Everyone comes from somewhere, but some people wear the cities they’re from like badges of honour. Drop the Lime is Luca Venezia, one of those people whose identity is intrinsically connected to his hometown – New York City. And while many have only just heard of the magic of Drop The Lime, Luca has been honing his craft for years. From humble beginnings in a gospel choir to a childhood obsession with 50s rock’n’roll, the 26 year old has been experimenting with sound for years. His influences range from Brian Eno to rockabilly (he’s well known for his 50s doo wop and soul sets) to Sonic Youth to Wu Tang. He also runs Trouble & Bass, an influential New York club night and label since 2006. The Trouble & Bass crew are the DJs who are defining a new New York sound.

As Luca says himself – “Having a crew from NYC behind you, pushing the sound you produce, is essential in creating a movement. We’re all producers and DJs so sometimes we’ll collaborate on production—or I’ll have one of them help out with one of my basslines – since they understand my sound better than anyone else.”

2009 was a big year for Drop the Lime. He released two huge club hits, Devils Eyes and Set Me Free, the combined force of which helped him topple the likes of Phoenix, Florence & The Machine and The XX as “Most Blogged Artist on the Planet” (Hype Machine). Luca took his unique style of DJing around the globe, farther afield than ever before, crisscrossing North America many times as well Europe, China, Singapore and Australia. Videos of kids losing their minds to his unique sets, mixing rockabilly and club music with live vocals on top are all over youtube.

2010 sees him continue his quest to be one of the world’s leading DJ/producers, with a slew of singles and debut album about to hit in a big way. Keep your eyes on the Elvis Presley of dance music!