The Big Questions: Stefano Ritteri

Where are you answering these questions from?

A hotel room in Bangkok with a very nice view!

What’s the most unique hotel you’ve ever stayed in?

The W-Hotel in Bali.  When it opened some years ago I was asked to do a one month residency in the club there.  It was a surreal experience living in a luxury  hotel for that long.  I still go back to  play once a year and it still feels like home. 

What was the worst job you had before you were a successful touring artist?

I was a delivery guy in Rome.  Delivering flyers and posters to supermarkets, it was seasonal work and mainly during the summer.  It was pretty intense.  Summers in Rome are super hot, so cycling around deliving things in the heat was not great.

What’s your favorite band/music right now outside of the dance music industry?

I come from a rock background, so there are some old bands that are still at the top of the list.  But I’m really digging this band called Unknown Mortal Orchestra.  It’s just one guy from New Zealand who plays all the instruments in the records. He kind of sounds like Frank Zappa meets Nirvana, trippy stuff!

Do you have any pre-gig rituals or superstitions?

When I land somewhere I try to stay out after dinner and get a feel for the city. But then I need an hour to myself at the hotel to go through my music and regroup my thoughts, listen to records and get into the mood of what I want to play.  Then I’m out and ready for the show, and the after party!

What’s your lamest claim to fame besides DJing?

There is a video of Lady Gaga banging one of my tunes in her car in Miami. Somebody posted that on my personal Facebook and the comments were really hilarious!

What’s the strangest cultural thing a promoter has ever taken you to do?

Ping pong shows in Bangkok.

What is one place that a visit home isn’t complete without?

When I’m home in Rome, I go out for breakfast with my mum in a cafe nearby our flat. She goes there every single morning for many years now, so thats’ my “I am back” tradition.

After almost 10 years I call London my home too, and there as soon as I come back from a tour I love to go to my local curry house, it’s a tiny and not very fancy spot but the food there makes me happy! 

What are your hobbies besides DJing?

I love boxing, I try to train as much as I can when I am in town, and also I play golf (badly).

Of course like every nerd I love video games too, so I have long Playstation sessions with my friends.

The biggest regret or missed opportunity with respect to your music career?

Some years ago my very good friends Yolanda Be Cool sent their hit tune We No Speak Americano to me and a friend as a demo, they wanted us to release it on our small label.

We didn’t because we thought the sample was too obviously Italian and so they opened a label and released it themselves, then it became the ubiquitous MASSIVE hit that we all know now.

It wasn’t surely our best A&R decision, we still joke about it to this day.

Describe your dancing style?

I can’t dance, really.  I move rhythmically, or at least I hope I do.  I swing, from left to right. When I was younger at clubs with friends I would just stand at the side, mostly at the bar.

Thank God I became a DJ so I have something to do now!

Most bizarre situation you’ve ever found yourself in?

Damn, I can think of many!

Some years ago I was playing a show in Sweden, a country known for beautiful and friendly people. The promoters were keen for me to make friends, so after the gig they took me to a house party. When we came in there was the usual scenario, people drinking, loud music, somebody passed out on the sofa. But then we went to the kitchen to get a drink, and there were some girls with only their panties on, laughing with the boys and doing those old school drinking challenges. It looked like something was going on! I soon left to catch my flight but I guess it was turning into a bit of a sex party. Ah, Sweden!

What is the most embarrassing thing you have ever done while performing?

Probably I don’t remember it.   

What’s the best interview question you’ve ever been asked (besides this one)?

So far this interview is pretty funny!

The strangest thing you’ve ever eaten while on tour?

I’m not very experimental with food. Because I grew up in Italy and our cuisine is pretty good, I have this sense that I don’t necessarily want to try new stuff.  Also because I’m Italian, promoters often take me to Italian restaurants but sometimes I think that eating in a random Italian restaurant in the middle of Poland is not the best idea. 

If you could spend a day with anyone on the planet, who would it be?

Snoop Dogg or Berlusconi.

What do you like to spend your money on?

Mostly music instruments. Since I was a kid I loved to receive guitar effects or new drums for my kit and then it became synthesizers and soundboards. I am super excited when a new toy arrives in the studio and I tend to disappear for a few days.

Go-to hangover food?

English breakfast. It’s a classic. You can never go wrong. 

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen happening from the DJ booth?

I’m seen my fair share of initiated sexual acts on the dance floor, and some fights too.

Some time ago I played in Estonia and at dinner the promoters were telling me that there are not many men in the country. I was joking with them saying that they shouldn’t make this info too known or Italian men would fly over and completely flood the country. Afterwards at the show, I looked up and I couldn’t actually spot a man in the dance floor for quite some time. It was pretty funny really!

Weapon of choice?

If I would have to choose a badass version of myself, I would probably be a 1950s Italian gangster in New York, wearing a white vest, a mustache and carrying a baseball bat.