The Miami main man making the dancefloor Dance or Die! The new album is out
Welcome back to DMCWORLD Robbie. Your massive ‘Dance Or Die’ album is out now, you claim this is your best work yet that you started writing in Ibiza and concluded in Miami. Did the two completely different environments have a big influence on different parts of the album?
“Yes, I’ve been working on this album for over a year. I start it in Ibiza and finished in Miami. I did a lot of the work in hotels and on airplanes. My influence really comes from my fans and the weekly parties, so I dont think the location of Ibiza or Miami had much relevance in that.”
You have some wonderful chart topping vocalists guesting on the long player. Blake Lewis for instance who is on fire at the moment, he nearly scooped American Idol 6 right? What are his qualities?
“Blake is great. Not only is he very talented singer and songwriter; he is a very cool guy. I like his really like voice and plan on working with him more in the future. My wife Monca actually wrote the lyrics with him, so we all might get together again and do another tune soon.”
Another superb singer on ‘Dance or Die’ is Lizzie Curious. We know her from Hed Kandi and The Curiosity Club – you say that “she is the easiest singer / songwriter I have ever worked with.” Tell us more…
“Lizzie is fast and professional. It’s not easy to find singer/songwriters like this. She is a DJ as well and knows what is hot at the moments which is a huge help.”
Sue Cho is also encamped amounts these superb singers. Sue has real diversity – a classically trained pianist yet at the same time laying down vocals on tracks that the likes of Tiesto spin…
“Yes, working with Sue was a great experience. We were all at Tommy Lee’s studio and she wrote the vocals in like 10 minutes. I was amazed! We all had a great time working together.”
The fabulous Wynter Gordon also appears, a young lady who had a real tough time in her childhood in South Jamaica but emerged one of the most beautiful gospel voices in music. She must have been a dream to work with…
“Yes, Wynter Gordon is so talented and has worked with many big names in the biz. It’s the most pop track on the album and has gotten a lot of blog posts from the original mix and has been doing very well on beatport. We are preparing a cool remix package for this and just wrapped up the music video which I am very excited about releasing in the upcoming weeks.”
You say that you have road tested every single tune before release, what are the BIG dancefloor tracks?
“‘Forever Young’ is definitely the biggest crowd pleaser. ‘Dance Your Ass Off’ shakes a lot heads, ‘Starlight’ is a festival contender with the MUSE piano sample. The Blake Lewis track and Wynter Gordon track are doing great on the radio mix shows and creating a lot of buzz.”
What is your own personal favourite tune from the album?
“I’d have to say my favorite would have to be, ‘Forever Young’. It just has a lot of emotion, infectious energy and killer drums!”
Why do you claim that this is your best work yet?
“I spent more time on this album then anything else I have done in the past and listened and fixed everything over and over till I felt it was perfect!”
You have just finished your Dance or Die North American Bus Tour’. What was that like on the road, where were the highlights? Where surprised you?
“The bus tour was one of the best experiences. We started on the west coast in Chico, CA, made our way down the coast, and moved east. We covered 28 cities in 35 days, including places I had never been to before like Madison, WI and Bloomington, IN. It was very fast paced as well, jumping on a bus after the gig and going to next city, not to mention staying in 28 different hotels, truck stops, bad food, big clubs, small tiny bars. We really did it all! Highlights were hanging on the bus with the crew. I was really surprised how much work it takes to prepare a bus tour and how stressful it got towards the end of the tour. Now I understand why rock stars go crazy with alcohol and drugs. I did a one month tour; some bands are on the road for 6 months! I just cant imagine!”
You had company on the road in the form of Bassjackers and up and coming house producers Peace Treaty – why were these picked in particular?
“BassJackers have been on my radar for a while and have done a few remixes for me in the past as well as being on juicy beach. I have been a fan of PeaceTreaty’s music and it worked out as my agency brought them to me.”
What is your current top 10 you are spinning?
1. Robbie Rivera-Forever Young-Black Hole
2. Sander Van Doorn-nothng inside
3. Dero & Rivera-Moocher-Juicy Music
4. Avicci vs Lenny Kravitz-superlove-bigbeat
5. Robbie Rivera & Tocadisco-my techno-Black Hole
6. Danny Howard-Adagio for strings-songbird
7. Rony Siekely-Milf-Robbie Rivera mix-Juicy Music
8. Robbie Rivera feat. Wynter Gordon-in the morning-black hole
9. Eric Prydz-SW4
10. Tiesto & Mark Knight-Beautiful World-Laidback Luke-Toolroom
What tune from the album do you think is perfect for Ibiza?
“‘It’s A Feeling’ featuring Lizzie Curious.”
Will you be appearing at any big festivals this summer?
“I’ll be at 7th Sunday Festival in The Netherlands this coming weekend (May 27), Dance Valley, Sunrise Festival in Poland, and one of my own which is still a secret…”
And finally – what is the plan once the summer is over studio wise?
“I’ll definitely be hitting the studio and lots more touring!”
‘Dance or Die’ album links:
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dance-or-die-album-bonus-tracks/id523078791
Beatport: http://www.beatport.com/release/dance-or-die-the-album/906073
http://www.robbierivera.com
http://www.juicymusic.net
http://dj.beatport.com/robbierivera
Robbie Rivera was caputured on film by Danny Mahoney and Andres Hernandez
