www.t75.org

Steve Lawler - Viva

Steve Lawler, Viva

Review by Jack Foley

IndieLondon Rating: 2 out of 5

DJ Steve Lawler says of his latest album, Viva: “Lights Out was always planned to be a trilogy, so now it’s time for the next project. With Viva I’ve called the CDs Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 to reflect different states of mind, and how the music alters with that.

“It’s been a lot of fun doing this album. I feel an obligation to be constantly looking out for new music, new sounds and ideas and compiling music for a triple album has allowed me the freedom to put together some amazing music from different genres.

“Viva is about bringing new exciting music to people that they might not normally listen to or find. I just hope people enjoy the album and the music is allowed to speak for itself.”

With this in mind, it’s still impossible to imagine that Viva will appeal to anyone other than those who have a taste of the big club scene that’s helped Lawler to carve a name for himself.

The DJ is, after all, taking the album on a 30-date world tour this summer, criss-crossing North America and Europe with a substantial stop-off in the Balearics. In Ibiza, for instance, there have already been four special Viva parties at Pacha, as well as a big slot at Space.

The best thing that can be said about the 3CDs is that they do mark a departure from the bog-standard Ministry of Sound backed club sets, hinting at some diversity especially late on.

CD1, though, is filled with repetitive and utterly bland dance beats that are a permanent feature of the Balearic scene, while CD2 (or Day 2) is heavy on electronic dance beats that are similarly flat and quickly depressing. Things only really begin to get interesting on CD3, with tracks like Life in Widescreen, by Mint, and Tube Tech’s The End (in chillout mix form).

But like I said earlier, it’s a long haul for anyone other than Ibiza or Miami party-goers that merely serves to highlight how so much of this genre of music sounds hopelessly (and sometimes interminably) the same.

Track listing:
Disc 1:

  1. Viva Intro – Lawler, Steve
  2. Deer In The Headlights – Jones, Chelonis R.
  3. Vibe Di Laine – Vibe Dealers
  4. Break – Livio & Roby
  5. 50 – Huntemann, Oliver
  6. My Definition Of D – Lara, David
  7. Don’t Stop – Ceramix
  8. Simpler – Heller, Pete
  9. Acid Test – Knight, Mark & Martijn Ten Velden
  10. Inside The Beat – Audiofly & Shaun Parkes
  11. Smokin’ Mountain – Dolby, Alex
  12. Break My World – Dark Globe & Amanda Ghost

Disc 2:

  1. Viva Intro – Lawler, Steve
  2. Amanda – Collins, Anthony
  3. Amazone – Jones, Jamie
  4. Down With The Boys – Ekkohaus
  5. Average – Desktop Prostitutes
  6. Monique – Kaiser Souzai
  7. Feelo – Saschico
  8. Play On – Parris, Tom
  9. Pink Is The New Black – O’Tool, Marc
  10. Romper Stomper – LK-Pro
  11. Jah – MANDY (2)
  12. Easy – Trick & Kubic/Valeska
  13. Call Me Later – Mic-Line
  14. I Feel Space (Tomba Spezial Space) – Lindstrom

Disc 3:

  1. Viva Intro – Lawler, Steve
  2. Bathing In Microwaves – Shannon, Mike
  3. One Two Three (No Gravity) – Closer Musik
  4. Time – Metrika (1)
  5. Life In Widescreen – Mint (2)
  6. Home To An Empty Home – Subside
  7. Theme From A Fairytale – Lostep
  8. You Missed The Fireworks – Circlesquare
  9. Fight Sounds – Circlesquare
  10. Fight Sounds – Circlesquare
  11. Der 13 Track – O’Tool, Marc
  12. Dunno – Headset
  13. El Assouar – Master Margherita
  14. Theme 2045 – Monroe, Vigo
  15. 0007 Mistery Theme – Professionist
  16. Celebrity – Sedgley, Max
  17. Interview – Dalessandro, Billy
  18. End – Tube Tech