Photo Credit: Peter Lefevre
IG: Lefevrephoto
I recently had the pleasure to sit down with Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo, aka The Bloody Beetroots before his DJ set performing as his side project SBCR to discuss music, film, comics and what’s next for the superstar DJ.
First time I saw Bloody Beetroots was at 2009 at Coachella and ever since then I’ve been a fan. I’ve always wondered where did the mask come from?
Well first of all since we are both Italian, you know that in Venice we have a strong culture of Commedia Dell’Arte. which is based on masks. As a big fan of masks I chose to put one on me because that gives you the opportunity to be recognized in one second. It gives the character personality and you become that character.
So what is that Character?
That Character is inspired by the black suit Spiderman it was so easy for me to get into and the easiest mask to make and that’s why i decided to run that way with The Bloody Beetroots. Now it’s identified as The Bloody Beetroots.
At one point you had another performer with you. It became a bit of theater, the performance?
Yes, it became a spectacle from a DJ set to a full live band when we became the Bloody Beetroots Live in 2013 which was the biggest thing we ever created for the project. It’s a live performance with not only people playing music but screaming and jumping and blah blah blah, much like a Commedia Dell’arte.
So now you have this new project SBCR? How does that fit into everything?
SBCR is kind of over, man. (Laughs) Let me explain, I’ve been running SBCR for two years. In 2014 I decided to take a break from the Bloody Beetroots because we had done everything possible all around the world for many many years. So with that I made SBCR which is like an experimental laboratory for making music, as diverse as possible. The commitment was to release 15 songs in 15 months though the internet and surprisingly, SBCR became a little popular and then I started traveling and performing all around the world…again…
Who are some of the people that you collaborated with on SBCR? You’ve collaborated with some big music name on Bloody Beetroots like Paul McCartney and Tommy Lee from Motley Crew.
All unknown producers, I needed fresh music and young producers that were hungry and driven, to improve my production skills as well. It’s all about testing new waters and seeing what happens. I am very happy with the outcome.
What’s the most fun you had making a video?
Rock Steady, many many adventures. You don’t get to see me in the video often but I was there working with the director like a maniac. Magic.
What are some of your favorite films?
Enter the Void by Gaspar Noe,I also love Gummo by Harmony Korine and Ex-Drummer by Koen Mortier. I could spend 5 hours a day watching movies.
What’s one of your biggest moments you ever had as Bloody Beetroots?
Big Day Out in Australia in 2013 was the magic moment. it was the beginning of the tour. It was fucking fantastic. That was the moment when the Bloody Beetroots came out as a real band, the very intention I had from the beginning.
What’s the future for the Bloody Beetroots?
We’re working on a new album, many tracks are already done so next year is going to be all about the Bloody Beetroots, new live show, new collaborations, magic. Stay tuned!
Photo Credit: Peter Lefevre
IG: Lefevrephoto
