Steve Lawler

The Warriors king looks to the future…

 

Interview by Dan Prince

 

VIVa MUSIC is one of the most forward thinking labels on the planet. Who are some of the young guns you have on board now that fill your heart with joy regarding their music potential?

VIVa Music has always been an output for the dance floors, the warehouses, clubs and festivals. I find music I want to play, music that has a moment for the floor. It is music that I can have exclusively and get behind before release it to the world. Whenever we work with artists, we tend to work with them regularly, and VIVa Music has been cited as a label that has launched many artists’ careers over the years.

Oli Furness is somebody that I hugely respect. He’s not new to the game, but he’s a fresh talent, from his use of analogue equipment, he has a proper recording studio and he is writing some incredible music. Then there’s Tom Flynn who is someone we’ve used a lot over the years. He’s got some incredible music and is a very talented producer. Boot Slap is someone we have just signed a release with and then you have the people we consider our family – Denney, Detlef, Mark Jenkyns, ANEK, Leftwing & Kody – who have all got numerous of releases on the label and we use them on a regular basis at Warrior parties.

Let’s skip forward 10 years. What do you think/hope some of the possible advancements in the following areas could be:

Studio technology

What I would like to see is development in the manipulation of sound and what you can do with sound. I know there’s been some things over the years that have introduced into the scene and used a lot for example, singing into a mic which can turn it into an instrument sound, which is great in the studio. What I don’t want to see is the development of making programmes easier to use and doing all the hard work for you. That’s what a lot of technology tries to do, make things simpler and almost doing it all for you, computerizing everything. I think that’s a very unproductive way to move forward. Yes, it gets more people into something but it strips out the artistry, which is very valuable when it comes to making music. If we take the human touch out of producing music, we are fucked.

How a DJ performs in a club

I played vinyl for the best part of 15 years. I cut my teeth as a DJ with vinyl. I loved playing vinyl, however, there were the downsides such as records being stolen or lost at airports or records getting scratched. Burning music onto a CD (now USB) and playing it straight out in the studio and into a club is amazing. Technology has been really good to us, but again a lot of powerhouses are developing the technology to make it easier for people and I don’t believe that’s solely the way forward. The difference between a DJ and an amazing DJ is that an amazing DJ has the ability to programme music and make it special. Creating a journey and a soundscape that works. That’s where the human comes into it and we need to keep that. But there’s been great things developed over recent years such as the whole concept behind digital DJing made my DJing better as I could be more creative. I could loop tracks in certain places, miss out breaks I don’t want to play, make breakdowns and make builds bigger or smaller. I can play select loops that I’ve created in the studio over certain tracks, changing the dynamics of a record, which you couldn’t do these things with records. That’s where technology definitely made things better.

How an artist communicates with his fans around the world

Well I’ve been thinking about this over the past year or so. What I’ve noticed with my fans is that my biggest connection with them is the live music in clubs and festivals. I don’t believe in the electronic sector people are big on merchandise? Maybe I’m wrong? Labels and management are constantly thinking of ways to connect with the audience. For me I think the connection is when I’m performing in a club and my fans have bought tickets to see me at that time. I think you could have some sort of software that can connect the way I feel and what I’m thinking, for now even something as simple as a camera that shows what I see, displayed on a screen behind me and at the same time it could be a social hub for people in the room. I think we will be able to communicate with our devices just through thinking something in 10 years time when that comes along it could do to use what the Internet did to use 20 years ago.

What territories from around the world do you see emerging as major forces?

I don’t think there’s anywhere on the planet that hasn’t already got into electronic music on a big scale. Whether it’s Egypt, Japan, Mexico, North America, Argentina, Barcelona, Ibiza, London, you name it – everybody is out raving to our music. If you’re between the age of 16 and 50, you go out to dance to electronic music no matter where you are from. It’s incredible to see how far it’s come. I’ve been DJing since the early 90s and I can see how far it’s come/ I can remember going to territories like North America and really have to work, going to all these small towns and playing to 2/3000 people 7 nights a week, to build a following and help grow the electronic scene there. Back in those days the electronic scene was a very select group of people. I was part of the DJs who were trying to make that selective group of people bigger, but that doesn’t need to happen anymore as DJ’s touring now only have to build themselves not the scene around them.

What does the next 12 months hold for Steve Lawler’s studio work?

I’ve got something in the works with legendary old school music producer, Arthur Baker. We’ve made this stripped back techno groove, which I’m really happy with. He heard me play a set at the Paradise stage at BPM in Mexico in January and introduced himself to me, suggesting we do something together. So we did – very simple but very effective. It sounds incredible on a loud system. But I haven’t got any plans with that just yet. I also took a bunch of percussions sampled from my old tracks and mixed it all together to make this percussive, loopy monster, which I’ve been using in my DJ sets. There’s a really cool label interested in these so maybe I’ll create a release there, who knows. I’ve also booked the Ushuaia studio for the next two weeks and I’ve got some really good ideas that I’ve been putting down in Ableton on my laptop. These are just basic ideas that I am really keen on developing and taking into the studio to use proper machinery. I might go in and make two or three tracks or I might come out with nothing because that’s how it is. It’s a love-hate thing working in the studio. I don’t make music because I have to, I’ll only go in the studio when something’s inspired me.

You were crowned King of Space by Pepe after ruling the Terrace once upon a time. What do you hope the new owners Ushuaia will do with the venue?

I know one thing for sure, I trust whatever they do will be done to the highest order of the highest quality. They won’t be cutting corners. We have to think about the next 10/20 years on this island, and the way Ibiza is now, and I think it’s in safe hands with Ushuaia. It’s exciting times.

What are some of the challenges that Ibiza has to overcome in the next decade to ensure we still love the white isle then?

Ibiza needs to cater to everyone, all the classes. It has to think about people. It has always done it in the past, so I have a lot of faith in that. One of the most amazing things about this island is the way it does reach all classes of people. It reaches all races; it breaks down barriers. It’s for gay and straight. It has accommodated everyone and if it keeps this it will stay one of the hot spots in the world. Not just for partying, because it offers a lot more than that. You have both great restaurants that are expensive and you have incredible ones that are not. The beaches can cost you nothing. But at the same time, it’s got beaches that cost a fortune, it has to accommodate for everyone.

Other than a time machine, what 1 thing would make your life a whole lot easier in the future?

A transport machine, meaning no more flights! Can you imagine that?!

One major thing that has completely changed the way you DJ/produce/run a label since 1999?

The digital revolution. It has changed the way we make and perform music, the way we communicate with our fans and the way we communicate with promotion. The digital era is certainly one of the largest revolutions the planet has ever seen I reckon/ When you listen to music over the years, you can notice a distinct sound and say what era it’s from and you can do that because of the technology that was being used when it was made.

A new tune you have heard that you know is going to be massive later this year?

I’m not sure about one tune, but I can tell you where music is going over the next 24 months. Disco is once again alive and well Disco loops are being put into techno and house music again and I for one love it. I’m playing a lot of loopy disco and techno tracks at the moment. Music always goes full circle and one is happening again right now.

Dan Prince is Music Editor at Ushuaïa’s IUMAG, Ibiza’s No. 1 music and lifestyle magazine where this interview featured in the September Issue

www.theushuaiamagazine.com