Photography by John Krug; Styled by Treysaun McGeachy
In today’s musical landscape, it’s becoming increasingly easier for new artists to mimic the success of their contemporaries and adhere to the “formula” often associated with producing popular music. The proliferation of music promotion on social media has made it challenging for artists to create unique and original sounds that resonate with the superficial aspects of music we constantly crave. However, artists like Riovaz serve as a testament to the enduring power of originality in crafting great music.
At just 20 years old, Jersey City native Riovaz is making music that is undeniably his own. With boundless talent and a unique sound, he refuses to be confined by genre or expectations. Instead, he draws inspiration from his surroundings, creating music that is a true reflection of his individuality and upbringing. We got a chance to speak to him about his debut album, Riovaz, his endless musical and creative inspirations, how his musical journey has led to this point, and what fans can expect from him for years to come.
“It really started with my cousins and me just watching dance videos, like DJ Frosty, and trying to recreate the dances,” he explains to me while we simultaneously move a couch onto the set. “My parents would always play music in the house, mostly old Argentinian bands, so music has always been a part of my life.” Drawing inspiration from a plethora of influences ranging from Jersey Club and The Cure, to Famous Dex and Ecuadorian rock bands, Riovaz has been able to culminate his original sound into his self-titled debut released in October.
This album marks Rio’s first release since going independent, following a two-year deal with Geffen Records, and it is clear he couldn’t be more thrilled about this newfound freedom. “It reminds me of the beginning of all this shit,” he tells me. “It feels fun again. I’m independent. I can release whenever I want and have much more creative control.”
He started working on the project over a year ago, in November 2023. It feels like a great introduction to who Riovaz is as an artist. “Production-wise, I wanted to take it to the next level,” he explains. “I was listening to a lot of different stuff, like Lil B, Clams Casino, Snow Strippers, shit like that...but the entire project was only produced by two or three producers, and I wanted to really focus on honing my craft.”
"It feels fun again."
Songs like “brush it off !!!” and “2004” showcase Rio’s signature approach to dance music: catchy melodies and vocal ranges layered over speedy BPMs and heavy percussive beats, a style that he's remained true to since 2021. Fans gravitate towards this style, and it’s clear that Rio is very passionate about continuing to evolve it. “I basically want to take all the things that I had been creating but remake them in a more ADHD way,” he describes as his approach to the new project. That approach is evident on tracks like “327BPM” and “warm face” which almost border hyper-pop tracks in both tempo and chaotic arrangements.
There’s a certain level of spontaneity in Riovaz’s music that I was happy to hear resembles his personal life. The spontaneity led to the creation of The Heart Racers EP that dropped back in February this year, a collab tape with fellow homies/stars in the making Kanii and Nimstarr that resulted in one of his biggest songs to date, “Heart Racing”. “The tape wasn’t even supposed to happen really. I had just met Kanii and started really hanging out with him, and me, him, and Nimstarr were all trying to get into this party in the city, but couldn’t because none of us are 21 (unfortunately no amount of streams can get you into most NYC nightclubs underage) so we ended up going to the studio. There were like 20 people there and we could not make a single song, but once everyone left we started playing beats, and the beat for 'Heart Racing' came on, and I think we recorded it in like 30 minutes.” Even though the song would officially release almost a year later after this night, Rio acknowledges that the timing couldn’t be more perfect: “We were all coming up at the same time, it worked out. I was still coming up off 'Prom Night,' Nim was just starting to drop, and Kanii had just gone viral off 'I Know' so the timing was perfect.”
This moment led to the three performing at Gramercy Theater at the back end of Riovaz’s RIORAVE II tour which still stands out as one of his favorite shows to date. “That shit was like a homecoming show, New York is crazy,” he describes energetically as he remembers the night. Since then, Riovaz has toured around the world and back, even gracing the stage at the household-name festival Lollapalooza this past summer.
As we wrap up the year, Riovaz is set on expanding his audience, reaching new ears both stateside and internationally. “I’m trying to be on my Bad Bunny for real.” Growing up Ecuadorian, he even talked about how just seeing his fans in Ecuador or people pulling up to his shows with Ecuadorian football kits meant the world to him. He pulled up wearing tons of friendship bracelets that his fans have thrown onto the stage since he first started performing and claims that he has kept every single one still to this day. “I think I have around 300-400 bracelets at this point. It’s crazy, I wear them almost every day too,” Rio explains as he flexes his ‘RioRave’ and ‘Gore’ bracelets he had on during our interview.
Support from his fans and more personally, the support from his family has been integral to his success. His brother, who now manages him, was the first person who taught him FL Studio, and his sister who grew up a singer can be heard doing adlibs on “I Wonder” showing that this is a full family operation. “I was so young when all this music sh*t started jumping off and honestly I was just chilling, it was quarantine and I didn’t realize how big 'Prom Night' would be. Once labels started reaching out and the industry got more involved, that’s when I looked at my brother for help and like, just needed to have a little more leadership, and the whole process has been so fun.”
At the end of the day though, Rio is just a 20-year-old kid with a deep appreciation for music, progressing his sound with each and every drop. He teases the idea of expanding the many bags he already operates in and hints at potentially venturing into a more heavy rock/punk type of music that he has grown to love. Whether he’s in his early 2000s emo bag though, and just wants to belt his emotions onto a vibey dance track or punching in on an R&B-inspired song like “m i wrong?” he is set on making music to be remembered by his peers. “I make music just to be heard. I think it’s so fire the idea that the music I’m making now, like how will this be perceived 25-30 years from now? Like, look at Whole Lotta Red. Years later that is becoming one of the most influential rap albums ever. I just want to make an impact.” Looking at the work that Rio has put in up to this point, it is clear that he is well on his way to that goal.
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