Steve Lawler chats exclusively to Novadance about his forthcoming mix album, ﾑLights Out 2ﾒ and his plans for the future. Lawler is renowned as one of the most popular house djﾒs currently on the circuit, with his driving tribal style wowing audiences right across the globe. While many may categorise him as a strictly tribal or progressive dj, the ﾑLights Outﾒ series has given him a chance to explore new ground musically, all the while maintaining a steady groove so vital to his sound. I asked him first about the album, and how he manages to take a seemingly haphazard selection of genres and work them in harmony:

ﾓThe whole basis of house music is that it drives and pushes forward, but there are so many genres around at the moment that do just that, that move forward. The album takes on board new influences. Thereﾒs been a whole electroclash backlash, electro and 80ﾒs sounds coming back in- I personally cant stand a lot of this 80ﾒs stuff thatﾒs coming back in, but some of the sounds that have come out of that is more suited to house producers. On the cd, thereﾒs a good mix of Italian and Spanish producers who have taken that influence and put it into house records and made it sound good. I dont ever really follow any genre, I just play what I like. Iﾒm playing a lot of new records, by a lot of new producers who take on these alternative aspects and Iﾒm putting together a collage of these sounds and influences.ﾔ

The use of re-edits on the album brings forth some of the energy of a proper dj set rather than a mix album, tunes seem to interweave with each other throughout. Is this an important feature of the Steve Lawler sound?:

ﾓI think so. There are some amazing synths in there, which really sound like they were made on proper 80ﾒs equipment. One of the tracks, by Eurochrome (ﾓFuture Spiritﾔ)certainly goes a bit left of centre, a bit cheesy, and I just that bit out and f**ked around with it a bit. The album finishes with ﾓPlastic Dreamsﾔ, with snippets very low in the mix for a good five minutes before it kicks in. People think ﾑhang on, was that the bassline I just heard from Plastic Dreams?ﾒ In a club, that would have been a nice surprise- they think the music is playing tricks with their mind. I suppose its a bit different on a cd because people can just look up the tracklisting.ﾔ

Steve is no stranger to Ibiza, having just completed another storming season on the terrace as the King of Space- his 12th season on the White Isle in a row. What keeps him coming back for more year in year out?:

ﾓThe fact that its the best place on the planet!? My whole lifestyle is built around music, and Iﾒm very happy for it to be that way, but there is one place that I have been to on this earth that is built around music like my life is- and that is Ibiza. You cant compare it to any other country- or any other holiday resort- nowhere has that same feeling, nowhere is so dedicated to music. If you try to explain to somebody what Ibiza is like, and they havent been there, its very difficult to understand.ﾔ

Lawlerﾒs residency with ﾑWe Love Sundays @ Spaceﾒ featured a bigger array of guest djs than ever before, everyone from Fatboy Slim to Jeff Mills rocked Ibiza to its foundations. I asked Steve whether anybody really impressed him this season.:

ﾓJames Zabiela. That guy is shit hot. Iﾒll put my hand up and be totally honest, I havent ever seen anybody work cd decks like him. He has taken those cd players past  what they were designed for, and for someone to do that with a piece of equipment- heﾒs a genius in my eyes.ﾔ

Winning two coveted awards at the DJ Awards in Pacha earlier this year, and following the continued success of his Harlem Nights promotion at The End in London, 2003 has been a good year for the man from the Midlands. Does he think this bodes well for the DJ Magazine Top 100 awards at the end of the month- at which of course he is the exclusive guest dj?:

ﾓIﾒm not too sure. The DJ 100 poll, in my eyes, isnﾒt really revealing the best DJ in the world, but the most popular DJ in the world. Tiesto won it last year- I know him, heﾒs a great guy, and what he does heﾒs very good at. But what he does appeals to kids, you know between 16 and 20 or so, and these are the kinds of people who will go online voting. The kind of crowds that I play to are from 25 to 35, the kind who just want to go to the party, have a good time and go home.For any of the house djs like myself to beat what is going on right now, which is a massive trance thing- it may not be big in the UK but it is f**king massive in America.ﾔ

Lawlerﾒs ﾑRise Inﾒ was a smash hit a couple of years ago, but his productive output seems to have lessened since. Are there any new projects on the horizon?:

ﾓIﾒve got two tracks which Iﾒve made, one of which is called ﾓLostﾔ, which is an acid house record through and through. I made it in Ibiza during the electrical storms in August- I was looking out at the ocean and this electric storm really led the way the track was going- I had an idea about the bassline, but the acid came after seeing the lightning. Another record that I finished in the summer I actually wrote the lyrics to, which Iﾒm really really proud of. I had some mates over who I hadnﾒt seen since college, and the first set of lyrics which I wrote were just about going out at the weekend- ﾑWhere is the night going to take me/ Its gonna take me on a ride/ Messing with my mind till Iﾒm wasted/ Ride it till sunrise/ Give me pills give me thrills and some serious ills....ﾔ  I went outside with my friends and just said to them, ﾑright, say some wordsﾒ and we put together the lyrics over a few joints.ﾔ

Steve Lawler touches down briefly in Ireland later this month, with appearances at Coloursfest@ Enigma, and Lush! for Halloween. I asked him whether he was looking forward to these appearances, and what is so special about the Irish crowd that keeps him coming back:

ﾓIts funny actually about Lush, Col Hamilton sat down and said right, is Halloween, iﾒve got to put the darkest DJ on the planet on the bill, so I got the call. That should be fun. The Irish crowd is always amazing, I mean iﾒve never been overly impressed with any of the venues I have played in Ireland, but the crowds are always f**king amazing. The whole chanting thing, everybody goes crazy. When the club opens, even, most of the people go straight on the dancefloor, they dont go and stand by the bar.ﾔ

Steve Lawler plays at Coloursfest on October 26th and at Lush! in Portrush on October 31st. ﾓLights Out 2ﾔ is released by Global Undergroud. A full review of the album is available in the Novadance.com reviews section.
Stephen Wynne Jones 2003