Viva Music - Interview with Steve Lalwer on

Viva Music - Interview with Steve Lalwer on

9 November, 2009 | 11.46PM

• Written by: Kamran Kafi
• Filed under: Music News :

It’s safe to say that as one of the most prominent Dj’s and producers to date, Steve Lawler has never stopped to continually reinvent himself and take on new tasks and roles in the development of the electronic music scene.

As a DJ & producer, Lawler has continuously pushed the envelope, avoiding being boxed in to one trend while undoubtedly always moving the dance floors and inspiring others around him.
As head honcho of Viva Music, the first digital only record label, Steve has been able to create on the most respected and successful record labels revolutionizing the business while maintaining the high caliber of releases one would expect.

With all this work on his hand, we were happy to catch up with Steve and talk about what’s in store for him as a DJ & label head and what other ideas he’s come up with recently.

How do you manage all the work from Touring, studio time and running a record label?

When you love what you do, you never have to work a day in your life.  This is my life and I love what I do.
I love working one the label, even though it can sometimes get much when all of a sudden everything is happening at once, and its all crazy, but we have a great team and I love the work.  Working with all our artists and supporting them is very positive and fills me with positivity.

Touring & performing are addictive, I just love it.

Producing in the studio is a creative process and one that is enjoyable its always nice to start with a blank page and at the end of the project you have a creation in front of you that you can perform in front of an audience. Performing in front of an audience is what making music is all about,

Any new projects or ideas on the horizon?

A book. I’m talking to some publishers about a Danny Sugerman sort of book. I don’t want to do some self-obsessed non-sense but because some big things have happened in my life that would make an interesting read and for me it’s a story I want to tell.

You have previously said that artists often get boxed into certain styles and genre’s, do you think the time has come where its becoming impractical to create multiple sub genres and what you play is an individualized style?

I think it has been in the last 12 months really, which I am very glad about. When I first got into this music it was house and techno, there were no sub-genres, but I guess they had to be created when millions of more people got more into electronic music. To me there are two types of music, Good and bad.

That defines my sounds and style as a Dj. I have always played with the same integrity and ideas of what I like. Music has changed throughout the years, because the technology that music is made on changes and has developed, so therefore electronic music changes and that is the really good and beautiful thing about electronic music, it keeps on evolving and has no boundaries.  There is a constant evolution of sound and breaking boundaries, there are all these artists I aspire to who keep trying new things. And It’s the way it has to be for me.

Over the years people have said Lawler’s playing just tribal or just electro or just techno, I’m play what is what is exciting to me, there are new developments but the style that I play and the tracks that I choose are always based on the groove, always on the darker side, with a lot of rhythm and 124-125 bpm, I never go fast, It has been that way for years.  That defines my style; at least that’s what I believe.

Where do you see the future of the DJ?

Dj’s these days tend to be artists. There are very few who do not produce music. Back in 1990 Dj’s didn’t make music, they were Dj’s, without the production element…now its about the production just as much as their djing. I see the future being djs playing their own music rather than what’s hot from other artists. For me 90% of my set is my own tracks or tracks from my label or re-edits therefore you wont hear others playing similar to me.

What excites you now?

There are a lot of developments going on with the Internet right now. Hawtin’s camp creating the application to post tracklists online direct from Traktor is one example. This will do amazing things for the industry. The Internet has done an amazing job spreading music and giving people choices, there still is a problem with illegal downloads of course but once that is ironed out I am happy that music will be available and stay available worldwide. 

When I first launched Viva my idea was to embrace the future instead of ignoring it and that’s what I did.  We are actually doing vinyl on certain tracks now because there are Dj’s who will only play Vinyl and our artists deserve to have their records out & played by these artists.


How is Viva Developing?

What we are doing is focusing all of our efforts on the VIVA family. We have several artists that we are really concentrating on, so started a Viva music DJ agency roster, we have been building a Viva music events section, a publishing section, and we have also got a department that deals with online related presence and functions. We need to look after the next generation of artists, share our knowledge and help them whenever necessary. This way all the Viva artists can benefit from each other and that is my current method of looking after the younger artists and looking towards the future. VIVA is about developing and preparing the next generation of electronic music artists.

And indeed, when looking at Viva since it started back in 2006 one can easily see the forward thinking mentality that has been instilled in it by its founder through the artists which it had signed on. With artists such as Tiefschwarz, Audiofly, Simon Baker, and Matt Tolfrey just to name a few, Viva has been constantly on the forefront of cutting edge music and quality releases.
A great example of how technology and the Internet have enabled the next generation of artists to flourish is that of the Strict Border duo, compromised of Amirali and Iman. Having only met briefly once in Tehran while on a trip from North America, the two have been separated by national & political boundaries that would have kept any artists from collaborating in the past. Communicating only digitally whenever possible, they have come to show that with a little help it is possible even in the hardest conditions to work and produce quality music that the world would otherwise not see.  Now part of the Viva family, their unique sound influenced by a nation known publicly for suppressing its creative youth, is being heard as one of these next generation artists.

Do you think that the politicized environment has influenced your sound and creative process?

Contrary to what the western media might present music has always had a big presence in the Iranian culture. We have a lot of unique sounds and instruments coupled with different genres of music, anything from classical Iranian to the more modern fusion sounds that have gained a lot of popularity these days.  The eastern sounds have always had a major influence on our music.

When you guys started first collaborating did it ever seem like a problem that you can’t really meet and be in the same studio?

To be honest from the first track we started collaborating on as a duo we have never come across any real problems. The great distance between us might make the production process a bit tedious but the like-mindedness in musical style and taste more than makes up for it.  These days it is very hard to find a true partner that you can agree with and respect and we feel like we have been very luck in that department

How did you guys end up with Viva?
Growing up listening to electronic music we have both had tremendous respect for Steve, we watched his sound evolve with the times while still maintaining Steve’s unique take.  When we realized that he is interested in our music it gave us a great sense of satisfaction that someone of his caliber has recognized what we are about.  But the best part in all of this was the fact that we now had this amazing opportunity for a once in a life time partnership that could teach us many things about the industry in the process, essentially helping us become better artists, and to us that is the ultimate goal

Was your condition ever pose a problem?

Viva wasn’t aware initially about our working conditions but after they showed us interest we had numerous conversations in which we went over many things including the group dynamic and how the work got done.  We are currently working on bringing Iman to Toronto so we can start planning for various gigs across North America.  His presence here would definitely help make our production process much more efficient.

What are the benefits of being part of a label such as Viva, which some might say takes a untraditional approach?
I think the keyword here is family, we really do feel like we now have a new family, a family that supports you in doing what you love and motivates you to get better and better at it.  We all have the need to belong and go through life looking for a place that we could belong to, whether it is a religion, sports team, and politics and so on.  We feel lucky that we have found our family so early on; Viva is a truly unique family and ever since we have been signed they have been there for us in any way shape or for necessary and have really dedicated themselves to creating a true partnership and so have we.

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