Fil Bo Riva launches video for ‘Like Eye Did’
Born and raised in Rome, the Italian music of the 1960s influenced his approach to melody, as did his early liking for the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The four years he spent in a monks' boarding school for boys in Ireland introduced him to a widely varied scene of international music. But it was his move to Berlin and an unhappy romance which catalysed his decision to give it a go as a serious musician, igniting the songwriting touchpaper which had always been inside him, waiting for its moment. Amongst the multitude of singer-songwriters plying their trade today, the 24-year-old, has emulated his idols in searching for the only voice that matters – his own.
Your first sadness is the most beautiful time of all, the next most beautiful is the sadness which follows. The songs for Fil Bo Riva's first EP emerged out of the latter, indeed “If You’re Right, It’s Alright” owes its creation to a “story about a woman”. So even if the world is not destined to end in an EP, in this case it did.
“The idea to become a musician had always been there in the back of my mind, but I was busy doing other things – working in kitchens or as a barkeeper in Munich, Madrid and Rome, studying industrial design in Berlin. That kind of thing. I'd played in various bands but never really had the belief that we could make it. Not to mention the 'Music? You'll end up on the street!' warnings from my friends.” Ironically, it was the streets of Berlin which proved decisive in Fil's further development. His time as a busker was a formative, thrilling experience, allowing him to road-test his music and benefit from direct, positive feedback. On the street, the street is all there is. In a house you might have nothing at all, not even the street.
“I can't read music, I am completely self-taught. So I always begin, I have to begin, by asking what feeling, what emotion do I hope to convey? What do I want to say?” The freshness of the EP will in no way be compromised. “In the end, everything you experience teaches you something. And these lessons should be reflected in the work, otherwise you risk succumbing to stagnation”.
In reference to the video for ‘Like Eye Did’, directed by Fil Bo Riva and Chester Travis, Fil says: "I think art, of whatever kind, with some touch of honest strangeness is what I aim for in my work. That's simply what I try to express, and what I feel comfortable with. If it is shown with images and music... or you just visualize it in your head, that's something left open to interpretation, that's up to the people."
“If You’re Right, It’s Alright” is now available to pre-order with an instant grat of first single ‘Like Eye Did’ available on iTunes. ‘Like Eye Did’ is also available on all other digital platforms.
Upcoming shows:
- 05.08. - Parklichter Festival, Germany
- 07.08. - Sound of the Forest Festival, Germany
- 17.08. - London, [PIAS] Nites, UK
- 19.08. - Hamburg, MS Dockville Festival, Germany
- 20.08. - Winterthurer Musikfestspielwochen, Switzerland
- 25.08. - Cologne, c/o Pop Festival, Germany
- 02.09. - Milano, Unaltro Festival, Italy
- 04.09. - Berlin, Melodica Festival, Germany
- 21.09. - Hamburg, Reeperbahn Festival, Germany
- 22.09. - Berlin, Mahogany Sessions Festival, Germany
