Released through Jesse Roses' Made To Play label the debut album of Riva Starr is an exercise in functional music for the 21st century, with the obligatory curve ball or two along the way. Hailing from Naples Riva Starr, aka Stefano Miele, has unsurprisingly been courted by the nu-skool house elite, including Claude VonStroke, over the last couple of years with a sound that perfectly nails the electronic house tastes of the masses .
Dance music by its very nature is functional and what is in the mainstream tends to go in cycles. We've had so much dance music recently that fits in to boxes such as bass heavy club music with 'local' samples, that much of If Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade left me feeling, well, not exactly inspired... Perhaps the album format is not the right medium for Riva Starr's message - A Funktion One system in a cavernous warehouse filled with 20 somethings is perhaps more suitable. However that is not to say that Miele has crafted a bad album.
A brooding reworking of the Lafayette Afro-Rock Band's 'Darkest Light' (which has re-appeared in many guises over the years) is one of the highlights - simply known as 'Black Mama', it's restrained groove and solid beat mark it apart from much of the rest of the album. 'In Naples' is also fantastic, working a Theremin and a familiar sounding sample around a skittish playful beat which I enjoyed a lot.
Solidly produced and sure to be purchased in droves, there is not a lot here to dislike if you are a fan of any of the nu-skool house producers. If however your tastes are little broader, or deeper, you may struggle to fully engage.
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