I’m speaking to DJ Lucky Lou over the phone the day he’s scheduled to play at blueFROG, New Delhi, and trying to ask him what equipment he prefers using. “I play sexy music,” he replies. “No, what equipment?” I repeat. “Oh! Usually Pioneer CDJs. But I could play all formats — vinyl, MidiBoard and Ableton,” comes the sheepish reply.
But Lou does play sexy party music. He’s the DJ for American electropop duo LMFAO (comprising Redfoo and Sky Blu), best known for the Party Rock album and singles such as ‘I’m in Miami B@#*h’ and ‘Sexy and I know it’. Currently holding residencies in clubs such as Drais in Hollywood, Marquee in Las Vegas, and Addiction in Honolulu, to name a few, the DJ was in India as part of the ‘Tuborg Zero Vh1 Hip Hop Hustle’ tour, other stops in the country being Hyderabad and Pune.
What makes a good party? “There’s not so much you can do as a DJ, but we’ve been blessed to have great crowds that have good energy. If the DJ and the crowds are able to reflect off each other, it’s going to be a raging party,” says Lou, who’s been spinning discs at parties hosted by the likes of P. Diddy and Jay-Z.
A diet of Soul, Rock ‘n’ Roll and Disco later led him to Hip Hop and Disco, the latter two giving him the sound he’s now identified with. The globetrotting party-hopper who counts Republiq in the Philippines, Prive in Hong Kong and Cubic in Macau as his favourite venues (“That was epic”) says his most important party was one that happened a very long time ago.
“It will have to be the first party I ever DJed in, in Los Angeles. I was 15 and had to impress all the DJs that were around me, who I grew up listening to, as they were all there. I had to make sure I was able to rock it on that level.”
Despite crowded music genres, Lou is unfazed. “As a DJ you have to definitely learn to how to read a crowd, give them what they want,” he says.
Lou hopes to collaborate with the likes of Wolfgang Gartner, American DJ and House music producer, and LA-based mash-up pioneer DJ Z-Trip.
At present, though, Lou is working on some tracks with GoonRock, one of the producers behind the Party Rock — what’s closest to heart is closer home, with his Party Rock crew. “I’m most looking forward to all of the stuff in-house,” he says.
