Steve Lawler - 'Viva' (Ministry of Sound) Released 19/06/06

With his Lights Out Trilogy bowing out on an almighty high last autumn, Steve Lawler is ready to launch his next chapter of mix albums with ‘Viva’. Named after his recently spawned club night at the famous Space in Ibiza, ‘Viva’ is a bumper three disc album showcasing the divergent styles of the DJ’s gritty house sound. As anyone will tell you who went to Viva last year, the night quickly became legendary on the White Isle for Lawler’s truly candescent sets and this mix pre-empts the 2006 season in fine style.

After an obligatory portentous Lawler penned intro, the first mix duly cuts straight to the chase with the meaty beats of Chelis R Jones’ ‘Deer In The Headlights’. Like all great dance albums, the tempo is built up skilfully and subtly as Lawler weaves in a heady concoction of sounds. We’re treated to tough tech-house via Hunter Mann’s ‘50’, erratic electro (Livio & Roby‘s ‘Break’), deep hypnotic grooves (Pete Heller’s ‘Simpler’) and sheer euphoria with the club monolith that is Mark Knight’s ‘Acid Test’. Drawing you in and releasing the pressure at all the right moments, after the proggy, looping ‘Smokin Mountain’ by Alex Dolby,  the mix climaxes perfectly with anthem of Dark globe’s ‘Break My World.’

Seemingly representing another night and a different set, the second mix vies to surpass the opener. More broken (in a good way), minimal and perhaps ominous than the first CD, the opening segue centres on the hard-hitting ‘Armanda’ by Anthony Collins and the entrancing, haunting piano chimes of Jamie Jones’ ‘Amazone’ before drifting into Trentmoller-esque carnage. Challenging, it’s only until the truly sublime ’Monique’ by Kaiser Souzai that we’re offered an unadulterated serotonin catalyst. Getting tougher and tech-ier as the mix progresses, it continues to elate and engross typified by the glorious ‘Pink Is The New Black’ by Marc O’Tool and the squelch-fest that is ‘Romper Stomper’ by LK-PRO. Proving that he’s not one to conform, Lawler closes with the restrained Tiefschwarz  version of Lindstrom’s ‘I Feel Space’ - teasing the listener, it only really threatens to take off as the original does.

Included as the third CD, we have the ‘after club’ mix which thankfully manages to defy the tired Balearic-kissed connotations of the genre. Obviously, more restrained, there’s still plenty of captivating sounds to get your teeth into and perhaps send your head west after a few pills too many. We get the Bjork-esque haunting vocals of Metrika’s ‘Time’, the Aphex twin-esque ‘Life In Widescreen’ by Mint,  spliced breaks (Lostep’s ’Theme From Fairytale’) and dark, warped moments like Marc O’Doul’s ’Der 13 Track’. Ending finely with Tube-Tech’s version of The Doors ’The End’ it makes for a rich and entrancing collection. Really Viva 2 can’t come soon enough.