Lane 8 is enjoying his current status as one of deep house's shining-est stars. With buzzy releases on Anjunadeep—the more eclectic counterpart to Above & Beyond's Anjunabeats—the young producer is connecting a new generation of fans to thoughtful, hypnotic house grooves.Real name Daniel Goldstein, this humble DJ and producer's mixes are unrestrained by the four walls of EDM. Instead, he prefers to cultivate an "open format" experience that moves through diverse musical styles. Lane 8 is currently reaching as many ears and eyes as possible with a relentless schedule of club gigs around the world and was nice enough to take some time to have an intimate chat with Platinum and discuss how he so successfully turns up the night for his fans on a regular basis.THUMP: What's going through your mind before stepping on stage? Do you have a set game plan?
Lane 8: Usually I'm just checking the crowd, joking around with the promoters, and making fun of the opening DJ if he's playing Friend Within's version of "The Renegade" at 130 beats per minute (this actually has happened).What's a track you like to play at the start of the set to really grab your crowd's attention and pull them in for the night?
At the moment I'm really loving Klangkarussell's remix of my track "The One." It's got a great dynamic intro that sets the table nicely for the rest of the set, and it's one of those immaculately produced tracks that sounds great on every system.How does the crowd and setting affect what you're going to play?
I'm always going to play my own stuff for any fans who are there, but aside from that I like to keep it pretty open format. My favorite kind of crowd is also open to different styles, because I like to mix in many genres of music during a set, and play a lot of records that people wouldn't expect me to play based on my musical output. For me, the beauty of DJing is that I can literally play any song that has ever been recorded—the whole point is that I'm not limited by what I myself have produced!You're halfway through a DJ set, how do you continue to turn up the night for your fans?
As the set goes on, the breakdowns get longer and more epic. I learned this from my days as a trance fan.In your mind, what is the most vital element to creating an amazing atmosphere at a club or at a festival?
Of course the most vital element is the music! There are many important aspects of a club night or festival—the promotion has to be right, the sound system needs to be on point, the other DJs playing should complement each other nicely, location, lightings, it goes on… all these kinds of details are important, but nothing is more critical than good music.What's a song that's one of your go-to closers?
Sometimes I like to play my track "Nothing You Can Say", which is a really chilled-out pop house song, especially if there are a lot of Lane 8 fans at the party. It's a perfect track to end with because people like to sing along and it puts a satisfying closing feeling on the set. Otherwise I like to add a blast from the past to end the set—recently I've done Armand van Helden ft. Common, Madonna, Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell, etc.What's one of the most memorable shows you've played, and what's the recipe, in your mind, for an incredible night out?
Opening for Duke Dumont in San Francisco in front of 1,100 people was definitely the most nerve-racking! Although I must say a recent show I played at Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh was a standout. I played such a diverse set and the crowd stayed with me the entire night. I love every show though, it's still such a trip for me that people actually want to see me DJ in a club.What's one of your favorite tracks to listen to outside of the club / festival setting?
The Temptations - "All I Want"
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Lane 8: Usually I'm just checking the crowd, joking around with the promoters, and making fun of the opening DJ if he's playing Friend Within's version of "The Renegade" at 130 beats per minute (this actually has happened).What's a track you like to play at the start of the set to really grab your crowd's attention and pull them in for the night?
At the moment I'm really loving Klangkarussell's remix of my track "The One." It's got a great dynamic intro that sets the table nicely for the rest of the set, and it's one of those immaculately produced tracks that sounds great on every system.How does the crowd and setting affect what you're going to play?
I'm always going to play my own stuff for any fans who are there, but aside from that I like to keep it pretty open format. My favorite kind of crowd is also open to different styles, because I like to mix in many genres of music during a set, and play a lot of records that people wouldn't expect me to play based on my musical output. For me, the beauty of DJing is that I can literally play any song that has ever been recorded—the whole point is that I'm not limited by what I myself have produced!You're halfway through a DJ set, how do you continue to turn up the night for your fans?
As the set goes on, the breakdowns get longer and more epic. I learned this from my days as a trance fan.In your mind, what is the most vital element to creating an amazing atmosphere at a club or at a festival?
Of course the most vital element is the music! There are many important aspects of a club night or festival—the promotion has to be right, the sound system needs to be on point, the other DJs playing should complement each other nicely, location, lightings, it goes on… all these kinds of details are important, but nothing is more critical than good music.What's a song that's one of your go-to closers?
Sometimes I like to play my track "Nothing You Can Say", which is a really chilled-out pop house song, especially if there are a lot of Lane 8 fans at the party. It's a perfect track to end with because people like to sing along and it puts a satisfying closing feeling on the set. Otherwise I like to add a blast from the past to end the set—recently I've done Armand van Helden ft. Common, Madonna, Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell, etc.What's one of the most memorable shows you've played, and what's the recipe, in your mind, for an incredible night out?
Opening for Duke Dumont in San Francisco in front of 1,100 people was definitely the most nerve-racking! Although I must say a recent show I played at Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh was a standout. I played such a diverse set and the crowd stayed with me the entire night. I love every show though, it's still such a trip for me that people actually want to see me DJ in a club.What's one of your favorite tracks to listen to outside of the club / festival setting?
The Temptations - "All I Want"