Stefano Ritteri Interview – Dance Commander
With two decades of music making, some of the biggest labels in underground dance music in his rear-view mirror and a new label on the horizon, Declan McGlynn speaks with the London-based Italian producer Stefano Ritteri to talk individuality, the next generation and why Behringer might change the world… As we wander up the stairs […]
With two decades of music making, some of the biggest labels in underground dance music in his rear-view mirror and a new label on the horizon, Declan McGlynn speaks with the London-based Italian producer Stefano Ritteri to talk individuality, the next generation and why Behringer might change the world…
As we wander up the stairs to Stefano Ritteri’s East London home where his studio is based, we interrupt a planning session. The artwork and logos for his new label Viaggio are being analysed; Stefano sits back, head tilted, adjudicating on the latest in a long string of revisions. “When you invest in vinyl, you’re spending a lot of money even before the record comes out,” he explains. “On the artwork, on the mastering, pressing the records – anyone jumping into the world of vinyl, they have to be a lot more committed.”
Ritteri has gone through his fair share of changes. Originally releasing records on labels like Dirtybird, Lapsus and Kling Klong as Solo, he dropped the moniker in 2013 in favour of his own name. Since, he’s meandered through sounds and styles; decorating his discography with releases on Catz ‘n Dogz’ PETS Recordings, Defected and, more recently, A Different Happiness, his EP on Freerange Records. It was a release that signified another shift in sonics for Stefano, toward a more “wonky” approach. “It was kind of me testing the waters to see what people might think. In your head, you can be somewhere musically, but you have to see if people get it.”
The Behringer revolution
“I think what Behringer are doing now with their new products is going to change music production forever. Over the past few years, I bought some pedals and I even had a converter from Behringer that sounded very similar to my RME. I bought the DeepMind not knowing what to expect and it was really interesting. I remember when Uli Behringer himself announced they were going to start making synths, there were thousands of knee-jerk hate comments, and now on that same forum, he’s still posting asking what people want.