All's Fair On The Dance Floor

By: Music Staff

Sunday November 13, 2005

Having been mentored to varying degree by dance music sensations Sasha and Digweed, he opened a solo jaunt of Sasha's and is signed to Digweed's Bedrock label, Fair's credentials are firmly in place.
Luke Fair (also known as Luke Wan) has been on the dance club scene for a little while now, touring as a headliner across Europe as well as making appearances in North America (Fair hails from Toronto, Canada),

Having been mentored to varying degree by dance music sensations Sasha and Digweed, he opened a solo jaunt of Sasha's and is signed to Digweed's Bedrock label, Fair's credentials are firmly in place.

Known for his production and remix work with the likes of Satoshi Tomiie, Fair took things to the next level earlier this year with the release of OS 0.3, a mix album.

On what he thought came out best on the new album, Fair had this to say, "Probably my re-edit of 'La Serenissima.' I took 3-minute parts I liked and stretched it into a new 7-minute song. Also the final track, 'Waves.' I created my own instrumental by removing the vocals."

Curious as to what his entry way into music was, we posed the query to him. "Up until I was 9ish or so the only music I listened to was what my parents listened to, which was all the oldies. Roy Orbison, The Stones...etc. My life-changing album was U2's Rattle and Hum. I think I heard that first when I was in Grade 5. I can't even remember how I heard of it at that age, but I remember getting my mom to take me to HMV so I could pick it up. It was usually always through self discovery. I would watch Much Music, our (Canada's) music channel, then go out and buy the CDs of the bands I liked. If I ever got any recommendations it was always through friends."

Playing music in a live setting can be a nerve wracking experience, especially the first time one attempts it. Fair had this to say on his first live experience, "My hands were shaking the entire time. I still get very nervous before every gig, but this was 20 times worse. It was in the basement of this club here in Toronto called Foundation. It's been renamed and renovated by now, but it was a scary, scary experience. There were maybe 50 people there in total."

Though things have gotten better there are still the occasional bad shows. "Luckily the last few years most shows have gone fairly well. A few have been not so great, but I can't name names! Most of the time it's just a case of the equipment not working properly in the club."

And what can fans expect when seeing Fair live? "A little more variation. There's a lot of tracks I play that I would never really consider for a mix comp but are great 'club' tracks. Stuff that's a little more tech-y...and also 74 minutes can be limiting when you're used to playing music for 3-6 hours."

When the talk turns to other people's work, Fair brightens with recommendations. "Probably my favorite new artist is Manuel Tur. He's this 19 year old from Germany who's making some of the funkiest, most mature-sounding tech house I've ever heard. His stuff is mindblowing. I usually play at least 2-3 of his tracks within my sets." He names a particular group that intrigues him, next. "(There is) this local artist from Toronto called K-Os. He's doing some of the funkiest, most original sounding hip-hop I've ever heard. Almost Outkast-ish. He's got an extremely fresh sound and I think he's going to blow up on the international scene very soon."

As far as who his dream collaborator would be, Fair knows emphatically. "I would love to collaborate with William Orbit...but not for many years. I would be an insult to him at this point, musically...there's much more I need to learn before I would ever feel worthy of stepping in a studio with him."