Growing up in one of Europe’s party capitals, Madrid, Luis Junior spent his teenage years working the club circuit as opposed to partying his way through it. What started as a hobby quickly turned into something Luis realised he could actually turn into a career. “I started very young. Making music, playing in my house, making beats,” he recalls. “When I was fifteen I started playing on one radio station, mixing music and hosting the radio show. Then I had the opportunity to start playing in clubs, and after I released an EP in 1993, music came to be something like my job.” Working his way up through Spain’s radio stations, Luis eventually ended up doing regular slots on Mooseeka. Since touring full time though, he rarely has time to make shows any more. “I have my radio show on a podcast now, and I release them sometimes when I have time. Radio for me is very important for my career because I was working in it for so many years.”
Luis’ musical style has changed drastically since the early days, when chillout music was his focus and tracks like Momentos and Luminis made appearances on Ibiza chillout compilations. After his remix of Baboop’s Yes We Can was championed by electronic royalty Sasha in 2009, Luis began making a name for himself on the electronic music circuit, and has focused on that path ever since. However he still tries to combine a degree of ambience into his live shows, born from that love of more down tempo productions. “It’s difficult to put one label on the music I make,” Luis says. “My sound is moving around techno, with some melodic influences. I like melodies, I like atmospheres. I want it to be melodic so people can feel something on the dance floor, but at the same time I like the techno stuff to move people, because I want the energy. Playing just melodies can be too relaxing for a dance floor.”
But when Luis isn’t working he does prefer a more relaxed sound, which is prevalent in some of the tracks he chooses to remix. “I listen to a lot of different music. In my downtime though I never listen to music that would play in the club,” he muses. “I can’t listen to that kind of music unless I’m preparing my stuff. If I’m not, I try to listen to other kinds always, music like Radiohead or Aparato or Boards of Canada.”
After spending the last few years touring internationally from Brazil to the Netherlands, Australia is Luis’ last big conquest. “I always wanted to come to Australia, all my life. It was one country that was calling me. Now finally I’m here and I’m really happy.” While the major event on his trip will be Eclipse Festival, Luis is perhaps more excited to play the smaller gig in Melbourne. “These kinds of festivals are always a big thing with so many people,” Luis says. “In the smaller clubs you can feel the crowd, they’re closer to you. I like to have a very good connection, and at a festival it’s more complicated to get that connection compared with a smaller club.”
Spending time travelling around the world making and playing music sounds like a pretty good gig and Luis is more than willing to count his blessings, but he’s also adamant that it’s not as cushy as people think. “It is hard because you have to work a lot: making music, promotion, travelling, finding inspiration, having energy to give the best in every gig. It’s not as easy as it looks. But it’s okay and you come to love it because I love music. I love it.”
BY KATE McCARTEN
