Legendary tech house DJ and producer, Steve Lawler, makes his debut on Danny Howard’s Nothing Else Matters imprint this month with his brand new single, ‘Don’t Ask’ alongside a special remix from Jansons. You would be hard pushed to find a more in-demand and talented artist like Steve Lawler. Regarded as highly by his industry peers as he is by his huge global fanbase, Steve has had releases signed to some of the world’s most established labels including R&S Records, Drumcode, Cocoon, Hot Creations, Knee Deep In Sound, Play It, Say It and own imprint VIVa MUSiC. ‘Don’t Ask’ is a no-nonsense, straight-up, dance floor focused rhythm which offers hooky vocal stabs alongside a bubbling bassline, organic drum grooves, enticing low end, and mesmerizing synths.
We caught up with Steve Lawler to talk about his latest release ‘Don’t’ Ask’.
Electronic Groove: Thanks for speaking with us today Steve. Let’s get the inevitable coronavirus questions out of the way… how much has the pandemic personally affected you?
Steve Lawler: Hello all, thanks for the invite. I have decided to now keep off the news, and any links to YouTube or Facebook I’m sent and I’m just trying to focus on whatever surrounds me that is positive, my children, music, the new live stream series we have launched raising funds for charities. And generally taking each day as it comes.
EG: What changes to the music industry – if any – do you think we’ll see once we return to a relatively normal way of life?
Steve Lawler: I honestly have no idea, the only thing that I am guessing is things will never be how they were again, or at least it feels that way, what’s to come who knows? One thing for certain is for the first time in our lifetime we are not in control of our own future anymore.
EG: Ok, onto the music now. Your Wiki page says it’s 25 years since you first played in Ibiza. What are your strongest memories of those first few seasons?
Steve Lawler: My very first memories of Ibiza were of a rustic island that only certain like-minded people knew about, it wasn’t commercially known. It was pure magic: the beach parties, the clubs with roofs that would open at sunrise, the once rough and rugged DC10 where you had to go down a dirt track to get to. Of course, the island has like the rest of the world modernized and changed, but magic can still be found in Ibiza.
EG: You’re now synonymous with Ibiza, perhaps more than any other DJ. Can you pick a single highlight from your time there, or is that an impossible task?
Steve Lawler: It is an impossible task, there are thousands of highlights: the year I bought a villa just for partying in, that was a pretty intense year of fun in particular. I had pretty much every DJ that played at space back to mine for afters almost every week, some of the conversations, and the back to mine music selections that was played by huge artists was pretty special.
EG: Do you think Ibiza will survive what in all likelihood looks like being a canceled – or at least very limited – season?
Steve Lawler: Just like the rest of the world it will survive. It may never be the same again, but who really knows, no one does perhaps, but the will of people will survive and we will find ways to connect once again.
EG: We love your new single ‘Don’t Ask’. How did you hook up with Danny Howard for the release on his label?
Steve Lawler: I told him when we hung out once that I would give him something for his label. I like Danny, he’s a top lad. Whenever I finish music, I always send it to people and labels whom I love and respect, I would say 99% of my music goes to labels of people whom I have struck some kind of relationship/friendship with. My music matters to me; it’s not a business model, it’s pure passion so the personal side is important.
EG: After decades of producing club-focused music, how do you stay inspired when you go into the studio?
Steve Lawler: Making music is not something I can ever plan, so there has been many a time I have gotten to the studio and within 2 or 3 hours, just left because my head is not in it. 100% you can not be stressed in the studio, creativity simply does not flow if you’re stressed. Feeling in love or feeling sad, any sort of deep emotion is always food for me when making music. My biggest inspirations are moments, more than songs or people. I can think of a moment and remember how I felt or what it meant to me, and that gets my creative juices flowing.
EG: I expect like a lot of producers you like road-testing releases before you consider them completely finished. At the moment that’s not really an option, so what other methods replace playing your music in a club setting?
Steve Lawler: I don’t know as yet. I wrote this single six months ago and had plenty of chance to road test it, but I guess the next best thing to road testing in a club is like any sound engineer or producer will tell you is the car test! That’s one little trick we all use.
“Feeling in love or feeling sad, any sort of deep emotion is always food for me when making music”
EG: What can we expect to see from yourself and ViVa for the rest of the year?
Steve Lawler: We have launched a Warriors Streaming residency called “WARRIORS under House Arrest” and we’re doing this like no one else has done before, we’re doing it exactly how we would set up an event. So it’s not just the usual boring DJ in his kitchen setting. Hoping to raise the bar for the industry as a whole, we hope others follow.
EG: Finally, what’s the one record released so far this year that’s excited you the most?
Steve Lawler: Another tough one! Again far too many to mention, it’s almost a shame because there is some amazing music coming out but without the heart of what they were essentially made for: a dancefloor. Deetron has done a remix of a James Kumo release on my techno label iVAV Recordings, which is just an incredible piece of music: without a doubt his best work to date.
Steve Lawler’s ‘Don’t Ask’ is now available via Nothing Else Matters. Stream and buy here.
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