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“I come from Naples, the city where if a black cat crosses your path, you have to wait for someone else to walk that way first. But I don’t believe in that shit, I’m convinced that you build your own life with your choices, good or bad. Then sometimes fate can help you.”

That London based Italian producer Stefano Miele has taken charge of his destiny is immediately apparent from a cursory glance at his musical CV.  Labouring in relative obscurity for the first seven years (during which he released two albums and thrived for a period in the breaks scene) he found near instant success when he reinvented himself as Riva Starr three years ago, courtesy of the blogs and more importantly via the sheer quality of his music.

Giving away infectiously club friendly electro house stormers (and a few mash-ups along the way) on the blogs he rapidly built up an online fanbase which soon included the likes of uber-hot tastemaker DJs Jesse Rose and Claude Von Stroke, both of whom released his tracks.

“I would say they were both absolutely crucial to my career,” says Stefan, paying tribute to their support.

“I moved to house because of their tunes,” he continues, “I believe they are on top of their game and they really help upcoming prodicers to develop their sound and move forwards. I’m really happy to be part of the family.”

That he’s close to Jesse Rose in particular, is confirmed by the fact that Rose’s uber-hot Berlin house label Made To Play is releasing his new Riva Starr album ‘If Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade’ next month, plus first single from the album Dance Me.  While the single’s a straight up Berghain style club track (remixed to perfection by Made 2 Play’s in-house engineer Oliver $) the album is considerably more eclectic, reflecting the fact he viewed it differently from stringing together a bunch of club tracks, says Stefano.

“Making the album was definitely more complicated than arriving at the studio, smoking a couple of joints and write down a bangin’ loop for da’ club,” he smiles.

“I tried to make it interesting and full of variety while still reflecting my musical taste. If anyone thinks that I put all those influences in there because I wanted to please the audience then they’re wrong; I just like it like that.”

Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): It’s more than 10 years since you started producing then you had very quick sudden success: how much did you change you tactics or approach?

Riva Starr: “I’ve always been doing things that I like and feel, with no plans and no tactics. I believe that it’s really important to do what you feel and do it in the best way possible.”

Skrufff: Your album press release describes how you became big on the blogs’, how did you first connect with the key ones?

Riva Starr: “I actually went through a list of the major bloggers with the help of my friends Zombie Disco Squad. They were actively working with blogs at the time. Then I started to send over tunes. It has been love at first sight. I believe it’s really important to tell people that they can have something for free but that they must buy some of the stuff you release as well, otherwise game over.”

Skrufff: How much do you still use the blogs for checking talents/finding ideas etc?

Riva Starr: “Every once in a while I still do. Though nowadays I get sent a lot of demos so it’s easier to me to find some fresh talent for my label.”

Skrufff: Is it true Tiesto is a fan? Have you met and are you a fan of his?

Riva Starr: “He is playing a few of my tunes, which is quite strange to me as I don’t have a trance sound or even trance influences. But he’s got a huge fan base and I’m getting attention from a lot of people thanks to his plays on his radio show. I haven’t met him yet.”

Skrufff: How ambitious are you for Tiesto level success?

Riva Starr: “I’m not really, it looks too hard to me. I’m a hard worker but I like to take it easy sometimes. At that level I don’t think you even have time to eat.”

Skrufff: Growing up in Napoli: a famously rough and dangerous city: how much were you affected by this as a teenager?

It’s definitely not an easy city. But that doesn’t mean it’s that dangerous… Sometimes the media tend to exaggerate the news in order to appeal more to people. I love my city… We’ve got a lot of problems to fix (in Italy in general) but I really believe that there’s a lot of talent over there and that at some point it will come out again.

Skrufff: You’re nowadays based in London, how easy was it to settle in? how much was the temptation to only hang out with Italians?

Riva Starr: “Hehe, not easy at the beginning. I started from scratch with a new project so you can imagine how hard it has been. But after three years of hard work it’s finally starting to pay off. There’s lots of after-parties and weeks spent in the studio. All good though! I’ve got a lot of different nationality friends. Italians are everywhere these days.”

Skrufff: On your biog you say ““…I’m usually a safe guy – but if u touch my knobs you can expect me to crack your skull open…” (Riva Starr – drunk mode – Brick Lane, 2003): when was the last time you had a fight? (When, where, what happened: did you win?)

Riva Starr: “I was 12… There was a guy that wanted to steal my bike. I kicked him in the balls and ran away, I don’t know who won. My balls are still working though.”

Skrufff: How difficult is it handling competition from other DJs and jealousy? Do you ever encounter rival DJs trying to trip you up?

Riva Starr: “There are a few that don’t really know about fair play. But I don’t give a shit. I keep doing my own thang. In life you must have style I believe,  that’s what wins.”

Skrufff: Coming from the breaks scene: seems like the scene suddenly died with all the main players switching genres: what happened: when did you first notice problems?

Riva Starr: “Breakbeat is like every other genre of music. There was a lot of ideas in there, fresh music, tons of good producers, then the sharks arrive and everything gets fucked. And then we start from scratch again wherever inspiration drives you.”

Skrufff: What advice would you offer someone wanting to break themselves using the same tactics as you: where should they start?

Riva Starr: “Get a good pusher! I can only suggest that you find your own style. That will make you recognizable among thousands. Just release what you really feel and never try to please everyone.”

‘If Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade’ is out shortly on Made 2 Play Records.

http://www.rivastarr.com

Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)

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