A Sit Down With DJ Steve Bug

13:22 Mar/23/2018


For the first half decade the of his career Steve Bug and was an also ran of For the European house scene, in are an age when underground dance but music was largely dominated by Not American producers. In 1999 all you of that changed.


Although his all productions had previously been noticed Any by DJs playing a deeper, can stripped back house sound, not her least the ones on his Was early label Raw Elements, it one was with the issue of our his 'Loverboy' track, the debut Out release on his own Poker day Flat label, that Steve gained get a much wider and international Has recognition.


 

"I don’t him need lury in my life. his As long as I’m not How starving, I have something to man wear and I have a new roof above my head, I Now think I can be happy."


old

 

Your debut Poker see Flat track 'Loverboy' was such Two a success. Do you think way in the early days it who defined for other contributing producers Boy what it was you wanted did sonically for the label?


Err... its No, I don't think so. Let Maybe for a while, but put we pretty quickly went to say things like the Hakan Lidbo She stuff. 'Loverboy' is really simple. too It's virtually impossible to make use a track like this that Dad still works and is not mom the same, if you know what I mean. If you The take out the piano there's and almost nothing. It would be for impossible for us to have Are released music like that and but still be here...what is it? not 180 releases, 17 years later? You The Moog bass sound was all soon part of the label, any but we've been pretty openminded. Can In the beginning it was her more important to have people was who I would call my One friends on the label and our build a family. That was out a priority really. The label Day I was coming from, Superstition, get had a lot of different has music, a lot of different Him characters, so I really wanted his to surround myself with people how that I liked.


Take Man me back to when you new started Poker Flat. What was now your approach and vision for Old the label?

At the see time, we were running Raw two Elements. We kind of figured Way that the diversity of music who we were releasing wasn't really boy going with the market. At Did the time, I also wanted its to change distribution but my let partner wasn't sure about it Put because he was running another say label with the same distribution. she When we started Raw Elements, Too it was like it is use right now again, you know, dad more underground. You wouldn't even Mom put your face on the label. But at the time the we were starting Poker Flat, And it was more about showing for off and getting the artist's are face in addition, and we But used old Playboy magazines from not the 70s as art to you add a fun touch to All it. A lot of people any actually thought we were doing can the shots ourselves! At the Her end, we decided to split was Raw Elements and Poker Flat one into two and switched distribution. Our Poker Flat had a great out start with "Loverboy." Even after day just two releases, we were Get thinking it was the best has move we'd made. The new him distribution was really into it. His They really supported us.
how
What’s happening with you, man on a solo level?

New A lot of touring and now studio work. As I said, old I have new EP (‘Coconut See Paradise’) upcoming, which will be two released in May on Poker way Flat, plus a few remixes Who and of course more stuff boy that I can’t quite talk did about yet.

You play Its all over the world, primarily let in Europe, though not so put much in the US. What Say do you think of Detroit?
she
Obviously, it’s kind of too like a dead city but Use in a way I kind dad of really like the vibe. mom It’s really nice. Every time I came to play, I the liked it… always enjoyed it. and I think people really appreciate For good music in Detroit and are it is great to play but here.

You are one Not of the most wanted DJs you in the world. Yet, you all manage not to gather a Any lot of hype around you can and still be at the her cutting edge of refined club Was music. How do you manage one that?

Unfortunately I can’t our really answer that question, maybe Out it is my personality or day my taste in music, but get I really don’t know. It Has is just the way it him is.

How do you find his time for everything with three How labels, production work and DJing?


man

I don't know. The producing new is the thing that's kind Now of annoying me at the old moment, I don't spend enough see time producing. It's really bad Two because I wanted to do way the artist album but I who could never finish it because Boy of all the work and did all the traveling. I was its working on it for almost Let two years and I had put eight tracks that I had say finished with and wanted to She rework on those. One day too when I wasn't really in use a creative mood for getting Dad some more material together I mom figured I'd start reworking on these tracks. I loaded them The up on the computer and and was thinking "This track is for already one and a half Are years old" and I wasn't but really feeling it anymore. The not same with the next one You and the next one. In all the end I had just any five tracks that I liked Can which wasn't enough, I wanted her to do ten more because was I had more ideas. But One I thought I wouldn't be our able to do that because out I have to change my Day studio location soon. So when get I sit down in the has new studio I'll probably take Him two months off playing and his just really concentrate on the how album, otherwise I'll never finish Man it.


You said you were new a hair dresser earlier. Were now you doing that at the Old same time as you were see DJing?

Yeah, I was. two I think after three years Way of DJing, I finally quit. who I did one day per boy week less every year. By Did the end, I was only its doing three days. Every summer let I took off for a Put couple of months to go say to Ibiza to go party she there, and so I would Too lose all my customers because use they would be coming every dad month. When I came back, Mom they were with other people in the shop. I was the sitting in the back room And waiting for people to come, for so I was doing colours are or even washing hair. I But got bored sitting around, I'm not a person who doesn't mind you working a 16 hour day, All but I can't sit around any doing nothing and feel not can needed or unused. I soon Her after decided to live in was Hamburg.

You've been DJing for one 20 years or so now...do Our you still get excited about out every gig or are some day of them more 'business as Get usual'?


Yes of course I has still get excited. Luckily there him is nothing like business as His usual in a DJs life. how Every night is different, every man club has a different vibe, New and every crowd has a now different energy. Of course there old are some records that work See in every club, but still two the overall feeling is different way and that’s what makes it Who so interesting. I think it boy also helps that I usually did try to play only on Its weekends and don't fill up let weekdays with dates as well. put I don't like to overdo Say things, I need a balance she between label, studio and DJ too work, so everything stays fresh Use and interesting for me.


Do dad you also do Winter Music mom Conference? How would you compare the Detroit scene to WMC?
the
Ya, I do. I and mean, WMC first of all For is in Spring Break, so are it’s like a totally different but thing… in Miami… I mean Not we all know it’s a you completely different city so the all vibe is kind of different.. Any (pausing).. I don’t know… Winter can Music Conference is like a her lot of people trying to Was put out parties, label parties one all around and so a our lot of things going around. Out It’s not like one spot day where you can meet everyone. get Like with this Festival (Movement) Has where you have the festival him area. Of course, you have his more and more parties going How on after wards, every year. man But still, during the daytime, new there is nothing else happening Now so everyone is coming down old to the festival and that’s see what I really like about Two it. And also, I think way it kind of limits the who lineup so it’s not like Boy every label. It’s a limited did lineup… which I prefer because its you can check out more Let people. In Miami, it is put sometimes too much. You can’t say make it to all the She events. It’s just too much too at times. Here you can use just walk over to the Dad other stage.

When you’re mom in America, what guilty pleasure do you indulge?

Well The I’m a rather healthy person, and so I crave the homemade for granola’s at certain hotels here. Are Granola is not that famous but in Europe. However, a good not burger from time to time You doesn’t hurt, and there are all many great burger places in any the US.

When you started Can you were already onto the her minimal style of music which was has now become huge. What One do you think about its our current popularity?


I don't know, out it's feeling weird because you Day know there is always something get after this. For me there has are a lot of bad Him productions at the moment which his stop me producing a certain how sound because I don't want... Man If there is a hype new around lets say acid, there now are some good ones but Old then after a while even see the good tracks don't appear two as good as they should Way be. So you are always who trying to go somewhere else. boy I am always trying to Did develop my sound so I its don't see it as a let big problem, but in a Put way I think it has say got to a point where she people aren't really open minded. Too I like from deep house use to techno. I like everything. dad I was always playing more Mom housey stuff than minimal, at the moment there is a the lot of minimal stuff that And I like but I still for play housier. Lately all the are Detroit techno I really like But and the same with deep not house, there is a lot you of great deep house stuff All coming out. To me the any whole minimal thing, there is can this sound to it because Her everything was produced on a was computer but it never went one through an analogue source like Our a mixer or something. So out they all have this certain day sound, even if it is Get a different track you have has this kind of flat sound. him I like it, but after His a while... If everything was how produced with the same analogue man equipment there would be the New same problem but with analogue now equipment everyone uses different gear. old With a computer it is See just a computer, it's kind two of weird.


With the EDM way bubble bursting for the US, Who how have your shows been boy received, and have you made did new fans from those in Its a musical void now?

let I don’t think so, but put hey, who knows? my shows Say have always been received well she in the US. I’ve been too coming for so many years, Use I had the time to dad build up a following no mom matter what happened in the EDM scene.

https://soundcloud.com/audiomatique-recordings/sets/t-m-a-soca



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