Search - Steve Lawler :: Lights Out

Deep, Dark and Hypnotic

Elian Habayeb | Manila, PHILIPPINES | 10/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is not a CD for beginners... Steve Lawler is not a DJ for novices of the underground party scene. He does however cater to the sophisticated clubber, to the listener that has lived through several successful early morning party experiences, to those of us out there that "get it".Lawler takes rythms that originated in the jungles of africa thousands of years ago and that have survived history due to their transcendent nature. These tribal rythms surfaced first in the New York underground, then spread subterraneally accross the continents. Lawler uses these dark drums as a foundation and spices them up with vocals, with samples and with drama that effectively guide many of his fans into a state of mild, controllable, hypnosis.This is arguably Lawler's best work to date. For those who have not yet been fortunate enough to witness him work live, Lawler's able to generate electricity and energy that works its way through a club and connects the people on the floor. For a moment, everyone's on the same page, everyone's living the same experience, everyone's one... and Lawler's the puppet-master.Having experienced him two years ago in Manila, Philippines, and a few weeks ago at Space, Ibiza, I have witnessed the ability of Lawler to bring thousands to a new state of conciousness in unison... and believe me, everyone under his momentary spell is grateful for it.This CD set, listened to in the right context, can do just that whether it is played in a house party or on one's headphones in a crowded plane.I wouldn't recommend this CD set to everyone... many may just not get it. But for those that know what they like, for those who understand the tribal / progressive house movement that has swept through this ever-getting-smaller world, this CD is a must in your precious collection."

Dark from start to finish - a Lawler fan collectible

Anand Subramaniam | Chennai, INDIA | 06/24/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Yeah, they're beginning to run out of ideas, aren't they? With the overdose of dance music mix compilations being force-fed to listeners today, the Boxed Boys have been forced to come up with some new stuff just to break the monotony of their GU production line. And so, we have LO01 - an album that by its name promises to be the first of many in a Lights Out series.The good news is that they picked the right DJ to pilot the course of a new series. Steve Lawler has been called the Brit Danny T because of his penchant for low-bpm dark and tribal house, but comparisons are unfair. With his Dark Drums outings and the Nubreed one-off, Lawler has proved quite amply that he is a DJ in his own right, thank you very much. This is the sound that Lawler plays in Lights Out 01; the sound that Boxed looks set to promote for a little while at least with this series. To stay as faithful as possible to the theme of the album, Lawler has pulled off quite a few tricks that you don't see very often. Both discs start with his custom-crafted intros which drip with slowly rising menace, and move into territory which Lawler aptly calls "the sleazier side of clubbing". Disc 01 is a little milder - a little bit like the set-up punch of a one-two combination. Controlled, but carries its own sizeable bite. Heavy, booming drums characteristic of tribal house resound throughout, while crackling synths and other-worldly vocals flirt around the edges of the bassline. The tempo is slow and deliberate, calculated to produce the brooding, ominous sound that tribal house fans crave. Disc 02 kicks into a more intense groove, with the sound going a little more hardcore. Fantastic mixing is highlighted here in tracks 6, 7, 8 & 9, where Lawler drags back the charging house beat into a fractured, electro-poppy vocal track, and then swings the pulse all the way back up to 100%. Brilliant stuff - you can see how a club filled with hot, sweaty bodies gyrating in the dark would react to something like that.So - what's the verdict? This is good, solid tribal tech-house in 2 CDs. Not a classic, but very, very good in the here and now. The only issue that I can think of is that tribal house is a pretty limiting genre of music - unless you're a fan of this kind of sound, you'll have a hard time listening through to this album, coz there isn't too much diversity. It does what it is meant to do, and nothing more. The fact that it does so exceptionally well makes it a keeper.Disc 01 - 3.5 stars (Good tribal house, sticks to the formula)
Disc 02 - 4.5 stars (Dark & twisted, lives up to the hype)
Niche target audience - Reduces rating
Superlative representation of the tribal sound - Boosts ratingOverall - 4 stars. Nice one, Mr. Lawler."

Steve Lawler is incredible.

Andrew | Tucson, Az USA | 07/25/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Steve Lawler is the only DJ to consistently put amaizing tracks and incredible mixes out. This is no exception. The first disk prepares you slowly for disk 2 (my favorite of the two). Disk 1 picks it up at the paranoid jack track and continues to hold your attention to the end. Disk 2, nothing else to say but incredible, innovative, funky, tribal house, all capped off by a wonderful finish to this set (canteen). This is by far one of the best mixes this year put out by the most interesting house DJ in the buisness. This is a must buy for any Steve Lawler fan or anyone else who is tired of disco-esque house and is looking for something new, seemingly drug induced, but absolutely and perfectly different."