Great to have you on Xttrawave. Please, introduce yourself.
Hi, I’m RIVIN, I’m originally Italian. I live in Berlin right now.
What got you into music and made you realize that it was your chosen path?
I have started music at a very early age. It was my grandma who taught me how to read and play music when I was five. She felt she needed to continue my grandpa’s legacy, who was a reknown composer and violinist in Italy. I never met him though as he died prematurely.
Tell us about your new music? And what’s the story behind it?
My new track is called Distance. I wrote it last year during the first lockdown. I didn’t want anything too sad or too dramatic though, rather a bubbly, exciting and uplifting song. This is also why, together with my producer Jineo, we went full 80s and produced a dance-pop full of colours and good vibe.
What makes your music unique? And how would you describe it?
I am a singer and songwriter, that means most of the times I write either the music and the lyrics. I consider myself mainly a topliner though. I am and I have always been very melody driven. I like memorable music with strong hooks. When it comes to the lyrics I tend to be very autobiographic and draw from my own experience, which is often a place of pain that I process through the songwriting transforming it into something positive and full hope. So to come to your question, I would describe my music as emotional and inspiring.
Who are your biggest musical influences? And any particular artist/band you would like to collaborate with in the future?
My musical influences are so many I can’t even count them. I really love the 80s and the 90s vibes because, as I said before, they are very melodic. My hero is David Bowie which comes even earlier than that. An absolute genius.
How do you balance your music with other obligations – family, friends or work?
The music business can be really hard, I’ll be honest. Being an indie artist means, theoretically, not having much free time. You are always thinking about millions of things to do, promotion, production, PR, social media, graphic, photoshootings, video shooting, etcetera etcetera.. the list is absolutely endless. That’s why I try to give myself rules and structure my day. Like, today I’ll work on this and that until x o’clock. It’s important to be able to switch off and be there for your friends, partner and family.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?
An advice to an aspiring musician? That’s a tough one. Listen, I won’t start with the “believe in your dreams and you’ll get there” thing. It’s true, yes, but in my opinion a little inflated and clichéd. I probably would rather tell you: this is gonna be (probably) hard, thousands and thousands of songs are released daily only on Spotify and it won’t be easy to stand out. But if this is what you feel you wanna do right now, go for it, no doubts! Be very patient though, stay humble, before/during/after your success. Stay generous, hungry and learn learn learn. Not only how to write songs and produce them, but how to collaborate with people, how to promote your music online, how to write press releases and, especially, how to keep grounded, motivated and centered during this whole process. Unfortunately an enormous percentage of artists and musicians suffer from mental health, it’s a fact. It can be very discouraging and draining sometimes. But if you learn to keep one foot in and one out, accept failures, embrace even the small successes, you’ll be much better off, I’ll promise.
What’s next for you? Any upcoming projects?
I will be releasing one song every 5 to 6 weeks until the summer. In September is coming out my first album and I am very excited about it. It will definitely reflect my musical and personal journey over the last couple of years.
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