MAD SubCulture: The Bloody Beetroots present Death Crew 77

In a world full of critical situations and boiling discussions, one has to stand up and be heard. Acquired with a heating passion, his philosophy about the world and Anarchy does not know any boundaries. Doing this so by mingling hard music – created from the heart, resulting in pounding techno music, sharply distorted and heavy basses, screaming voices and a large dose of drugs running through the body – powerful opinions – shared at interviews, published on his site or simply tweeted. There are people that question these outbursts, saying “it’s all an act”, along with multiple backlashes against him. Others, like young kids, love him for the show they imagine having, and the cool look it appears to have. Yet according to Bobby Rifo, there is more depth in it, and he has more reason behind the music then one might think. The band he has set up is now moving his thoughts to a new level, spreading more and more of his philosophy and way of life into the modern world; The Bloody Beetroots now come to the venues of the world with a message underlined in its heavy music. The Bloody Beetroots present you Death Crew 77.

Born in 1977, as can be seen from the tattoo on his chest, Bob Cornelius Rifo grew up with the sound of classical music, cartoons, soundtracks and b-movies. After the classical period, the Italian composer was influenced by a genre and lifestyle completely opposite to what he previously knew; the influence of chaos: the raw energy of Punk and rockabilly via the Sex Pistols, and the wild images of comic artists such as Magnus, Benito Jacovitti and Tanino Liberatore. After first shifting from hip-hop to experimental electronica in the late 90’s, a band called “Bob Rifo’s Gang” was formed in 2005, with a combination of punk and rock. Aside from this project, Bob Rifo wanted to promote the band’s show as The Bloody Beetroots band + DJ set, whereas the DJ set would consist of Bob Rifo and the band’s manager, Tommy Tea. Alas, the alcohol and rock & roll lifestyle took its toll and the band was bounded to end. Therefore only the DJ-duo stood firm, keeping the name and the rock & roll attitude they know and love.

Their DJ set “takes on various styles as our influences really range. Rave and Punk are combined with Italo disco, techno, electro, old school and hip hop.” While DJing, the duo wear black venom masks, as they are inspired by the comics Bob Rifo loved when he was young. In a short period, The Bloody Beetroots had produced numerous remixes, Bob Rifo acting as the producer of the two. The remixes brought them a lot of fame, as some were featuring in worldwide known games. After they were signed at Dim Mak Records, home of the in the United States praised Steve Aoki, they were only to release two EP’s – “Rombo” and “Cornelius” – before they released their debut album “Romborama” in August 2009.

From that point, Bob Rifo is a lot more open and active regarding his philosophy and way of life. As you can see on the cover of Romborama, created by Italian comic artist Liboratore, “Romborama” tries to express itself not only as an album, but as a statement comparable with the things Rifo, thus The Bloody Beetroots, stands for. “Punk and Anarchy are big words for anyone to shoulder. Anyone who wants to adopt this philosophy has a big responsibility and a duty not to betray it. I try to encourage freedom and independence through the channels that are available to me.” It grabbed a lot of attention and The Bloody Beetroots were now an integral part of the Electro scene. The duo sparked more and more discussions as “Christmas Vendetta: Spares of Romborama” was released. As hits like Cornelius and Warp 1.9 struck the coast of the United States and US hipster kids got in touch with the new kool thing they found out, the Underground started making some serious accusations regarding the project, saying “it’s all an act”, “they’re repeating their formula” and “it’s nothing but bangers”.

Though now The Bloody Beetroots started their newest project called “Death Crew 77″. For this project, a third member named Edward Grinch is added. The core intention for this project is to bring back the vibe and image The Bloody Beetroots tried to create, namely a project that is a live band as well as a DJ set, and most importantly “it is a return to our roots and the new post Punk of the modern Electro era.” The influences of Punk, Rock, Anarchy, Rave and Electro are mixed into a new perspective that thrills your most inner imaginations possible. “Punk is an attitude to life and the music is just a consequence. It’s not necessarily about aggressive sounds and distorted synths. Punk is about defying the rules. I think illogically and am a nightmare for all the record companies in the world.” Not only does he have an opinion about the Punk attitude. As for Anarchy, Rifo says it’s “the search for a horizontal social structure, based on agreements made freely by free people, based on solidarity, free associations and respect for individuality and difference. By refuting law and “the system”, anarchy is in theory the concept of an ideal society in which people are evolved, intelligent and responsible enough not to need laws…. sadly, the world is governed by fools and this creates huge problems.”

With this live band performance, songs are used from the album, from their remix list as well as new tracks and remixes. In a Soulwax kind of way, all the live songs are mixed together by Tommy Tea. Next to Tommy, Bob sings and plays instruments. “I play six instruments and sing. The keyboards are 2 Nords and 2 Korgs.” Next to that Rifo also plays guitar, and finally you have Edward Grinch showing you a terrific drum performance.

On two of the three nights in The Netherlands The MAD SubCulture had a chance to see them, and the live performance was simply stunning to say the least. It looked like finally all the pieces fit together and the ideology and vision of The Bloody Beetroots had finally been taken into action. On the night in Rotterdam at venue the Watt, the Italian trio set up a heating live performance, where all tracks seem to go well. The crowd didn’t appear to be serious in any kind of way, seeing as young kids were in front jumping and screaming their hearts out. Indeed, the crowd looked like it was having a good party, yet didn’t seem to care much about any kind of message the band could be bringing along. This also goes for the day after in Amsterdam’s venue Paradiso, though the crowd appeared to be a lot more mature and well-known about what kind of performance they were waiting for. This directly leads to the fact that people had to wait an hour in line in order to get inside of the venue, all dead excited to see their comic heroes in a live band action. This time there was a slight difference, as after about 10 minutes all the power went down for another 20 minutes. Still though, both nights proved The Bloody Beetroots are alive and kicking, living their dreams as comic heroes, artists, DJs and live band, all with Bob Cornelius Rifo guiding the ideas and visions through his perspective.

The Bloody Beetroots’ new EP called “Domino” will be released on March the 23th. The same-titled track is the opening track of the live set. Domino “comes from a typical Venetian Carnival costume, a robe with a black hood and a white mask. I chosen this title to introduce the first BBDC77 anarco-musical army. Domino (like Xmas Vendetta) underscores the contents of Romborama. Domino is part of Romborama. Domino is a spare of Romborama. Domino is music, cinema & photography. Domino is also a revision of history. Domino destroys Nazi iconography to turn into Anarchy… pure Anarchy. I live in this world and I firmly believe in the autonomy and freedom of the individual.”

The Bloody Beetroots can now proudly present you Death Crew 77; a new level in their artistic lives and also a new level in the modern music era we live in, where live bands and DJ sets can go hand in hand, and where an opinion about Anarchy for all can be heard through ones music.