Another living legend of dance music talks to Sound Revolt. This time face to face again. Check out what we were able to get from Steve before his performance in Warsaw on the Diverse Edition party.

Sound Revolt: Have you heard anything about Poland?
Steve Lawler: Not really, no. I was trying to figure out if I’d actually been here before but I don’t think I have been to Poland.

Sound Revolt: You’re not sure whether you’ve been somewhere or not?
Steve Lawler: I don’t, because I travel that much and I have been for so many years that sometimes I’m simply not sure.

Sound Revolt: There’s one place you should remember... Congratulations on the Ibiza DJ awards.
Steve Lawler: Thank you very much.

Sound Revolt: How do you do it? Second time in a row!?
Steve Lawler: Yeah, I know and the thing is, when I won last year I was surprised but when I won again this year I was r e a l l y surprised. You don’t expect to win these things 2 years in a row. It’s great, ‘cause people supported me and voted.

Sound Revolt: Is Ibiza changing? Has trance and techno invaded the island?
Steve Lawler: No, I think Ibiza is well divided. It’s got pretty much everything you desire. One of the biggest movements musically right now is the very minimal deep house. A lot of the German, Ritchie Hawtin kind of school of DJing is getting quite big in Ibiza and it’s really healthy and good that it is, because for underground to grow that big is only a positive thing.

Sound Revolt: As for growing. Have there been any new faces on the island that you’ve noticed? Someone that you think will take over your place in, let’s say, five years?
Steve Lawler: There’s some great DJs out there that are quite new. Tania Vulcano.

Sound Revolt: Tania Vulcano? She’s playing here very soon.
Steve Lawler: Yeah, she’s a very good DJ. Also Locodice, a guy called Declan Lee, Nic Fanciulli – these are all really good, quality DJs.

Sound Revolt: Who chose Nathan Fake to remix “Out At Night”?
Steve Lawler: It was a choice between myself and the label (Subversive – editor’s note). We had several options on the table.

Sound Revolt: Can you name them?
Steve Lawler: The options were Richard F, Stephan Luke. There was a few people that we wanted to use but for the style of the track I though it would be better for something to be more underground on the tech sort of side. Cause that’s what I’m looking right now. Musically it’s interesting what’s going on in the underground techno scene.

Sound Revolt: Do you play this future funk prog techno in your sets? Like Nathan Fake and people at Border Community?
Steve Lawler: I don’t know. I never listen to a record and think what style it’s in.

Sound Revolt: Yeah, but you know what I’m talking about.
Steve Lawler: Yeah. Firstly all those guys play really fast so if I was to put anything that was on those labels for instance I would be playing it a lot slower and it would sound different. The tribal thing is taking me 2 years to bury. I still play a lot of drums but the whole tag of being tribal... I don’t like tags. And a lot of things that have come through musically for me are really dirty, bass heavy, speaker pushing sounds. Some of that are taken from the underground techno scene.

Sound Revolt: About tags. It is said you invented twisted house.
Steve Lawler: Yeah and it still is very twisted.

Sound Revolt: This kind of “house” was the second – after progressive – that I actually started to like. I’ve never been into the funky nor french or chicago scene. That was my little evolution. And which way are you evolving?
Steve Lawler: The thing is music evolves not me. The things that I liked, the things that I’ve always searched for in music have always stayed the same. I like music that is chunky, I like stuff that is very club-friendly but at the same time twisted and dirty and druggy and fucked up. I want people to get lost in the music. That has never changed. The music changes as the years go on but I look for the same.

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