After taking an eight-year hiatus in the 2000s, Pulp returned for a tour in 2011-2012. However, even if the reunion had lasted beyond the tour, Steve Mackey was by then a busy freelance record producer and remixer. He worked on Florence + the Machine’s debut album, Lungs, Arcade Fire’s 2017 album Everything Now, and MIA’s Kala (2007) and Arular (2005) albums as a producer and/or writer. Steve Mackey’s extensive remixing credits include Kelis’s Bossy (2006) and Cornershop’s Topknot (2009).
Despite his busy schedule, Steve Mackey remained close with Jarvis Cocker, and the two collaborated on a DJ event called Dancefloor Meditations. The event was an attempt to combine a guided meditation class with a nightclub experience, and it was staged at festivals and the 2017 Frieze Art Fair. However, this was their last significant collaboration. In October 2022, Pulp announced tour dates for summer 2023, but Mackey revealed that he was not involved.
“I’ve decided to continue the work I’m engaged in – music, film-making and photography projects, and will not be joining them,” he wrote on Instagram.
