Written by RAVI BAYANKER & Photographed by MATT FRIED

In a time when the music industry has risen to an all time high; where the swollen pockets of music executives have diluted quality; where the radio has become more vanilla than French ice cream; and the rise of internet distribution has allowed anyone, talented or not, to get their ‘art’ to the masses; Steve Lawler has remained all about the music.

His career has spanned nearly two decades and seen a teen from Birmingham go from throwing illegal parties under a highway to being crowned King of Space, Lawler has made it a point, no, an imperative necessity, to remain true to his forward thinking musical nature.

Now, nearly twenty years after he first threw the first of his legendary M42 motorway parties, Mr. Lawler is still pushing the boundaries of dance, performance and music.

What inspired you to throw the M42 parties in the first place?

“I was too young to enter a club, let alone play in one, and secondly I wasn’t a profiled DJ back then, I was more of a bedroom DJ who worked in record shops and did bits on pirate radio stations, just whatever I could do to fulfill my passion for playing records for people. The great thing about these parties for me (was) not only learning at a very early age how to throw a party but the experience of playing in front of a crowd. Remember, the first of these parties was around 1990 when I was 16/17 years old and had only been collecting this kind of music for around 2 years.”

What musical and other influences in your life inspired you to go out, grab the world by the balls and make something of yourself? Did you intend to go the path of world renowned DJ? Or as in most peoples’ cases, did it just sort of happen?

It definitely wasn’t planned, being a DJ back then wasn’t really a career unless you played on commercial radio, and that was not something I ever wanted to do. I just followed what I loved which was music.. I tried to have jobs when I was younger but had the attention spam of a newt when it was something I didn’t love. I have to love something to even be able to think about it. I am the kind of person that when I set my mind to something I wont stop at it until I am satisfied. I tend to give everything the best I can and whatever I do is never kind of good enough for me, so I am always trying to better myself and further and push myself, sometimes this can be a curse. But I feel it’s this attitude which I have had from a very young age that has driven me. Music is a blessing for me.

If music has been a blessing for Lawler, it’s his love of music that has been a blessing for fans across the globe.. After literally creating his own scene, his very own forum for artistic expression, Lawler was plucked from the UK in 1995 and given a residency at Café Mambo in Ibiza.

Did you really spin 8 hours a day for 7 days? That to me shows a true love for what you do and everything it embodies. Respect.

Yeah I did at Cafe Mambo in Ibiza. If you love music then this was the best full time job in the world. I stood in a DJ booth on a beach everyday, watched the sunset and happy people on holiday playing some of my favorite all time records to people whom appreciated it. I would play music to set the mood, in the afternoon I would play chill out music, jazz, downbeat, moving into sunset I would play ambient music and then as the night starts to fall I would slowly bring up the tempo to deep hypnotic house grooves to get people ready for the night ahead… and all this sipping margaritas and drinking ice cold beer!

From Café Mambo to residences at Cream, Space, The End and Twilo, Lawler has showcased his talent and distinct taste in electronic dance music throughout the world. Over the past decade one may have noticed the myriad of classifications underneath the heading of EDM. If anyone could shed some light on how to label these various types of electronic dance music, we assumed that Steve could.

There are so many sub-genres (techno, tech house, electro, trance, minimal, progressive house, progressive trance, psy trance, breaks, hardcore, jungle, blah blah blah) it’s hard to keep up!! I know you hate to label yourself. What are your thoughts and opinions on the topic? Why do people feel the need to put labels on everything?

“When anything becomes so popular it tends to be diluted and judged and categorized, but that’s where we come in. Electronic music is electronic music, simple. For me it’s either house or techno, both determine the essence of its nature, hard or groovy. But that’s my world and what I surround myself with. I wouldn’t personally put trance into either of those but that’s because I don’t listen to it.

We had the opportunity to see Steve spin at Pacha NYC recently and were able to witness the stripping of genres to make way for what can only be described as musical progression; pushing the limits; and the expanding of new horizons.

Do you believe that technology has enhanced or detracted from the art of DJ’ing? From vinyl to the CDJ to Ableton and Traktor. Where do you see this going?

I think technology has massively enhanced the art of DJ’ing. Now with the use of certain technologies you can be very creative live whilst in the mix. You can loop sections of tracks, miss out sections of tracks, extend sections, generally make a record sound the way you would prefer it to sound. There are also now all the add ons which also help to bring a more live and individual approach to your live set which for me is very important

What do you have in your bag of tricks? What kind of things do you try and do artistically as a DJ to set yourself apart from the rest? Is it all about track selection, your connection with the audience, your technical skills? How do you combine all of that to give fans a truly unique and enjoyable experience?

Still the most important thing for me is track selection and programming, these are essential to being a good DJ in my eyes. But like I said its important to be individual as a DJ. Firstly, most of my set now is either my own music or music from my label, and this means that when I have (tracks) early there wont be many other DJ’s with the same music. This is important, it gives you an edge as you have music others don’t, but also using a 3rd cd player to layer effects and sounds and acapella’s over mixes, as well now I’m using a machine drum from native instruments.

It seems as if the traditional image of the major record label as the be all and end all to getting a break in music is fast becoming a distant memory. With music distribution leaving the record store for electronic pastures such as itunes and beatport, record labels have had to adapt their marketing and promotional techniques to changes in the market. The King of Space started VIVa MUSiC in 2005 as a digital record label, meaning all distribution is done online.

What do you see the music industry turning towards in terms of finance? Do you think the fall of major labels will help the little guy in the long run? Has electronic music ever really been part of major labels, considering the biggest label in EDM is Ultra, and they are independent themselves? Do you think Ultra has sort of turned EDM a little too poppy for your taste?

I personally think electronic music belongs and has always belonged with the independents, this is where creativity breeds. As far as being a major label, you have to appeal to the major markets and this means you have to sell out to some degree and be more commercially viable which Ultra is. It’s not my taste at all but that does not mean its a bad thing.. I think Ultra have done amazing over the years and I’m all for people doing well especially out of hard work and passion. The industry in terms of finance is turning to one income source and that is touring, and this isn’t just the electronic music industry, this is happening in the whole music industry and has been happening now for some years.

Is it all about signing individual tracks as opposed to artists themselves?

We at VIVa MUSiC are looking into developing our artists. We do sign music individually sometimes too, but have our main roster of exclusive artists and these are the guys we are focusing our energy on. We have a publishing house for them, a touring agency for them and we have an events department so we can create VIVa events for our artists.

What are the names of some producers and/or DJs that you see making a meaningful impact in years to come?

Leon, David Pher and Livio & Roby, these are names to watch out for.

I’ve always considered music to be the one true international language that each and every human being is fluent in from birth. Even if you’re deaf you can feel sound through vibrations and with today’s technology, see the waves. Talk to me a little about music as a medium that’s able to break down cultural barriers that may exist within society.

Yes it does break down barriers and it does allow you to share a nice moment with someone that you may not even be able to communicate with, music is a very powerful thing as it brings people together.

How great does it feel to be on stage, playing music and seeing all those sweat bodies dancing, going nuts below you? After all these years, is that what it’s all about? What motivates you today? What keeps you coming back for more?

Performing is addictive, it’s a unique feeling, something that I will never get from anything else in my life. Sharing music that you are passionate about to an audience of people is magical for me.