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Interview Podcast Album Steve Lawler
Viva

MP3: How are you doing? Steve Lawler: I'm fine, thank you. How are you? Very good. Just want to say thanks for taking the time to... No, no. No problem, no problem at all. I know you're probably just waking up, right? Actually, I'm not. I didn't get a chance to sleep because... No way! We partied late and I had to have dinner, and I'll probably be getting like half an hour's sleep. It's just, there's no point in resting, you know. I heard you're playing End Up too? I'm going to play from like 5 until probably only about 7 o'clock. I won't be doing a long one because, you know, I've got to get out of here tomorrow afternoon to fly to Chicago. So there's just not enough time in the day these days, you know. I know. I feel you. [Laugh]. I just wonder-- just like everything that you have on your plate right now. I know a lot of people who are very busy as well, you know. But for you, you're touring around the world as a DJ, doing remixes, and producing music. And then you're running your label. Yeah. And I'm running a night as well. The secret to it all is if you enjoy it, it doesn't really feel like work. I mean if--if we added up the hours I did, it would be insane. So if I was doing a job that I didn't enjoy, there's no way I would do this much. I mean f*** that--there's just no way I would devote my life to something I wouldn't enjoy. So it kind of doesn't even feel like work really. Really. It all intervenes with each other. When I'm on the road, I can be using my computer to sort of try out new ideas for studio tracks or reedit stuff. And then I'm getting sent stuff--I'm downloading from a server constantly. And I'm finding new music to buy, new shops to buy from, and stuff like that. There're a couple of new German sites that I've recently found. My whole time is just spent around music of some form. So it never really feels like it's hard work. It doesn't even feel like work. Does that make sense? Totally does. And the music? And the music has a habit of becoming your life, if you're really into music. In fact, I was just watching a film earlier, a film called Maestro. Do you know that film? What's it called? Maestro. Maestro? No. It's a film, which is a documentary about David Mancuso and Larry Levan. And basically, the people that created it took the scene from disco to house music. And it just shows you that, you know, since then it's kind of like it's true, you know. Music does--it isn't just a part of your life; it becomes your life, do you know what I mean? It's like kind of you end up revolving everything around it. And everything to do with it becomes your friend and your family. And that's kind of almost corny, but so true, you know. And that's what all guys like you, me, no matter which angle you're coming from--you're involved in it. You're involved in it. Exactly! It just consumes you; it becomes addictive. Can you imagine leaving your job now, which is about music and surrounded by music, to go and work at something completely different? You'd be, I personally would be, I'd be a lost soul. It wouldn't even--I don't even know what I would do, you know. It just would be impossible to think about my life without music now. You're completely right. I have the same passion for it. And feel so lucky that I have a job, you know, doing what I'm doing. Exactly! Because you enjoy it, right? Exactly. It's music. So it's like, I love it. But that leads me actually to a big question that I thought was going to be a big question. But we're already kind of there. What is music to you? Music to me is--whenever you answer a question like this it's always going to sound a little cheesy, a little corny--but it's really true. [Laugh] Music is my wife, music is my home, music is my dinner, music is my sleep, music is my escape; music offers me so many different angles. If I get depressed, down, lonely, or whatever--anything that's miserable or negative in my life--music is one medicine that will instantly sort it out.

You know there's different... Music has, I don't just mean house music. I mean all forms of music. Every single moment in your life, a certain song could suit that perfectly. I feel as though I'm a drama queen saying this. But you know, you can define somebody's lifestyle and somebody's personality to a certain degree by knowing the music they love. It's the soundtrack to their life, isn't it? You know if you were doing a documentary on somebody--like the one I just saw--there's music that goes with that. It kind of displays that person's life. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. The music is a soundtrack to your life and, for me personally, music is everything really. I mean my girlfriend has a hard time with that sometimes--to be honest with you. Because it's not that music comes first. You know if you get close to me, you have to get close to music because that's just a large, large part of my life.

And I don't just mean in the studio. I mean when I get home I'll put on, you know, a nice ambient CD or even a Frank Sinatra CD while I'm in the kitchen doing some cooking. Do you know what I mean? I just kind of have to have that background. The only time that I don't have music playing is when I'm watching a movie; that's the only time in my life. And when I'm asleep. So it is a really big part of my life, personally. I know with your new album that you're putting out--it's already out, correct? Yes. It's called Viva, the album. And it's a compilation; it's three discs. One of the albums, one of the CDs; the third CD's a chill-out CD. Yes. More DJs, more albums-- I think a few of them have come out this year that include the chill-out with dance music. It's fantastic, I think. Where-- I mean what made you... Well you have to remember, part of my career, way back in 1994, which actually isn't that long ago. But from '94 to '97, I worked at a place called Café Mambo, which is Sunset Café on the West Resort of Ibiza. And my job there was to play for... I used to DJ for eight to nine hours a day, seven days a week. So my visual in front of me was, you know, I'd start playing music in the afternoon. And in front of me, I've got a beach full of people sunbathing. Or they're up from the night before, smoking a joint on the beach, watching the sun come up. Or just enjoying the music that I'm playing.

So I would play right across the board, from sort of ambient stuff to maybe some orchestral music. Angelo Badalmenti, stuff like that, into sort of some mild, mellow, instrumental hip-hop songs through to, you know, trip-hop. I mean, you name it. It was really kind of an open space for me to create my own path of sound throughout that day for the people that were there. And usually, you'd have that--that person will be there for the eight or nine hours because they would be there from the start in the afternoon, right through until when they have to go and get ready to go out, you know.

And as the night, the progression to the sunset, I would play some very blissful ambient music that kind of, if you closed your eyes, you would envision, you know, a sunset. That kind of sound, that kind of soundscape. And then from there, I'll go to a very deep mellow, deep house sound, which would then introduce the other DJs that would come on and play for the night when they'd step it up a gear.

So musically, I've always been about that kind of Baeleric vibe, which has everything thrown in. I'm a big fan of music as a whole, like I said. So it was quite easy for me to do. And I've always wanted to do a third disc. And with Lights Out, I used to say to Global Underground, let me do a third disc. And he said to me, we can't because it would be too expensive. You know, this third disc is not going to improve the sounds of the albums, but it's going to improve the cost of it.

So I was never able to do it. With joining Ministry of Sound, of course Ministry of Sound is huge, multi, massive million-pound company, and they were just like, look, we're really happy to have you on our series. Do what you want. For the first time ever I had this, I had the freedom to put together a disc like that. And I've been waiting to do this for years. And because there were so many chill-out albums out there now, it was important for me to do something different. To do something a little bit more unique to what else is out there for a chill-out CD.

And something that was also very, very personal to me because with house music, you can go so personal. But I believe with music like this, you can really get under the skin, you know. You can really take the whole thing a little bit deeper. And with the third disc, I purposely dove into the strangest places to find music. Like in Tasmania. Masta Marguerite is from Tasmania. And Circle Square is from Vancouver. And you know, I literally dug music from the four corners of the world for this CD because I wanted something different. I wanted people to hear a disc of music that they wouldn't usually hear before. Cool. And to introduce them to this. You know, it is, I mean putting this disc out--it was kind of a godsend. But also it was a bit of a--it was bad for me in some respects because some people were just like what the f*** is Lawler doing? You know, where's this going?

I didn't want to try and prove I was going somewhere. I just wanted to show people this music, you know. And it is dark. A friend of mine was joking with me and said you should call this disc Music to Get Anxious To because it was so dark in parts. But like, I do like the darker side of music sometimes. I think it's really an easier way to express yourself musically. So the whole disc was very, very personal to me. And some loved it, and some people hated it. So, who knows? I assumed that everybody liked chill-out. Yeah, but it's not like, you know what I mean? It's not like your regular Café del Mar CD where it's beautiful, and it's all flowers, and it's all spritzy. The disc on my album is a bit more realistic to life. You know, it's had its light moments, and it's had its dark moments. And it kind of goes through a path where at the end of the CD, I found the song "The End" by The Doors, which is my all-time favourite song, ever! And I found an up-to-date sort of new unusual mix of it, which was an absolute godsend because that was the perfect way to end that CD. So the end of that CD is "The End"? Yes. It's like a remix of it? It is, yeah. A remix from a crazy scientist German guy, actually. So it's weird because I don't even know how the f*** I came across that record again--because I spent literally a couple of months searching for music like an absolute idiot. I remember I was away with my girlfriend on holiday somewhere, and we passed this record store. And I was, like, I've got to look in there. And on the outside, there were all these records in these crates. I didn't recognize anything. And I thought that was a good sign for me. I was like, if I don't recognize anything, I need to have a look in here. So I'm a bit of a--I'm a bit of a geek, when it comes down to the music side of things. It's a hobby as well as a job. Yeah. Very cool, very cool. So you have your first single that's out. It's part of The Album as well, S.L.A.D.L.Y? The first on the label, Viva, yeah. It's a collaboration between me and a guy called Dino Lenny. Dino Lenny is a really cool guy that I got to know in the last sort of three or four years. But I used to play his records when I first started out deejaying, you know, sort of the late '80s to early '90s. He had records out on Italian labels. Dino Lenny, a track called "Cocaine"; Dino Lenny, a track, "Piano Bum"; you know, all these different tracks. Do you know the artist? I know that song "Cocaine". Yeah. So I always was a big fan of his. And when I got to meet him--a supercool guy, very, very talented--and just suggested that one day let's get in the studio. And about a year later, it happened. It just so happens that it happened right about the same time I was going to start the Viva label. So it seemed like the obvious choice to put it on my digital label. Now, the name S.L.A.D.L.Y., what's the significance? What is that? It's Steve Lawler and Dino Lenny [laugh]--the initials or thereabouts. And the reason why the track is called "Unicorn" is because when we were in the studio, we were having quite a laugh this one particular day. And I turned around to Dino, and I said we need to find a sound. And I said, do you remember that track called "Capricorn"? And he was like yeah, yeah, I know "Capricorn." And so he went through the room and dug out the record. And we kind of emulated or were heavily inspired by piano chords in "Capricorn." So we called the track "Unicorn." [Laugh]. That's great! The label, let's talk about the label. This is huge! The label's called Viva; it's a digital download store. Correct. And it's going to be launching on Monday, October 23. Yeah, I'm scared [laugh]. Could you tell us a little bit about it? And maybe why you're scared? Well what's the best way to explain it? I find it a responsibility, almost, to have a record label. Because it is record labels and the artists that get on the record labels in this scene that keep it alive and keep it growing! It doesn't just survive off clubs. It survives off the artists and the labels that support the artists.

So I kind of find it a responsibility--in the position that I'm in--to have it on a label, to introduce new artists, or to at least try and be a part of that, you know. I'm not saying that I'm going to be the one that brings in these new artists--far from it. But I want to be a part of it.

And I used to have three vinyl labels, and I never kind of looked after the business side of it. I had somebody else doing that. I was just signing tracks left, right, and center.

After a couple of years, someone, my accountant said to me, you need to look at this because you're losing a lot of money. And I was like, what? Oh s***! What do you mean? To me, it was more like a hobby, just signing tracks. I'm really excited, I get on the phone to the producer and he's kind of all excited to get his record on a label. So, I used to buzz off that, you know, talking to these, sometimes young guys who've just made a record in the bedroom. And it's always nice to be the one that delivers good news. So I kind of boast off that, you know. Yeah. It was a nice feeling. But then it got to the point where it's quite the opposite. I'd have to call these producers that I've signed a record for my label and say, well we released the record but I can't give you any money. It's not, you know, it's actually lost me about three grand, you know, and whatever. I would never go into detail with the producer like that, but I was kind of becoming the bearer of bad news for people, and I f***ing hated that. I'd, you know, I'd dread that phone call because I wanted to keep it personal. I didn't want somebody else calling these people and saying oh by the way, this that and the other. Because I think that's disrespectful. I was the one that signed the track. It's up to me to talk to them, you know. Yes. And so it's become a bit of a stress really. And a bit of a negative feeling. And I just thought to myself, this is not the reason why I wanted to do a label. So, thank God, the opportunity came along. But what I was noticing though is even though some of the records weren't selling that well, toward the latter end of my Harlem Records--which is what it was called--the majority of sales were coming from Beatport. Really? So I thought, OK, it seems like the obvious thing to do. You know when you have a record label, you're at the mercy of distributors for one. Which is not the best. Because if a distributor puts a shop in Romania on hold because that shop--that distributor is owed money from that shop--that means your record label cannot get to that shop, therefore, cannot get to that country. You're losing sales that way. You're at their mercy. Also with distributors, they have so many labels that you become one of many for them. And you don't get the individual attention sometimes that a record label needs.

And just generally, you're not in control basically. You can't control everything. You can't control the pressing clients when they deliver your record three weeks late, or they deliver your record and there's a glitch on it. And you have to delay your releases. And sometimes, you delay your release, and it kind of misses the boat where it should have been released. And just things like that. You're not in control of it. So, it's not always expected to be a success.

To get rid of all that, you do just a label. And now I'm in control of it. I don't have to rely on anybody else. All I've got to do is sign good music and get it out there. And your music is available to the whole world at a much cheaper price. You know, think about, like I say countries like Romania. You're buying a 12-inch piece of vinyl that usually costs 6 English pounds. When you translate that into Romanian currency, you're looking at a very expensive thing for them to buy, you know. So you're kind of--you're diluting your marketplace.

With the digital, it's so cheap that almost anyone can afford it, you know. It's a great format. The whole world becomes your marketplace opposed to whatever country can take your vinyl.

So the possibilities in a digital label are endless. But I've yet to see if it's fruitful. And that's why I'm kind of s***ing myself. I mean thank God that I've released the label with my own release, you know. Because I don't want to have to call somebody else and say oh, we sold 50 copies. Yeah. I'd rather slit my throat, you know. So at least it'll be my own record. Dino's cool as f***. So you know, it's cool. I mean, if I just call up Dino and say look, you know the label needs a little work. I don't know what we're going to do, but you haven't sold that many copies. I mean, it's on our hands. So I feel better about that. But I mean, I have signed another two releases with other people, but they're people I work closely with.

So, fingers crossed, you know, it will do well. I mean, we'll see. There are still some people out there, like myself, who love vinyl. I absolutely adore vinyl. It's my life. But I'm embracing the future and trying to assist it in moving forward as opposed to being stagnant and, you know, letting it fall where it is. But there are some people out there that kind of still are faithful to vinyl that will not play CDs; therefore, can't play digital music. So we'll see now--we'll see what happens. You're working with Universal on this, right? Yes. Are you able to maintain all control of that? Or... Absolutely! That was the way the deal was put together. I mean they are, they are the solid backbone. I mean one of the things that should be an advantage is that Universal has a 110,000-strong database of dance music going public. I have about a 25,000 database. We're going to send out an e-mail, which will be sent to this whole database, with a little sample saying "Press Play." You hear the song. If you want to buy it, press this button. That's awesome. Yeah. So I mean, if you just achieved 10 percent--and you know, you might have sold 12,000 records or whatever. Do you know how many--13,000 records? Which is fantastic! I'll be able to call the producer and say, great news, you know, I'm going to send you a check of 10 grand. I mean, I can't wait until that day happens again. Because it used to be like that years ago, you know. So fingers crossed! That's the way it works.

But being with Universal is a huge, huge advantage. And they have the backbone of getting the work done right: the promotion side of it, the Web site and monitoring it, and the LPS and all those guys.

I don't have the time to do that. And with it being a new digital label, I don't want to have to bring in somebody and pay 20 grand a year to look after that. I just want it to be taken care of by solidified professionals. You know what I mean? So, as I say, the possibilities are endless. And I am aware that not many people have done this up until now. So it is kind of guinea-pig time, really. I think you're on the right track. I hope so [laugh]. I mean, if it doesn't work now, it certainly will in two years. Yeah. I can picture and envision a day where HMV and Tower Records don't even exist anymore, you know. That isn't far away--trust me. But hey, listen, I've got to go over to the Club. So... All right. Hey, thank you very much for this. My pleasure. And hopefully I'll see you tomorrow morning at the End Up. Yeah, listen, if you come in, make sure you come over and say hello, yeah? If you do come, please come over and say hello, and I'll get you a drink. Ah! Thank you very much. OK, cool. All right. Take care, Steve. OK, bye. Bye