In The Company Of: Steve Bug

Steve Bug has long since been a favourite here at Fabric. He has been around since the beginning, watched and played a part in our development and even helped us celebrate a milestone or two along the way. So it seemed fitting that a DJ/producer (not to mention great friend) that has lasted so long at the top should be on board for our tenth birthday party last October. More recently, with his impressive new release, “Flight 111” out on his own Poker Flat imprint, Steve Bug shows no signs of letting up. As he continues to develop his already glittering career, we just get the sense that he’ll be around for more celebrations long into the future.

As his set from the 10th birthday party became available here on our blog last week, and after his incredibly slick set in Room One this past Saturday, we decided to catch up with The General to talk about the epic birthday, longevity in dance music and...his skills as a hairdresser!

How did you enjoy playing at Fabric’s tenth birthday a few months back?
It was definitely one of the best gigs I had last year. The vibe was very special - when I heard the set on a link sent to me by fabric just recently, I felt all that massive energy again.




The party was over thirty hours straight. What are your survival tips for making it through such a long time?
I had another show on Saturday night and flew in to London from there. I had some spare time to catch some sleep before I was playing. And to be honest the only way for me to make it through such long parties is leave in-between for a while have some food, and one or two disco naps at a quiet place. I don't really do parties more than 10 hours straight in one go, especially when I have several gigs on the same weekend and am travelling.

Why do you think fabric is still such an important venue in its 11th year?
fabric always has really interesting and well thought out bookings, fresh and up to date, but they're still true to the roots of electronic music. Some old school and some new school. fabric is still top notch when it comes to sound and technology, and the location is also still amazing.

You have been at the top of your game for even longer. How, in your opinion, have you been able to do this?
I don't really know, but loving music purely because of music (and not because of the success attached to being a DJ), not getting carried away with success, constant work and investing a lot of time and energy into the music and the business are key.

As such an established artist, of such a length, do you feel a responsibility for the scene and its next generation of DJs and producers?
In a way I do, but since becoming a DJ and overnight success has become so easy, I feel like a lot of DJs/artists got into the business for other reasons than what motivated me in my beginning. Luckily there are still enough young and upcoming artists that have a sound of their own, but a lot of the so-called underground DJs and producers are more interested in increasing popularity than anything else.

Incidentally, which new artists would you suggest we keep an eye and ear out for at the moment?
It is always hard to name only a few, but i'd say Matthias Kaden, Andrade, Kink, Geddes are the ones that pop up in my mind, especially out of the new London scene!

Despite dance music’s inherently transient nature, do you feel that at the minute, it has a better chance of embedding itself in history more than it ever has done before?
Not really, as there are too many tasteless followers in my opinion. And since sales take place more and more online (even vinyl sales) it is a lot about top ten, top 100 and chart followers. I don't think that is really helpful for music/sound to develop/evolve. Instead of actually searching for music, most people consume tracks that are big already because some big DJ is playing them...unfortunately I am not only talking about clubbers and buyers, but also other DJs. I know a lot DJs that are only playing promos, from a pile of promos that have been sorted out for them by an assistant - lot of DJs don't even go record shopping online. Success has turned them into comfortable couch potatoes. On the other hand there are alot of really talented people no one really cares about, and for whom it seems like it will  be forever to ever be able to live off of making music or DJing.

Would you agree that other music scenes are increasingly valuing dance music as time goes on?
Not really, dance music was always a part of the pop music culture as well. I don't feel this is increasing...

If techno and house music hadn’t gripped you the way it did, what music do you think you would have ended up making instead?
Maybe none other, but there would be a big chance I would do electronic listening stuff in all genres, since I am really into downbeat electronica.

Did you ever envisage a career in anything but music?
I used to be a hairdresser in my teens. Right now, after 20 years it's hard to think of doing something else.

Has the running of your record labels been the most arduous part of your music career? I imagine it could well be the most rewarding part too?
For me only all three labels are crucial for my music career. The business part is overwhelming though, so for the labels I have a partner and we have a great team working for us at the office in hamburg. It would be impossible for me to run the labels on my own.

Tell us a little bit about “Flight 111,” your next release on Poker Flat.
It's definitely more techy than most of the stuff that is out there right now. It is kind of related to earlier Detroit stuff I'd say, deep but driving at the same time. I've been working on stuff without thinking about what's going on on most dancefloors /DJ sets right now; I wanted to come up with something that I was feeling strongly and something that has a very hypnotic feeling. I am a bit tired of all those percussive house tunes that have a short vocal sample after every second or fourth kick drum, plus one synth chord and a filtered bass drum every two minutes with loads of white noise and other typical sounds.

Finally, the fact that clubs like Fabric are still going from strength to strength after so long suggests to me that this scene is still absolutely thriving. We would be interested to know what you make of the scene as a whole right now and how that differs to when you were a young DJ / producer.
When I started, it was even more driving; a lot of creative people were coming together, all pulling on the same rope and wanting the same thing to happen. It was a mission and a movement and had loads of spirit. Today it has grown into a real industry, and it's more of a marketing, money-making machine for a lot of people. The competition is harsh, not healthy. As I said before, some people are in the business for the wrong reason in my opinion, and that is not really helpful for the whole thing. The best music doesn't come from followers or from people who want to become famous. The most groundbreaking music always came from people who never cared about fame or success, that had an idea of their own and who where able to put their feelings into the tracks. Again, music is about passion not about fashion!