“It’s a beautiful day in Jacksonville. Thanks for calling the Hyatt. How can I help you?”

I’m put through to the room of Rueben Wu, one-quarter of Ladytron and currently one of the UK’s hottest export commodities. Wu was in Jacksonville, Florida, doing a solo DJ set before heading to the South-By-Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. He had one other DJ gig in Cleveland before flying back to Liverpool for a couple of Ladytron “warm-up shows” at Korova - the band's own club. They are now in the midst of their 2006 tour with stops in Europe before crossing the Atlantic for some North American performances, including Toronto.

Sounding quite relaxed, Wu confesses: “I’ve been DJ-ing since I was eighteen, long before being a musician. Today, a couple of us DJ, as people are intrigued by what we’re about and what type of music we’re into.” Stating that his sets are generally electro-sounding, he mentions the time when he was called upon for a gig in Madrid at 5am for a hard-based techno set. “You just go with what’s happening at the time,” he laughs.

Based in Liverpool, Ladytron - with Daniel Hunt, Mira Aroyo, and Helen Marnie completing the lineup - seems to be at the helm of today’s DIY-Indie culture. Wu and Hunt are both natives of England, Marnie hails from Scotland, and Bulgarian-born Aroyo rounds out the global composition that has provided influence to many of their songs. They are part of a scene of individuals who are creating a buzz as DJs, musicians, producers and promoters. They were recently asked to curate a special evening at the South Bank Centre in London as part of the Ether06 Festival. The event was described as “a combination of a children’s party and arcane social experiment.”