Steve Lawler (born 1973) is a British

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

producer and DJ born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England. He is a five time

DJ Awards DJ Awards is a celebration of electronic music, and aims to recognise and honour Disc jockey, DJs and individuals who have influenced electronic dance music worldwide. Held annually in Ibiza at the end of the summer season, DJ Awards has retaine ...

winner and has held residences at many popular dance clubs such as

Space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

The End The End may refer to: Film * The End (1953 film), ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine * The End (1978 film), ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds * ''The End'' (1995 film), a List of Canadian films of 1995, Cana ...

and

Twilo View of the dance floor from the DJ booth Twilo was an American nightclub in operation from 1995 to 2001 in New York City, and from 2006 to 2007 in Miami. Closing View of the lighting from the dance floor Twilo had been under pressure to clos ...

. Because of his successful performances at Space in Ibiza, he was nicknamed "King of Space". Lawler has released several mix albums and is especially well known for his ''Lights Out'' series featured on Boxed. He currently runs the record label VIVa Music. He also founded the now defunct Harlem Records leaving a list of creditors in its wake.

Biography

Steve Lawler originally gained interest in the music scene around the age of 16, listening to

pirate radio station Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...

s. Beginning at age 17, Lawler staged a series of illegal parties in a tunnel under the

M42 motorway The M42 motorway runs north east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south-west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, passing Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and Tamworth, Staffordshire, Tamworth on the way, ...

from 1990 to 1994. After several parties, the event began to regularly attract over 500 people and eventually earned Lawler appearances at proper clubs. Lawler's first break came in 1995, when DJ Jason Bye asked him to play daily at Ibiza's reputed Café Mambo of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

"Sunset strip" fame. In 1997 Steve's big break came when he met Darren Hughes of the nightclub

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

, who signed him to a residency at Cream. In 2000, Steve started his first mix compilation series, titled 'Dark Drums'. This same year Steve started his new residency for Darren Hughes, at the infamous Club Home, where Steve Lawler held his own Friday nights Deep South which he ran until the club shut down 1 year later. He also released the single "Rise In" on

Bedrock Records Bedrock Records is an English record label for trance, progressive house and techno started by John Digweed. Its name comes from a long running and successful club night held in Hastings and also at Heaven nightclub, London – both also call ...

, which featured vocals from the Reef song Mellow (and previously remixed by Prince Quick) and reached No. 50 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 15 on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Dance Music/Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

. This same year, he was asked by Boxed to mix the third entry in their ''Nubreed'' series, ''Nubreed 003''. After his Nubreed release, Lawler approached Boxed with the idea for the ''Lights Out'' series. In 2001 Lawler started a night in his hometown Birmingham called the Midweek Session, this was run for 12 parties only, running monthly on a Thursday night. Lawler returned to London in 2002 with the beginning of his "Harlem Nights" event at

, which was one of The End's most successful nights and ran continuously for 7 years. . Lawler founded the

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

VIVa MUSiC in 2006. Steve Lawler's latest creation is his famed VIVa Warriors parties, which is toured globally and holds a Summer residency weekly on Sundays in Ibiza at the nightclub Sankeys Ibiza. Lawler's wife Daniela appeared as a contestant on

Come Dine with Me ''Come Dine with Me'' is a British reality series that has aired on Channel 4 since 10 January 2005 and is narrated by Dave Lamb. Format The original format features five amateur chefs who live in the same town or area, who each host a three-c ...

on Channel 4 between 22 and 26 November 2010.

Musical genres

Lawler describes his style of house music to be "deep" and "sexy". Others have echoed his sentiments, comparing Lawler's music to

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

in terms of attitude. Though he's often named a Tech DJ, Lawler says that he prefers not to fall under any particular genre. Lawler's music is House and Techno. Of the music Lawler plays, he is known to perform his own edited versions.

Influences

Rather than any particular genre or musical groups, Lawler says that his brand of dark house is influenced more by "vices" and dark experiences. He does, however, claim his biggest inspirations as

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

and

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

, citing their dark lyrics and atmosphere. Lawler says that the DJ that was most influential on him was

Danny Tenaglia Daniel "Danny" Tenaglia (born March 7, 1961) is an Italian American DJ and record producer. Biography Early life Tenaglia left New York in 1985 and started DJing in Miami as a resident at Cheers nightclub, playing classic New York and Chicago ...

, admiring his passion and dedication to DJing and clubbers.

Selected discography

;Albums *2000: '' Dark Drums'' (Tide) *2000: ''Nubreed 003'' (Boxed) *2000: ''

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

'' (

INCredible Incredible may refer to: Music Albums * ''Incredible'' (Clique Girlz album) or the title song, 2008 * ''Incredible'' (Gary Puckett & The Union Gap album), 1968 * ''Incredible'' (Ilse DeLange album), 2008 * ''Incredible'' (Mary Mary album) or ...

) *2001: '' Dark Drums 2'' (Tide) *2002: '' Lights Out'' (Boxed) *2003: ''

Lights Out 2 ''Lights Out'' is a 2016 American supernatural horror film directed by David F. Sandberg in his feature directorial debut and written by Eric Heisserer. It is based on Sandberg’s 2013 short film of the same name and stars Teresa Palmer, Ga ...

'' (Boxed) *2005: ''

Lights Out 3 Light is an electromagnetic radiation, part of which stimulates the sense of vision. Light or Lights may also refer to: Illumination * Lighting * Light bulb * Traffic light Arts and entertainment Music * Lights (musician) (born 1987), Canadian s ...

'' (

Global Underground Ltd. Global Underground is a British record label and compilation series founded in 1996 by Andy Horsfield and James Todd. The label symbolised the international explosion of dance music during the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s and first manifesto for hi ...

) *2006: '' Viva'' (

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publisher (popular music), music publishing busin ...

) *2007: '' VIVa London'' (

Renaissance Records Renaissance Music (formerly called Renaissance Recordings) is a British record label and live events promotion company, founded by the club Renaissance in 1994. It went into administration in September 2010 and the back catalogue was sold to P ...

Ultra Records Ultra Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Sony Music Group. Company history Established in 1995 in New York City by Patrick Moxey, a former executive of PolyGram and Virgin Records ...

) *2008: '' VIVa Toronto'' (Renaissance Records, Ultra Records) *2011: "Lights Out Decade" (VIVa MUSiC) * 2012: "VIVa Warriors" – Mixed by Steve Lawler & Darius Syrossian (VIVa MUSiC) ;Singles *1999: Novacane – "Rainmaker" (Glow Recordings) *2000: "Rise In" (

Bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bed ...

) ( UK Singles Chart No. 50,

#15/

Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales The Dance Singles Sales was a record chart released weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine listing each week's best-selling Dance music, dance singles in the United States. Its previous names include Hot Dance/Disco 12-inch Singles ...

#41) *2002: "Andante" (Bedrock) *2004: "Out at Night" (Subversive) *2005: "That Sound" (Beside Music, Joia Records) *2006: S.L.A.D.L.Y. – "Unicorn" (VIVa MUSiC) *2007: "Courses For Horses" (Renaissance Recordings) *2007: "Violet" (Viva Music) *2007: "Sleep Walking (Tsuba) *2008: "21st Century Ketchup" (Sci-Tec) *2008: "Femme Fatale" (Ovum) *2009: "Kalimba" (R&S Records) *2009: "Carnival" (Tanzbar) *2009: "Distrait" (Systematic) *2009: "Hocus Pocus" (VIVa MUSiC) *2010: "Almerina" (Harthouse) *2010: "Gimme Some More" (VIVa MUSiC) *2013: "Avaida (The Organ Track)" (VIVa MUSiC)

Awards and nominations

DJ Awards

The

organizes the annual

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

DJ awards event it is the only international ceremony for DJs and also the oldest, the awards are held once a year at Pacha club in

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

it is one of the most important accolades an artist can win or be honoured by. Lawler has won 5 awards and received 11 nominations overall. , - , 2000 , Steve Lawler , Leader of the New Breed , , - , 2003 , Steve Lawler , Best Tech House/Progressive DJ , , - , 2004 , Steve Lawler , Best Tech House/Progressive DJ , , - , 2005 , Steve Lawler , Best Tech House/Progressive DJ , , - , 2006 , Steve Lawler , Best Tech House/Progressive DJ , , - , 2007 , Steve Lawler , Best Tech House/Progressive DJ , , - , 2008 , Steve Lawler , Best Tech House/Progressive DJ , , - , 2009 , Steve Lawler , Best Tech House DJ , , - , 2010 , Steve Lawler , Best Tech House DJ , , - , 2011 , Steve Lawler , Best Tech House DJ , , - , 2015 , Steve Lawler , Best Tech House DJ , , -

References

External links

Steve Lawler Official Website
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawler, Steve Living people English club DJs DJs from Birmingham English remixers English record producers English house musicians English expatriates in Spain People from Ibiza English progressive house musicians English electronic dance music DJs INCredible artists 1973 births