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Steve Lawler is a definitive DJ
and producer; a tastemaker whose sets combine quality
house music with the power to move dance floors around
the world. In the last few years, he's wowed crowds
in such far flung places as Zouk in Singapore, Groovejet
in Miami, Twilo in New York and the mighty Space in
Ibiza.
You can find Steve behind the decks
every Friday at Deep South @ home, where his 5 hour
sets of twisted house are bringing a new lease of life
to one of London's biggest clubs. As well as guest spots
at every pioneering club in the UK from Renaissance
to Bedrock. If one person had to be singled out for
Deep South's success it would be none other than top-class
resident Steve Lawler. Whose mammoth five-hour sets
of chunky house and intoxicating tribal progressive
sounds have dragged him into the realms of the superstar
DJ, and the club into one of the clubbing success stories
of the year. But modest as ever, Steve puts it down
to a combination of factors: "I wouldn't accept that
it's all down to me," understates Lawler. "There are
a lot of people involved in making that night good.
I just do what I do." Steve Lawler hails from the Midlands,
yet there is something distinctly non-territorial in
his work.
Although loving the atmosphere
in the big Saturday nightclubs (he's an ex-resident
at Cream), Lawler also refuses to pander to any punter
wherever he's spinning, especially at home. Think DJ
communism, with equal treatment for all the masses.
" It's rewarding for me to know that so many people
are going off to underground music every Friday night
across the country. Clubs like home and Renaissance
have the best soundsystems and crowds in the UK, and
the feeling you get from playing those nights is amazing".
It was in Ibiza that Lawler got his first true break.
Having earned his Ibiza stripes - he's been every year
since 1990 through to 1997 it was finally Steve's chance
to prove himself as an accomplished DJ.
He was a resident at Cafe Mambo,
spinning his legendary 8 hour sets there every day,
as well as playing three times a week at Pacha. It was
then he was spotted by Darren Hughes, then of Cream,
who recognised his talent and ambition to succeed. Signing
him up to Cream's DJing agency, he began a residency
at the eponymous Liverpool institution. At only his
second date at the club he had to follow Paul Oakenfold
at their NYE party. Not an easy feat, but one which
Lawler coped with admirably. The rest, as they say,
is history.
It's not all about DJing though.
Lawler's accomplished production, under the monikers
of Novocane, Chameleon and, naturally, Steve Lawler,
are currently causing mayhem amongst the likes of Tenaglia,
Tong, Sasha, Digweed, Deep Dish, and Pete Heller. 'Rise
In', his latest single, is a self-assured cut of heavy
dancefloor pressure, which, as with all the best things,
has simplicity as its key. Watch it drop on any dancefloor
in the world and you realise that Lawler, in his production
as much as his DJing, understands how to work a crowd.
'Rise In' is set for a September release, and if you've
been near any of the coolest dance floors on the planet,
you'll have realised just how special the track is.
The buzz around the tune has superceded
any of this summer's releases, and the Top 20 beckons.
Who'd have thought proper house music would once again
reach such heights? But then, as most of you know, Lawler
is something very special. "I do a lot of my own re-edits,
because I get sent so many records where its all good
and then some horrible break kicks in. So I just cut
that bit out, get it on to CD and then go and get a
slate cut. It's the way forward. It means that a lot
of records that people might have, I have my own versions
of them. It makes it unique, which you have to do these
days.
There's 1001 DJs out there. It's
probably one of the reasons why I have actually got
somewhere. I do make the effort." Steve's spun at every
club in Ibiza, and every decent club in the world, and
has stunned all detractors of the progressive sound.
He was described in The Face as, "The UK's Tenaglia",
and in Jockey Slut as "one of the best dj's in the world".
Steve Lawler: the pioneer of twisted house who loves
a bit of hard work. If you were waiting for a change
of musical tack, then follow Lawler's lead. Don't be
left behind.
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