If you’re addicted to the dancefloor, you really have to know New York City remixer, producer and DJ Mike Rizzo.
He has been Djing for over 20 years all around the world, and has been remixing superstars such as Britney Spears, Akon, Usher, Justin Timberlake and lately Beyonce with « Video phone » her duet with Lady Gaga.
Time to know more about this multi-talented man, with an interview and a Mixshow he made especially for us !
Tell us a little about you, when did you start spinning and remixing ?
M.R : I started spinning at the age of 16, local house parties & teen clubs. I broke into the NY scene at 21. I started remixing around the age of 25, I hooked up with freestyle producer Mickey Garcia and started learning the remix game…I also learned a lot from watching Erick Morillo., we grew up 5 mins from each other.
Your remix of « Video phone » from Beyonce, is amazing, how do you proceed when you’re commissioned to  »re-construct » a song?
M.R :Ă‚Â Remixers will receive a vocal session or an entire package of files for a particular song from the record label. I will listen to the original version of the song to get my ideas on which direction to take the mix. I like to change my sound from time to time, I never want to pigeonholed myself to one genre of sound.
Mike Rizzo remixing Lady Gaga, possible in a near future ?
M.R : Well Beyonce is ft Lady Gaga in Videophone, but I’d like to work on a Gaga single in the future.
Now, let’s talk about your tastes ! I know it’s hard to answer but, what are your favorite:
Song ?
M.R : My favorite all time song is Bobby Caldwell “What you won’t do for love”.
Remixer ?
M.R : Kaskade, I’m really digging his vibe, I find myself playing everything he touches.
Sport ?
M.R :Ă‚Â My favorite sport is hockey, I played from the age of 10 till 21, I follow the national hockey league closely, The NJ Devils are my favorite team.
and of course…Wine ?
M.R : Now with wine, being one of me and my wife’s favorite thing to collect and drink “Opus One” is by far our fav….
You are involved in several american Dance radio shows this year, does it mean Dance and House music are « at last » becoming popular in the US ?  Does it help as a remixer ?
M.R :Ă‚Â I always thought house was very popular in the US, now with a lot more radio stations and internet shows it gives us a great opportunity to expand our listenership.Ă‚Â My remix top 30 show with Hollywood Hamilton is the most popular because it broadcasts in major markets including New York and Philadelphia, with that said this platform definitely helps remixers like me to produce and remix the most elite artists.
Tell us about your studio, what’s your favourite DAW’s, plug ins, drum machines, synths, monitors ?
M.R :Ă‚Â I work with 2 of the best producer/remixers in the game, Steve Mr Mig Migliore and Josh Harris.
Some of the goodies we use are :Ă‚Â Logic 9,Ă‚Â Ableton Live & Native Instruments Maschine for most of the drums.
Time Stretching is almost always done using Digidesign’s X-Form plug-in for Pro Tools. Once in a while I’ll use Melodyne.
Synth sounds come from a variety of places: Studio Electronics SE-1X, Virus Desktop TI, Nexus, Vanguard, and Rob Papen’s Predator.
As a Dj, do you often play your own remixes ? They are sometimes called » Funk Generation remix », does it mean you’re a funky lover ?
M.R : I play some of my new mixes. I don’t like to over saturate my sets with my own stuff. Funk Generation is an alias I came up with four years ago- I like to think my team has lots of funk in the stuff we do…
What are your future projects ? I heard you started your own label, NY2LONDON Entertainment…
M.R : I’ve taken a hiatus from the label right now as I’m focusing on me & Mr Migs new studio in Cherry Hill NJ. We’re super excited about it … |
