Riva Starr on his bold new record Keep Me on the Dancefloor, club culture and working with Norman Cook…
“I love a challenge and prefer not to sit in my comfort zone,” says producer Stefano Miele, more widely known as Riva Starr. “I’m always looking for a way to step my productions up and push myself – otherwise making music just feels like a job.”
Eclecticism is certainly a core strain in Stefano’s sound – whether it’s in his huge discography or thumping club sets, the Italian, now London-based artist is always striving to keep things moving. Since emerging as an esteemed producer and selector during the nineties in his native Napoli, he’s become known for big hits – ‘I was Drunk’ and his ‘Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat’ collaboration with Norman Cook – but his latest release, album ‘Keep Me on the Dancefloor’, aims at something more timeless, flitting between disco, funk, filtered house and more. It features weighty collaborations with Chromeo, Flight Facilities and Harry Stone.
“I’m fascinated by songwriting and how lyrics can connect with people on a different level compared to what I’ve done before with simple DJ tools,” he says. “Lyrics can touch points of the soul that you don’t even know exist, you might have forgotten about. It’s like a perfume, even when you haven’t smelled that smell for years, it can take you back. Music can behave in the same way, opening up these windows to past life-changing experiences.”
Stefano’s first dalliances with music came as a teenager when he requested a Commodore 64 in his native Napoli. Rather than getting him a computer, his parents instead opted to purchase him a hi-fi tower with turntables, radio and tape deck. The world of gaming’s loss was music’s gain – and Stefano started buying records in earnest.
“In Napoli, there was a great club called Kiss and they would do live broadcasts,” he recalls. “When the DJ would play live sets, I’d be exposed to people’s vibes around the club and it just opened up this whole menagerie of beautiful things in my mind.”
Naples has always had a great club scene, with amazing house and techno parties exposing Stefano to some of the world’s best DJs and producers. Masters at Work, Frankie Knuckles, Dave Clarke, The Advent, and Jeff Mills were among the international guests who would play alongside emerging local DJs. Stefano’s own DJing and production skills spanned various genres as he kept his musical mojo inspired by as much music as he could hear, dance to and dig up.
“We had such a healthy scene and new local talents that were flourishing too,” he says. “I was always the black sheep – when everyone was playing house and techno, I started with hip-hop, drum and bass, then I began playing breakbeat and started flying to London every few weeks to buy records, then bring them back to play in Napoli – this felt very upfront at the time.”
Stefano’s sound has continually evolved from chunky breaks to fidget house, bass music and back again. He played out and produced as Madox on Fingerlickin’ and Mantra Breaks while his tune, ‘I Was Drunk’, marked a career high back in 2010 and saw him championed by Claude Von Stroke and Jessy Rose. But with his music darting in and out of fashion, Stefano sees his reluctance to be pinned down to a single style as something that has both confused listeners and sustained him. Keep Me On The Dancefloor is a bold record made to showcase every part of what makes him tick as a creative and DJ.
“The international scene knew me from ‘I Was Drunk’, then I did a song-based album in 2013 [‘If Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade’] but it really bewildered people,” he says. “When I started to write songs for this project again as Riva Starr, it’s because I had found a path into more song-based production. I’m always aiming to write music that can work in the club but can be listened to at home or in the car – my work is an ongoing study to achieve the perfect balance between the two.”
The new record started coming to life during the lockdowns of the Covid pandemic. With the clubs closed and a lack of dancefloors for Stefano to be kept on, he turned towards a more song-based approach, meeting singer and songwriter Harry Stone who features across the album as a vocalist and topliner.
“I see the record as a real evolution of my style and it’s nice to be able to direct people on a journey deeper into my world,” he says. “I’ve always listened to different artists and styles of music, everything from early Genesis and Yes, Yardbirds to Fleetwood Mac to the dance music I’m known for. I wanted this album to showcase everything I’ve loved over the years.”
Much of the album was made at his studio in Shoreditch with Stefano adopting a fearless approach with his songwriting and creative partnerships. He sees a key part of the production process as being prepared to fail so you can reach forward to the next idea.
“You have to be ready for it not to work out,” he laughs. “Only a small percentage of music from recording sessions with most artists ever sees the light of day and it’s important to realise this. I feel like I’m still at primary school in terms of songwriting but what I’ve learned is that most of the job must be done before entering the studio. You need to have a clear direction of what you want to achieve – then choose the right partners, select the right team around you.”
While his new record is imminent and features plenty to get excited by including the classy ‘It Feels Much Better’ and low-slung bass of ‘Chasing Thrills’, Stefano’s collaboration with techno titan Mark Broom as Star B has been a Juno favourite. It’s a jewel in the crown of a lengthy canon of music released for labels including his own Snatch! Records alongside Hot Creations, Defected, Made to Play and many more.
“Mark is amazing, he’s always been on my radar and he seemed like a great choice for a track I couldn’t complete,” Stefano says. “I thought it was super strong but needed an extra set of eyes and ears to finish it up. I sent it to him, the Star Kid project was born, the sound was a nice mixture of our styles, and was an instant hit when we released it.”
As with many producers, Norman Cook and his multiple aliases as Beats International and Pizzaman have also been favourites with Stefano. When he moved to London, he provided Riva Starr rewirings of ‘Praise You’ and ‘The Rockafeller Skank’ which led him to meeting and working with his hero.
“We hooked up and made a record called ‘Get Naked’ with Beardyman, I did my own hit and suddenly everyone had eyes on me,” he says. “We went on to make ‘Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat’, everyone including their mum’s played it and we’ve been friends ever since.”
With clubs seemingly under more pressure than ever before (400 UK venues have closed in the last five years, according to gloomy reports), the title of Stefano’s new record engages with many of the discussions taking place on how to keep nightlife alive. According to Stefano, it is a challenge to DJs and promoters to keep him excited by parties and events.
“The problems are with those who have chosen to keep things safe, offering the same experiences without taking risks,” he says. “Everything becomes stale and this is why the record is called ‘Keep Me On the Dancefloor’. I want a party or DJ to give me a reason to be there. I need more right now – exciting, quality music that takes me to a different level where I can mix with like-minded people.”
Elsewhere, there have been concerns expressed about Covid creating a lost-generation of dancers, inexperienced in the ways of going out. But Stefano is more optimistic. The appetite is there, just more efforts must be made to make it enticing.
“Younger clubbers are definitely up for it – but club spaces need to be reimagined,” he says. “I love smaller parties, the idea of raves in unconventional places, I jump at the chance to play in the back of restaurants, in old karaoke haunts, historical buildings, those are the things that get me excited. If you offer something different from a space or a place, then that’s when magic happens.”
With the record now imminent, the rest of the year promises DJ sets and more music, even an exhibition featuring some of the eye-catching work of David Shillinglaw which adorns the forthcoming releases. Whatever happens, Stefano’s career and success is testament to standing your ground and creating your own way.
“It’s tough to break through for new producers,” he says. “But if you try to follow trends, you’ll always be behind, trends move faster than you’ll ever be able to. You have to stick to your passions, that’s the only way to stay true to yourself. ”
Jim Ottewill
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