If Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade, the debut album from Italian producer Riva Starr, is being readied for a January 2010 release.
Stefano Miele's maximal club-facing output under his Riva Starr moniker has found a home at the likes of Dirtybird, Southern Fried and Kindisch over the past couple of years, but it will be with Jesse Rose's Made To Play imprint that the producer hangs his album hat. A two-track LP sampler was put out this week in preparation for the release, which included the album's opening track "I Was Drunk", recorded alongside French booze-quaffing duo Noze, and the similarly sample-based "Black Cat, White Cat." We grabbed Miele to scratch the surface of his relationship with Made To Play, and to fill us in on exactly what we should expect from If Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade.
Was the record finished before Made To Play signed it, or did you produce it especially for them?
Actually I had almost 40 tunes to choose from, then me and Jesse Rose decided the final tracklist. I then put some extra tweaks on some tunes, so I've still got 29 tunes to release after my album [laughs].
Have you gone for a full-on dance floor album, or is it a more diverse ride than that?
It's a bit diverse. You can find some hyphy and grime house tunes (with a fantastic MC called TRIM), or some breaks (I used to produce it), and some funny surprises. I think that it's very eclectic, but it really reflects my style, so I m well happy with it!
Did the label have any input with the final mixes?
As I said, I had a few meetings with Jesse (I've done a track with him as well for the album), where he gave me some suggestions, but in general they left me free to express myself on this LP. After all, Made To Play and Dirtybird were the first labels to believe in my sound, releasing my first EP Thizzle/China Gum.
Tracklist
01. I Was Drunk
02. China Gum
03. Bulgarian Chicks
04. Dance Me
05. Black Mama
06. Black Cat, White Cat
07. Once Upon
08. Maria
09. Caballeros
10. Riva's Boogaloo
11. Tribute
Made To Play will release Riva Starr's If Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade on January 25th 2010.
