Riva Starr - Starr Treatment
Playing onelove at Tank, Riva Starr talks to 3D’s Cyclone about producing, shifting genre allegiances and missing the taste of a damn fine cup of Italian coffee.
The superstar DJ must have an immunity to homesickness. It can be tough. Riva Starr, AKA Stefano Miele, loves his adopted home of London, but he misses the coffee in his native Italy.
"It's been two years now," he says of his relocation. "I was living in Naples, Italy, but I decided to move because I wanted to go ahead with music and take a step forward. Italy is not exactly the best place if you wanna make a certain kind of music in a certain way. After all, London is a golden city because you can find every kind of music and all the musicians and people from all around the world. I just decided to move to change my life a bit."
Known for his Beatport smash La Conga on Claude VonStroke's Dirtybird, ‘Riva Starr' is a spawn of the blog era, as with his Italian compatriots Crookers. However, Miele - his friends call him Stef - isn't a newcomer. Before conceiving Riva Starr, he was producing Italian breaks as Madox. Miele launched Riva Starr around the very time he went to London and it's to this that he now attributes his elevated profile. Nevertheless, he hasn't forgotten his hometown. "In fact, sometimes when I need musicians, I just fly back to Naples and have recording sessions with them, they are so good."
Miele describes the Riva Starr sound today as "quite techy" - he grew "bored" of electro - but he's affiliated with the fidget house posse. He issued the Thizzle EP on Jesse Rose's Frontroom and, more recently, has released music on Made To Play. Miele has other elite connections. Aside from Dirtybird, he's also had music out on Southern Fried and the Get Physical offshoot Kindisch. He's in the throes of starting his own stable, Snatch!.
Miele is especially enamoured of world music. "I actually love to listen to a lot of ethnic music, but I used to listen to jazz and progressive rock and hip hop and whatever. I like to listen to ethnic music because I think that it's a really 'true' music - that's why you can find some influences in my tracks." He's even developing side-projects on the trip hop tip.
As Riva Starr, Miele will soon present an album on Made To Play. "Jesse [Rose] offered me the chance to express myself fully." He's collaborated with Rose as well as Noze (Get Physical's "crazy gypsy duo from Paris"). Miele is anticipating his return to Australia this month. (Ironically, he first toured here as Madox.) We have something London doesn't. "There was really good coffee, which is quite important for me!"
WHO: Riva Starr
WHAT: Plays onelove at Tank
WHEN: Saturday 30 May
MORE: myspace.com/rivastarr / onelove.com.au