Don’t call it a comeback. To producer Luke Bond, he never left. In his year sabbatical between solo releases, the time out of the spotlight was well spent in the studio redefining his sound.
Chances are you might have heard his biggest output of 2018 – U, being blasted across mainstages and festivals. Having had such a massive impact, it is very interesting to see how Luke plans to take 2019 to the next level.
Answer – Collaborate with Armin van Buuren.
This forms the crux of our chat with Luke, where he opens up on his impending collaboration with Armin, and the behind-the-scenes impact that his success with ‘U’ had on him.
T.H.E – Hey Luke! Welcome to the T.H.E – Music Essentials. 2018 was a phenomenal year for you with some awesome singles! How has 2019 been for you so far?
Luke Bond – Thanks for having me! It’s been insanely busy, working on music to fill the rest of the year as well as getting back into touring.
Yamini – You played an incredible number of new tracks in your set at the ASOT900 celebrations in Utrecht. Tell us about your experience playing for this massive festival.
Luke Bond – I was super nervous about playing as I was dropping a load of songs that hadn’t been heard out of my studio, haha but the event was nothing but amazing. I felt insanely humbled to quickly my arena packed out within 10 mins of me getting on stage!
Yamini – Your 2018 hit single ‘U’ has been played in multiple mainstages worldwide and the response to it has been splendid! What kind of pressure you’re facing knowing that your future productions will be expected to have a similar or greater impact?
Luke Bond – I did feel a lot of pressure but I’m super happy with my current workflow in the studio now as I’m always coming up with new ideas and have learned to trust the creative process.
Yamini – You’ve just released another exceptional festival banger – ‘Maelstrom’! Tell us how this new single took shape.
Luke Bond – I was experimenting with some minor darker tone chord progressions which I have rarely done in the past and got super inspired to build a song around them. I wanted to make something with different musical feel to all the more happy songs I’ve done in the past.
Yamini – The trance fans are thrilled with the news about your upcoming collaboration with Armin van Buuren. Please give us an insight into how this collab came about and what we can expect from it.
Luke Bond – I’m super excited too! It started out as an idea I came up with back in October, I wrote a melody that has a cool movie soundtrack style theme to it and a basic drop. I pitched it to Armin as an idea to collab, he loved it and we got to work and taking up several levels! It also features the vocals of KARRA who’s one of my insanely talented best friends.
Yamini – Name one artist with whom you would like to produce a track in the future.
Luke Bond – KSHMR is definitely one of my favourite producers that I would love to work with someday, the diversity and quality of his music is seriously next level!
Yamini – Lastly, please tell us about your forthcoming plans for 2019.
Luke Bond – I have some of my best music yet to come over the summer. I also wanna get out there and tour some more and show the world what I have to offer on stage.
- T.H.E Interview – Luke Bond - May 9, 2019
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