it’s time for Visionquest. Will this release bring people to tears as predicted?

LH:

I created this track with the vinyl DJ in mind. I think long DJ sets call for functional and memorable tracks that can stay in a DJs record bag for a long time. I hope people will find this track useful for those long story telling type of sets – yes – where the main goal is to bring people to tears, shed layers of clothing, and learn new dance moves that they can use at future family BBQ’s.

Speaking of Visionquest. It’s our 5 year birthday this year. How much of an influence would you say the label has had on your hairstyles?

LH:

My mom still cuts my hair about once a month. I’ve never went to a proper hair studio. And if you know the relationship between myself and Ryan Crosson and Lee Curtiss – we go way way back. My mom has been following Visionquest since the beginning. She recognized the significance of fancy hair styles from following the label so closely. Just last week she noticed how DJs with nice hair stroke their hair styles during big drops (a drop is a breakdown in a track) and how a DJs hair can have a greater impact on the audience. So this is why she encouraged me to start wearing hats. Because she knew that I would never have hair as perfect as Ryan Crosson or Lee Curtiss and my haircuts would never positively influence the power of my drops during a set.

And on the industry in general the past 5 years, what do you like that they have done differently than other major labels?

LH:

Visionquest focuses on good music and doesn’t follow trends. I’ve always been a fan of the Visionquest label and even more so the DJ sets of Ryan, Lee, and Shaun. I think they play what they like and not what the crowd expects to hear. It’s the main reason I was so excited when Ryan asked me for music. I’m always happy to be part of labels and projects where music comes first before trends.

Your new release on Visionquest will hit the vinyl and digital stores soon. What can people expect of this release? And how would you say you’ve grown as an artist?

LH:

I think people can expect a vinyl record that can stay in a DJ’s DJ record bag for a long time. I believe in the original track as well as the remixes. I think this release will stand the test of time and hopefully make a lot of dancers and DJs happy. I think as an artist I’m much more confident in my personal sound and in what I aim to do with my DJ sets and for the music community. I’m excited that so many people relate to the emotion, style and feeling that I try so hard to add into all of my productions. I’m here to share the love of the music and to spread love in general and inspire people – I’ll continue to do my best – the world deserves our best.

Which musician / DJ/ Producer has had the most inspirational affect on you?

LH:

Robert Hood, Omar S, Mike Banks, Scientist, Donato Dozzy, Miles Davis, DJ Krush, Boards of Canada, Pink Floyd, etc etc etc etc etc …..

Which musician /DJ/ Producer has had the least amount of affect on you?

LH:

Kenny Chesney

How does your summer look with releases, gigs. love, life, transcending, vortexes and pony rides?

LH:

I don’t play gigs so much in the summer, I guess I’m more of a sweaty dark warehouse and intimate vinyl club kinda DJ. I wouldn’t mind playing some more summer festivals. I’m sure the festival circuit would allow me to enjoy more of the transcending, vortexes, and pony rides. However, I get a lot of the love and enjoying life just taking time off in the summer with the vacationing and extra time in the studio. I guess to end the interview, an important take away is that I prefer horse riding over pony rides. Horses are stronger and more dependable. Oh and — Much love from Detroit! Peacccccccccce

 

You can listen to Luke Hess new release – including remixes from d5, Lee Curtiss and Maher Daniel – below. The vinyl will be out this month.