Prior to hitting the stage at Airbeat One in Germany, we had the pleasure of talking with the marvellous Lucas & Steve.

They recently announced their ‘Making Melodies’ EP which we got some further insights into as well as hearing more about their production process. They also dropped some hints as to future projects which you can find out about below…

Q: You were last at Airbeat One in 2023, how does it feel to get to come back again?

A: Steve – Very good actually it’s one of the biggest festivals in Germany. I think we’ve played there…this is our sixth or seventh time already, so we’ve been there a lot. We know the place, we know the crowd so it’s always good to be back and they are just very very excited to party the whole weekend. They have amazing stages, they have an amazing lineup. It’s one of those festivals which is one of the highlights of our summer always so it’s very good to be back.

Q: Recently on your Instagram you talked about how you’re celebrating 15 years now of doing music and touring all about. How does it feel to still be doing this and still growing all these years on from where you started?

A: Lucas – For us it’s the strangest thing. It doesn’t really feel like we are DJing for 15 years already. I think we’ve been on tour for about 10 years now but also then like we just remember everything so vividly from the past years. It’s cliché but things go really really quick, really fast as long as you’re having fun and we still are, we are very lucky that we are still having fun and still having the opportunity to play all those stages, all those huge stages and making music for a living. That just feels like a huge privilege still and when you look back so many years ago a lot of things changed in touring, in music and it’s also things that you know keep on challenging you in making music, new technologies and everything so…I’m sounding like a grandad when I say it like this but I think that’s just the case you know? It just keeps on being interesting and evolving so yeah. Still totally in love with it.

Q: Last year you got to work with someone who’s been doing it even longer in Tiesto. Obviously, he’s been doing it for about 30 years or so. What was it like to get to work with him?

A: Lucas – I think this is the third record that we just did last year with him. That last one is called ‘Free Your Mind’ and the other one we did with him last year was ‘Zenless.’ Every time we work with him it’s a very educative process I have to say. He knows exactly what music should sound like. He always is ahead of the trends so if you’re making music with him, he’s giving a lot of direction on what sounds are interesting enough, how should the record build, how can you tweak the record so that it’s interesting for everybody to play it you know? And that’s a very interesting process. It’s almost like mentorship in a way if that makes any sense? It’s a strange thing like often when you’re making music with people of course you always learn from each other, but with Tiesto he just really gives very good direction and it’s incredible after all those years how he knows how to do the right thing all the time.

Q: You’ve now released the first track for your ‘Making Melodies’ EP ‘Retro’ which I know myself and everyone has just been loving having waited about 4 years for it. What inspired you to make this EP with melodies being the focus for it?

A: Steve – We get a lot of questions on our social media. We’re very diverse producers. When we’re in the studio we like to make every type of music whether it’s pop music or dance music or melodic music or like the very clubby songs like ‘Free Your Mind’ with Tiesto. We just like everything combined in the studio and the start we made as Lucas & Steve was very melodic so we still play it a lot in our sets especially at the end of our set we always try to make it a little bit more euphoric so that people leave the stage or leave the festival with a very euphoric, happy, energetic positive feeling. The start of our set is quite heavy with ‘Free Your Mind’ and ‘Zenless’ and that kind of stuff. So, we wanted to make a nice present for our fans because we didn’t do that much of the melodic songs the last 2 or 3 years. We were just focussing more on the club stuff that we did. We still really like it.

We will always make melodic stuff, and we were thinking about doing something special as in an EP releasing 4 songs, 1 each week and that was ‘Making Melodies’ and the first one came out ‘Retro’ and we were blown away because everybody was waiting for that record already for I don’t know, 4 or 5 years. We played it for the very first time during Kings Day in The Netherlands at a Radio 538 show so people were asking about melodic music, and we still had so many things that were unfinished. So, we put everything in our studios together and we created this EP with 4 songs. We’re getting so many positive reactions that we’re probably going to do a volume 2 and a volume 3 every year.

Q: When you do more pop esque songs you end up doing club mixes which are always just really cool. Do you ever go into making a more pop oriented song which the thought of it already becoming a club mix or is that something that comes later in the process?

A: Lucas – Sometimes when you’re doing the original mix you already know what the club mix is going to be like. While producing the original stuff you get ideas that you cannot do in a radio friendly, Spotify friendly pop song. You need to keep things a little more quiet and tuck it in in the mix more, and you cannot have those harsh sounds that just stand out too much. Like the more dance sounds will usually not work that well in a pop mix. You get all these ideas and it’s like ‘ahhhh’ I can’t use it right now so just save it for the club mix so actually the process for the original and the club mix go hand in hand.

Q: With having 2 DJs behind the decks when you perform what’s that sort of process like trying to decide who does what and when? Do you plan it beforehand or is it more in the moment?

A: Steve – Lucas does all the work and I just drink

Lucas – Yeah that’s actually try. I donated my liver to Steve for this

Steve – We’ve been doing this for almost 15 years together as DJs, we’re touring the world for 10 years already. We just know what to do, we have our own CDJs, I’m always standing on the left side because it’s like the name Lucas & Steve it’s easier for the crowd to remember. Lucas is on the right, he has his 2 decks, I have my decks on the left side, and the mixers in between. Usually, Lucas tries to hype the crowd with his microphone and dancing. He’s very good at that and I just know what to do while he’s walking around the stage and trying to hype the crowd. It sounds a bit cliché but we’re almost a married couple.

Steve – DJs, colleagues, partners, but also lovers

Lucas – Hahaha

Q: This year we’ve seen a lot of big back 2 back sets. Are there any artists out there that you really want to do a back 2 back set with?

A: Steve – We did a small back 2 back with Tiesto which was sick. I would love to do that for 90 minutes or something. Maybe with Martin Garrix would be nice because he’s always very energetic. He knows how to get the crowd going. Love his shows. Also, something would be nice with a legend like Carl Cox or something that would be sick like very housey, techno, tech house set would be sick.

Lucas – And just play entirely different stuff, could all be interesting.

Keep an eye on Lucas & Steve’s socials for the release of the rest of ‘Making Melodies’:

Instagram

Facebook

X

Spotify

You can check out our other articles on Lucas & Steve through the link below:

Lucas & Steve Articles

DJ SHARE (Sharon Pieksma) is never far from a dance floor, always on the go bouncing between gigs and festivals.

But we managed to steal a few minutes with her! In this super quick catch-up, we threw a few fun questions her way to get to know the woman behind the decks.

Can you tell us a bit about your musical journey? Did you start out in the organic house direction, or has your style evolved over time?
Actually, I started out playing deep tech and minimal. That was the sound that first got me booked at clubs in Rotterdam where I’m from, and across the Netherlands. One of the biggest turning points for me was Burning Man. It completely changed how I connect to music. The experience there opened me up to more organic sounds, deeper, more emotive, more layered, and that’s when my style really started to evolve in that direction.

What’s funny is that I’ve recently started mixing some of that older deep tech and minimal music back into my current sets, which has been a fun full-circle moment.

Which of your own produced tracks has a special meaning to you?
A track that’s particularly close to my heart is “Moon.” It stands out from my other productions because it has a deeper, more introspective feel. The whole process was super organic, because I wasn’t overthinking it, it just flowed. I even used my own voice in the track, which made it feel really intimate and honest. The message, “reach for the light, reach for the moon,” is simple but powerful.

What’s the longest set you’ve ever played and how long did it end up being?
That would be a 16-hour set I played at a private event in Moscow, definitely the longest I’ve ever done! It wasn’t planned at all… I think I was originally meant to play maybe four to six hours. But the vibe was just so good, the energy kept flowing, and I somehow ended up behind the decks for a full 16 hours.

It turned into a real journey, not just for the crowd, but for me too. I went through so many different styles and moods, I’m pretty sure I played through my entire USB, including some deep tech tracks from way back in the day. It was intense, but also so much fun.

And yes, there were definitely a few moments where I’d put on a long track, run off to grab a bite, or even just walk around and soak in the energy before jumping back into the mix. It was wild… but in the best way.

DJ SHARE

If you were forced somehow to switch jobs and not be a DJ anymore, what do you think you’d be doing instead?

Wow, that’s a tough one. I feel so deeply connected to music, it’s hard to imagine doing anything else. Music makes me genuinely happy. I listen to it and dig for new tracks literally every day, so I think I’d still stay close to it somehow.

Maybe I’d become a guitarist and focus more on live music… or I’d dive more into organising retreats. I really love the idea of creating meaningful, mindful experiences for people, though I see that more as a passion than a full-time job. Either way, it would have to be something that feeds the soul.

If you were kidnapped and locked in a room with just one song playing on repeat, which one would you want it to be?

What a scenario! But okay, if I had to choose, I’d probably go with something calming and timeless. I don’t always listen to electronic music; I really love more downtempo, dreamy stuff that helps me unwind or gets me inspired.

Something by Thievery Corporation would be high on the list. Their blend of mellow, reggae-influenced sounds always feels full of love and light. But if I had to pick just one track… I think it would be “Porcelain” by Moby. It’s been with me for so long, and I never get tired of it. It has this beautiful calming effect, slowing my mind down in the best way. I could definitely survive on that one.

Connect with SHARE on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/share.musica/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/sharedj/tracks

Chilsta, Durban-Born DJ & Producer, spoke with EDM House Network about pushing Afro House to the global stage.

Chilsta, a Producer and DJ, channels layered intention into his craft, bringing a confident determination to his place within the Electronic Music landscape. Born and raised in Durban, South Africa, his early immersion in House music sparked not only a deep personal connection to the genre but also a commitment to shaping his own artistic path within it. Drawing on the rich heritage of his African roots, Chilsta has worked to refine a sonic identity that feels both authentic and forward-facing, weaving his rich tapestry of influences to create a sound distinctly his own.

We caught up with Chilsta to unpack the moments that shaped him, the inspirations that continue to drive him, and his vision for his journey moving forward. 

Hi Chilsta! How are you? Thanks for joining us.  

Hi there. I’m doing very well. Thanks for having me! 

Let’s start at the beginning – what first sparked your interest in Electronic Music, and how did your journey as an artist begin to take shape? 

As a kid, my father was a massive House head, and at the time, South Africa was going through its very own House renaissance period. My father would play a lot of House music on road trips, including a lot of mix compilations from record labels like Soul Candi. So, House music was pretty much the norm of my childhood. 

Was there a specific track, moment, or live set that you look back on as the turning point — the thing that made you realise this was the path you wanted to follow? 

At 12 years old (in 2010), my best friend and I would listen to Deadmau5 and Kaskade. It was the track, ‘I Remember,’ which got me hooked onto Electronic Music and its culture. That was when I knew I wanted to be a DJ. I became obsessed with the sound synthesis from Electronic Music, and I’d always be looking at other music Producers at the time. I would introduce my other classmates to this music. At the time, a lot of it was the early Dubstep producers, think of guys like Modestep, Master P, Benga and Skrillex.

How would you define your sound? 

High energy, melodic and unapologetically African with raw textures from Techno. 

What was the process behind developing your sonic identity — was it something intentional, drawing from specific influences, or did it evolve more organically over time?

I was in a DJ duo with my best friend as a teenager, where we would play Progressive House, Bigroom and sometimes Trance. I was an obsessive listener of Trance and the A State of Trance radio show from Armin Van Buuren. Then I started exploring other genres, like Techno, where I was inspired by the groove of DJs like Nicole Moudaber, watching her 2012 Tomorrowland set, which made me explore other parts of underground Electronic Music.  

I then moved to Shanghai as a student, where I was studying International Economics and Trade. I compared the club scene and infrastructure from back home to the city and realized that it was possible to live my Electronic Music dream. Then, I doubled down and produced music that was inspiring me in the scene, from Techno and House, but I wanted to merge it with my own roots from back home. I guess I was missing home and wanted to connect with my own South African heritage. South Africa has always had its own distinct sounds of Electronic Dance Music. 

Are there any artists — whether from Electronic Music or beyond — who’ve had a lasting influence on your sound or creative mindset? 

Armin Van Buuren, Black Coffee, Kaskade, Deadmau5, Carl Cox and Sasha. 

Do you remember the first time you performed your music in front of a crowd? What impact did that moment have on you? 

It felt amazing to watch the crowd react to my music. Music was something I did for fun, but I was obsessed with it, and it took me a long time to have professional, clean-sounding records. So, it really shaped my perception of what’s possible if you work hard and show your love to the music. 

Tell us about your local scene growing up — how did that environment influence your style and development as a Producer or DJ? 

Growing up as a DJ, I think that my city, Durban, South Africa, had a healthy Electronic Music scene, but the scale of nightlife was not as large as other cities like maybe Johannesburg and Cape Town. That was not a disadvantage though. I think the city produced many world-class acts, because we had to put in the hours in the studio more than we were DJing. So, it kept me very focused on music production to try and reach more opportunities. 

How has your relationship with music changed over the years — not just in how you make it, but in how you listen to and connect with it personally? 

I still try to take a beginner’s approach to music. That is, to understand that there are no rules to music, just the feeling of it. Therefore, I trust my taste because I love different types of music, and I understand the history behind it because I am first a music fan and lover, then a DJ/Producer. 

Looking ahead, what are you hoping to explore or achieve over the next five years in your musical journey?  

I’d like to be playing large-scale nightclubs, venues and festivals around the world, where I push the Afro House sound for bigger stages in my own way, drawing in influences from other scenes, with a strong focus on unique and energetic, pulsating, sound design elements. 

As Chilsta continues to carve out his space within the evolving Electronic Music landscape, his passion for both his craft and the global scene remains evident. By honouring his roots while embracing new influences that drive his sound forward, he is building a sonic world that captures his vision and hints at the promising path ahead. So, an Artist in motion, be sure to take note of Chilsta and follow him across social media for the latest updates and news.

Chilsta Online

Spotify | Instagram | Soundcloud