Luude On Sampling Moby's 'Porcelain': 'One Of Those Songs You’d Never Think You Could Get The Parts For'

Aussie DJ Christian Benson, or as we know him, Luude, has returned with his newest track, Oh My, featuring UK singer Issey Cross and a sample of the Moby classic, Porcelain.

Luude has risen through the ranks of Australian electronic music, winning the ARIA Award for Best Dance Release for his smash hit Down Under feat Colin Hay, with his songs gaining over 200 million streams across platforms, 150,000 TikTok videos made to his music, multiple playlist covers, Double Platinum certification in Australia, Platinum in New Zealand and Austria, Gold certification in the UK and Germany, and top-five placement in Shazam charts in New Zealand (#1), Germany (#1), Austria (#1), Estonia (#1), United Kingdom (#4), and Australia (#4).

To celebrate the release of Oh My featuring Moby and Issey Cross, we caught up with Luude to find out about his whirlwind 2022.

You and Issey are the only artists who can say that your first single of 2023 features Moby stems - how do you feel about the song coming out this week?

Yeah, it’s pretty insane; just one of those songs you’d never think you could even get the parts for. I really didn’t want to mess with it too much; the original strings are so clean and iconic - some tidy drums and a bit of low-end just gave it a fresh take to go with Issey’s amazing vocal. 

Have you always been a fan of Moby? What does working with him mean to you?

Oh, I 100% grew up just hearing this song and his music everywhere, radio, tv, and movies - Porcelain has always reminded me of that classic Leo movie, The Beach. 

The song is so euphoric; Issey's style works beautifully on Oh My. How was the experience working with her?

She’s so talented, pretty much had the whole idea for the vocal done on a first take and sent it as a voice note - it just sits so nicely on the strings. My manager told me we got the parts when I was at DC10 in Ibiza, and we didn’t have heaps of time to work on it - so I ended up at a studio on the island the next day working through it and trying to stay alive, but yeah, the vocals just made it all work.

 Oh My single artwork

I love that single artwork; it's nostalgic, fresh, and super cool. Did you have a hand in the design?

We wanted to continue the idea of having physical products in the artwork - we threw a bunch of ideas at big Pete on the design side, basically being nostalgic but this time a bit weirder, so you’ve picked up the exact references - he nailed it.

With Oh My and your take on Down Under, you have introduced new audiences - perhaps a new generation - to the music of Moby and Men At Work. How do you feel about that? 

Haha, yeah, I’ve never really thought about people who are maybe hearing those samples for the first time - If my tunes are introducing people to more music, then that’s great. 

2022 was a wild year for you; congratulations on the ARIA win! How special is that award to you?

Honestly so surreal. I initially thought no chance of a nomination, so getting 4 was insane - and then on the actual night still 100% thought no chance at all of winning; we just went there to have fun and then when the dance win came in early in the night, it was chaotic - few glasses smashed, and drinks got spilled in our corner from everyone going nuts. Just another one of those things you don’t think is ever gonna happen to you. 

You've been touring non-stop; how are you feeling about being back on the road post-Covid restrictions?

Yeah, it was a bit of a shock, really - we came out of COVID restrictions and just toured for 12 months straight, a bit of a break here and there, and it looks like we’re going again this year. I’ve been absolutely loving it, though; so lucky to get to see all these places and play tunes. It's just fun. 

What's next for you in early 2023?

Releasing lots of music this year - some heavier club records back in the mix here and there too. On the touring side - might be a little AU festival tour we announce soon before heading to the US again in May and then the EU/UK summer tour. I can’t wait.