Looking Through Leaves: Sinning In LA Goes In The Studio With Carmen Rizzo
Download: Carmen Rizzo's Downtown Sinning in LA Mix
Download: Passing By f/ January Thompson
True music pioneers have always been those that have dared to push their sounds in bold new directions. This allows them to never be labeled as one particular thing, thus ensuing a long-lasting career. Carmen Rizzo is the consummate producer’s producer, and during his twenty years in the recording industry, he has worked on a wide array of music projects. From mainstream staples such as Coldplay, Seal, and Alanis Morrisette to filling dance floors alongside his electronic music brethren BT and Tiesto, his talents have even led to world music dalliances like Tuvan throat singing. It’s his deep-rooted diversity that keeps Carmen’s musical mind so sharp, which is more than evident on his recently released third solo album, Looking Through Leaves.
“I need projects to inspire and that’s my eclectic path that I chose because I need that melting pot,” said Rizzo as we sat in his Downtown Studio near The Alexandria Hotel. The warm and inviting space houses a ton of cutting-edge tech gear yet also maintains an ample sense of tranquility everywhere you turn, which stems from Rizzo’s frequent globe-trotting between gigs.
“Lifestyle has a lot to do with it, but I’ve also got a good work ethic which is key for me,” he explained.
I listen to a lot of diverse music at home and I travel an awful lot, so I get educated in some ways that others might not. But having three kids and a family affects me as well. I try not to work weekends when I can, so when I come back on Monday, I’ve been refueled so I can then try to find some inspiration for my music.
“It’s nice to be busy a lot, but it’s of course hard to find inspiration all the time,” he added. “You don’t want to be a one-trick pony and you don’t want to do the same thing for everybody because then you get pigeon-holed. But by the same token, you want to find inspiration where you can. I think that’s why on my new album it was challenging but rewarding to be on airplanes or hotel rooms or jet-lagged and just writing music on my laptop.”
This blissful setting also would perfectly describe the culturally enriching and incredibly diverse music that the prolific Rizzo produces. From his own more electronic-based solo material to his world music projects like Niyaz or even poppier material like last year’s Lal Meri album, passion and spirituality shine through in every song he makes or remixes. His studio plays a big part in that and having recorded for most of the past decade in Hollywood, the recent shift to his new Downtown digs proved to serve as a rebirth of sorts for Looking Through Leaves.
“You definitely feel different down here, like you’re in New York,” Rizzo explained. “I actually finished the new record here, but I mostly recorded the majority of it all over the world. I was heartbroken when I left my old studio because I had so many good memories there. I loved Hollywood, I loved the building but as soon as I took the stuff down and packed the gear up, it was over. It was just a shell and I knew it was time to move on.”
It was a nice move because I felt like I got a clean slate to put a fresh coat of paint on the project.
Looking Through Leaves marks only Rizzo’s third official solo album despite a nearly two-decade-long recording career. Over the album’s eight tracks, Rizzo has once again served up some sublime slices of pulsating mid-tempo electronic numbers and ambient after-hours affairs. These tracks sit alongside some gorgeous vocals courtesy of new collaborators such as Shana Halligan and January Thompson, as well as long-time muses like Kate Havnevik and Grant Lee Phillips. Yet for a man who has both Pete Townsend and Seal on speed dial, it would have seemed easy to bring in bigger names to shift a few more units, but Rizzo prefers to let his music come together organically rather than through forced collaborations for cash.
“I do know a lot of people and I could pull those triggers but I always want to come from the angle of the underground and that was something that was a little bit disappointing with somebody like Flying Lotus. He’s wonderful and he makes great records and I respect him an awful lot but him collaborating with Thom Yorke? It’s just like did you really have to do that? But also at the same time, how can you refuse that?”
“I’ve always tried to discover new singers. I was one of the first people to discover Jem and Kate back when they had no deals and we were just friends. Grant, I had produced a record with him many years ago and it’s just convenient to go to them because I’m such a fan of their work.”
Looking Through Leaves certainly has Rizzo raising his production standards bar, putting him on par with masterminds like BT and Way Out West in terms of creating memorable musical melodies but also being incredibly technologically innovative as well.
“Jamie Muhoberac, my writing partner is a legend. We’ve made music together for twenty years and he’s an old, dear friend who writes not all, but most of the music with me. He comes up with some amazing parts and melodies and so he’s a really a big part of my sound.”
As Rizzo treated us to an exclusive listen of his up-coming remix for BT’s next single, “The Unbreakable,” I asked him about his own plans for taking the Carmen Rizzo experience to the next level with a proper live show, which was a subject he was particularly passionate about.
It’s important for electronic musicians to raise the bar. I’ve been very disappointed with a lot of big-names that they don’t step their game up a little bit. It’s disappointing because there’s a big gap between the DJ culture and the electronic music scene and I’m just missing a proper electronic show, like what Underworld or Massive Attack do.
“I’m not saying I’m the answer and I’m not saying I do it all the time because I’m not really at that level yet but I’m making an effort and I think fans will respond in a more positive way rather than if it’s simply a DJ set.”
With a tentative plan to make something happen in LA by the end of summer with a bunch of new visuals and his production partner Muhoberac on stage as well, Rizzo is eager to bring his tunes to a both his faithful fans and also a wider audience. I suggested that he could achieve this by perhaps playing an event for the equally spirtually-savvy minds of The Do LaB collective, which is something Rizzo would really like to do.
It’s that exact constant creative synergy of crews like The Do LaB which is a major reason Rizzo and his family have stayed firmly rooted in the City Of Angels since 1984.
“What’s special is that it’s a really small world here. I get very defensive when people don’t like LA. People think it’s all celebrity or this town sucks but basically they go to all the wrong neighborhoods and hang-out with all the wrong people.”
“People are here to work and make things happen which I enjoy. Sometimes it’s a little overwhelming to find the balance with your life but that’s why I have my studio separate from my home. It’s definitely a luxury but it’s a nice one to have.”
Through three solo albums, a handful of remix compilations and countless productions for a plethora of wide-ranging artists, Rizzo has managed to build up a faithful following which should only continue to grow in the coming years as more people discover his special songs.
I think I’ve now got a loyal fan base and it’s a very specific fan base, from pop, electronic and world music lovers who all really enjoy my records.
We’re certainly enjoying Looking Through Leaves, which should once again find Rizzo pleasing his fans yet also winning over plenty of new ones in the process. Be sure to download the exclusive mix that he’s prepared, which will serve as the perfect introduction to one of the most open-minded and multi-faceted talents our ears have ever heard.
Carmen Rizzo’s Downtown Sinning In LA Mix Tracklist
1) Carmen Rizzo -"Too Rude" f/ Esthero - Charlie Cooper of Telefone Tel Aviv mix)
2) Carmen Rizzo -”Confusions” (Carmen Rizzo Remix)
3) Carmen Rizzo- “Strada”
4) Carmen Rizzo -”Falling Into Place”
5) Carmen Rizzo -”This Life” f/Kate Havnevik
6) Paul Oakenfold- “Southern Sun”- (Carmen Rizzo Acoustic mix)
Surf: Carmen Rizzo
Follow: twitter.com/carmenrizzo
Buy: Looking Through Leaves
Photos & Video By: Alex Storch
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