GTA: Is it something you’d look to incorporate into your own original productions?
SL: I’ve actually—yeah, I’ve just—I’ve been writing quite a lot of original material lately. I’ve finished three new singles, one of which is called “Lost,” another one is called “Our House,” another one is called “Out at Night.” And the “Out at Night” single which I just finished—literally last week in L.A.—has got some of the filthiest noises I’ve ever heard come out of a machine before! I mean, I was really—I was buzzing in the studio when we were putting this down. I’m producing with a guy called Pete Lorimer.
GTA: “29 Palms,” right?
SL: Exactly, exactly. And he’s always been known for much more trancier, you know, records. But I—when I first worked with Pete, the first thing that I recognized about Pete was he’s an absolute genius in the studio.
GTA: How did you hook up with Pete?
SL: We met in Miami around the pool, chewing a burger and having a drink—you know, that’s the way business is done in Miami!
GTA: Right!
SL: And we just sort of put some ideas together and I flew him over to Ibiza to stay at my house for a few weeks and I’ve got a studio on the roof and we just started making some music, and it was just, like, wicked! I found the guy that I’ve been looking [to work with] in the studio for a long time, and we work really well together. And when we were in the studio last week in L.A., I just—I walked in there and I said, “Right! Filth, filth! We just want filth! Pure, pure filth! Let’s just get some noises and mess with them so much, you know, that we’re going to try and create a noise that’s never been invented!” You know? And we got close to that. I mean, we’ve got this bass line that is just gonna rip speakers to bits. And I’ve played it on the whole tour and it’s been getting a great reaction, I must say. And I’m really, really chuffed about it; very happy.
GTA: Cool! So is that dirty, raw Steve Lawler sound going to make it into more of Pete Lorimer’s remixes do you think?
SL: I hope not! [Laughs.]
GTA: Or is that synth-driven, trancey sound going to make its way into some Steve Lawler productions and mixes?
SL: Yeah. I mean, bring it on! I’m really open for anything that’s new. I’m not going to shy away from anything. I think in every kind of music—even in music that I don’t like, like hard house—there’s something to be drawn from everything. And I’m a big believer in just having the door wide open and taking what you can and looking into something. I like to experience everything at least once—that’s the kind of person I am; so in the studio, musically, bring it on, whatever! Lets try any kind of sound. And with Pete, the great thing about Pete, as you said, that, from what he does before, the trancey sort of chords and strings, you know—Pete is very talented on the keyboard because of this, and Pete is also—one of the things I’ve noticed about trance producers is when they make a record, they overproduce: They make 30 track records! They’ve got so many different things going on at once, which is clever, it’s great. But house music is much more raw that that—you know, we’re talking 15 trackers. There’s not that much going on, but what is going on is really solid. So you kind of combine those two things together like me and Pete have done and, you know, who knows? There could be some really great things that come out of it—I believe there already is.
GTA: When you’re in the studio, how do you create these sounds? How long does it usually take you to come up with a brainchild production until it’s finally done?
SL: Anything—it could be five minutes or five hours or five days. I mean, you know, you just end up playing through sounds, programing stuff, you know? You get one sound and you layer that with a different sound and then you put on a bunch of effects and then you reverse it and twist it and you just pull it apart. And you might hit something and just go, “That’s it!” Or even sometimes, what generally tends to happen in the studio, which I’m sure most producers will admit is: You’re trying to go one way and do one thing, and you’ll find something often out of a mistake, or you’ll end up on the way of trying to get one thing, [and] you’ll come across something else and go, “Wow! That sounds amazing!” And then you end up doing that. That’s what tends to happen in the studio, so it could be literally five minutes or five days to get a sound right.
