Riva Starr first burst onto the scene a couple of years back, exposing us all to his twisted, jackin’ beats and overt fondness for a trumpet or two. Now a year into manning the helm of his own label and widely recognised as one of the busiest DJs on the scene, Riva shows no signs of slowing down. We caught up with the Italian DJ and producer to discuss his relationship with some of the scene’s biggest players, how to handle the challenges of label ownership and his love of grotesque videos…

How has your life changed over the last year or so?

Quite a bit! I have DJed at almost 200 hundred gigs in the past 12 months plus I have been working on a lot of new productions and remixes. I also have my Snatch label which has just hit its first anniversary, so everything has been pretty hectic. But it’s all good...that’s the way I like it.

Is house music still a big youth culture sound over in Italy?

Of course, house is actually bigger than ever in Italy and we are working hard to push it big time as well. I’m actually working on collaborations with Italian crossover artists like Sud Sound System, Roy Paci and Subsonica so I can push the house sound even further through some different crossover channels. Wish me luck!

It’s been a year now since you started your label Snatch…what have you learned along the way?

Well, running a label is a hard job but also good fun. Of course I’ve made some mistakes along the way but I’ve also learnt a lot in terms of scheduling, promotion and stuff. I would also have to thank my crew for helping me push things forward and so far I’m really pleased with the general feedback. There are plenty of cool acts scheduled for release over the next months from the likes of Butch, DJ Sneak, Pirupa, John Made, Santos, Ramon Tapia, Jet Project, Pablo Rez etc...So keep an eye on SNATCH!

You work closely with Jesse Rose, will you be putting anything further out on his Label 'Made to Play'?

Yes we are planning a few releases with my alter ego Starr Traxx. It’s a DJ tool project. Not pretentious...just banging grooves and fat basslines.

Pete Tong has chosen you to mix one side of his new compilation Future underground. What is your relationship like with Pete and how does it feel to be working with such a global legend?

I love Pete and I feel very honoured to work with him on this project. I know he’s been feeling my latest work and most of Snatch’s releases and we’ve also DJed at a few parties like the Warehouse project and it worked really well. I think this compilation is a very well balanced showcase of what we play in the club.

You love a grotesque video or two…do you make all your own videos for tracks?

Usually I make the videos for my tunes by myself (the unofficial ones) but I also have some other people doing videos for the label as well. I’m quite happy that the crew is growing nicely. As things become more hectic I can’t keep doing everything by myself so it’s good to have an expert hand to help.

What can you tell me about your record selections on this mix?

Well, it’s basically an all-Starrs selection. I can’t really pick out individual tunes as every one of them is a dancefloor smasher in their own way. There are some Snatch tracks, some tracks from the producers I respect on the scene, that kind of thing. Easy.

There are a couple of tracks by Cajmere aka Green Velvet – including your remix of Percolator…

Yep, we are good friends and I was really happy when he asked me to remix such a classic tune. He’s a legend and I did my best to make the best remix possible. I’m very happy with it and it’s getting a lot of plays from all the DJs across the board.

Where can we see you playing in the next few months? Do you have any plans for Ibiza?

I’ll be playing all over Europe in clubs and at the festivals. I’ve also got another American tour in April, where I get to play at Coachella which I am super excited about, and then some special gigs in Ibiza which I can’ t talk about yet.

Anything else you'd like to tell us about..?

I like PIZZA! (oh really!?)

Pete Tong & Riva Starr – Future Underground is out 11^th February – listen & pre-order