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Name: Stefano Miele aka Riva Starr

Nationality: Italian

Occupation: Producer, DJ
Current Release: Riva Starr teams up with Todd Terry for This Is The Sound, out via Hot Creations.

If you enjoyed this interview with Riva Starr and would like to stay up to date on his music and releases, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, twitter, and Soundcloud.

Over the course of his career, Riva Starr has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Tiger Stripes, Pete Tong, DJ Sneak, and Mark Broom.

[Read our Tiger Stripes interview]
[Read our Pete Tong interview]
[Read our DJ Sneak interview]
[Read our Mark Broom interview]

Hot Creations · Riva Starr X Todd Terry - This Is The Sound


Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

Inspiration comes from everything around me really, or sometimes simply the need to create something with a certain vibe that I feel is missing in my DJ sets.

Art plays an important role as well, I love checking exhibitions and researching about the work ethos of the artists and art movements.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

I’d say I only plan for the remixes (as there is a certain deadline).

Otherwise I just play with sounds and explore different directions. :)

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

Nah I just roll with it. I’m usually very fast in the studio. But sometimes you have the odd tune that requires a lot of time (like the remix i did for Groovejet that took me more than 3 weeks to finish … including the musicians sessions and the strings recording, but that was a very complex work).

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

No coffee no party. :)

What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?

No rules here, sometimes a loop or sometimes a nice vocal or even a bass sound. Everything works to start rollin’.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control over the process or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

I’d say 50/50. Then again, every track is different and has its own story  /process …

I never follow any rule ... just try to have fun with it.

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

I have a folder of unfinished ideas that I open every now and then … sometimes it’s good to start something and put it on the side for a minute. It happens quite often to me.

Some of my best tunes have been in that folder for a minute before I would complete them.

Especially in the digital age, the writing and production process tends towards the infinite. What marks the end of the process? How do you finish a work?

Oh man if you don’t decide to put a dot to your work you’ll never finish one single tune. Same story for an album … I’ve done four so far as Riva and it’s always a big fight to myself to decide when it’s completed or not!

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

When I decide it’s finished and it works in the clubs it’s a wrap. I don’t usually touch it anymore … I get used to the sound of the mix (even if it has flaws) and then it’s complicated to retouch it at a later stage.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? How involved do you get in this?

Crucial along with choosing the right sounds. Too many people underestimate the importance of a good mix and mastering.

We do this as part of the A&R process at my label SNATCH! Records too ... many tunes have been improved with a better professional mix and mastering.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

Not really, I go through creativity phases … every now and then I struggle but after so many years I know that it happens because I’m tired of what I have been producing or what I hear around in the club and then I hardly look for the next inspirational path.

It’s a necessary evil phase.