Sound Advice: The Bloody Beetroots

Join The Bloody Beetroots on Sound Advice, the weekly interview series covering artists’ journeys and their creative process. In this episode, we discuss the producer’s punk roots, new collaborative singles, 20-year anniversary tour, his relationship with SoundCloud and more. 

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Welcome to Sound Advice, the series spotlighting artists’ creative process and their SoundCloud journey. We’ll get the inside knowledge straight from the source on how musicians, producers and creatives are leaning into everything SoundCloud offers to elevate their sound, get heard and catapult their careers. Sound Advice is now available in audio format on the SoundCloud Stories profile. 

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In this episode of Sound Advice, we talk to Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo, known in the world of dance music as The Bloody Beetroots. He burst onto the electro house scene in the mid 2000s, with some killer bloghouse remixes, and whose brash distortion and big dance beats caught the ear of Dim Mak Records boss Steve Aoki. 

Bonding over their punk backgrounds, Steve and Bob recorded the track “Warp 1.9” in Bob’s mom’s basement in northern Italy, and it became a huge anthem, leading Bob on a wild ride that has led to multiple albums, worldwide tours and eating Vegemite in the studio with Paul McCartney. Despite his EDM affiliations, it’s always been clear that The Bloody Beetroots’s mission is to infuse the raw energy of punk and hardcore into electronic music: from high-energy live shows, to collaborations with everyone from Perry Farrell to Tom Morello, to members of Crass and Refused.

The Bloody Beetroots is currently on tour, celebrating his 20th anniversary in the game, and has just released some fire new singles with London’s Bob Vylan and LA’s N8NOFACE, so we sat down to talk to the Italian bad boy about his visual aesthetic, where he finds inspiration and the role SoundCloud plays in his musical discovery. In this rare interview, Bob also gave us some thoughts about how authenticity, knowing yourself and having a clear vision are keys to making art that will stand the test of time.

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LISTEN TO THE AUDIO EPISODE OF SOUND ADVICE FEATURING THE BLOODY BEETROOTS

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LISTEN TO "KILLING TIME" BY THE BLOODY BEETROOTS

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Things We Talked About In This Episode of Sound Advice

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The Punk-to-Rave Evolution of The Bloody Beetroots, and His New Collaborative Singles

• We begin our conversation with “Killing Punk,” the latest single from The Bloody Beetroots. Made in collaboration with Bob Vylan, a gritty punk-rap duo from London, “Killing Punk” is a return to form for Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo; a scuzzy, in-your-face track that explodes with characteristic energy. Reflecting on the making of the track, The Bloody Beetroots talks about how it’s an apt reflection of the vibe he’s always gone for: blending the raw energy of rave music into his punk and hardcore roots, and evolving it through contemporary collaborations and technologies. 
• That raw energy on record translates to the stage, too. The Bloody Beetroots speaks about his early days in music, growing up in Italy; when he’d play tiny shows in venues before trashing them, in youthful exuberance. However, he’s grown over the years, channeling that energy into a performance style that’s “constructive, rather than destructive.” For him, music has always been a way to focus the hectic energy he feels inside, and produce meaningful art from it. You can find out more about The Bloody Beetroot’s tour dates here.
• Another recent single that taps into this vibe is “This Is Blood,” a collaborative track with rising Los Angeles-based rapper N8NOFACE. The Bloody Beetroots tells the story of how the track came together, recording in N8NOFACE’s Long Beach apartment in an aptly DIY way. The Bloody Beetroots puts a lot of creative focus on finding, collaborating with and uplifting new artists that are sympathetic to his creative worldview, and N8NOFACE is one of his favorite new acts.

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Moving from Italy to California and Collaborating with Influential Punk-Rave Rebels 

• Born and raised in Italy, The Bloody Beetroots moved to LA in 2017. As he describes it, it was a formative move for his music career; linking up with acts like rock band Fever 333, and rock mainstays like Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction and Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine. Through these powerful frontmen of experimental bands, The Bloody Beetroots was inspired to push forward with his punk-rave crossover style.
• Collaboration has been a key element to The Bloody Beetroots’ creativity. Here, he talks about how he prepares for and approaches a collaboration. True to his punk rock spirit, he gives the advice of not to over-prepare — bringing only raw ideas, like a topline and a title track, to give the session a sense of direction — and to take time getting to know your collaborators before making music together. If you can come to a common goal or aesthetic, and talk through your ideas before getting into a session, then the results will be more authentic and come to you faster. 
• Sir Bob has spent 20 years bringing together visual and musical elements, from fashion to photography, to create the aesthetic of The Bloody Beetroots. Much of this remains unchanged from his Italian youth, but as he explains, over time, his production skills, stamina for live performance and ability to communicate with fellow creatives have all evolved in tandem. 
• He goes into detail about the artists who have inspired him along the way, from British punk bands like Sex Pistols, The Damned and Crass, to American proto-hardcore like Circle Jerks, Black Flag and Fugazi. On the electronic end of the spectrum, Daft Punk, Jackson and His Computer Band and British DJ and producer Erol Alkan have been foundational for him; gateway acts, bringing him from rock into rave, and seeing a way to bridge the two. 

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Bridging Session Work and Live Performance With a Punk Rock Attitude

• For The Bloody Beetroots, that bridge is live performance: “Whether it’s guitars, drums or CDJs, the body is stronger than technology,” he says. That attitude translates into his tour, titled 20 Years of The Baddest Man in Electronic Music, which runs from February through to May 2025. He explains how the live show will build on his two decades of production and performance, hinting that the set will include brand new remixes and edits of classic tracks, alongside his latest work. 
• Much like his attitude to session work, The Bloody Beetroots believes that the role of the artist is to stick to their overall vision while being adaptable in the moment. On stage, he says, you have to play for the people in front of you, and find ways to deliver your best, most energetic performance according to whatever situation is in front of you. At its core, a live show is about the audience — you have to get to know people, and have empathy for them, in order to get them excited about the show and connected with you as a performer.

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Drawing Inspiration From Real Life and New Music Discovery on SoundCloud

• The Bloody Beetroots draws his inspiration from living life out loud. On this, he is his most passionate: as an artist, you shouldn’t be spending every hour of the day locked away in a studio, he says. To be inspired, go out and discover the world, go on adventures, make friends and learn from others. He explains how by filling your life with stories worth telling, you’ll grow stronger as a person and an artist. 
• On SoundCloud, The Bloody Beetroots seeks out artists who tap into this energy. Recently, he’s discovered acts such as Nitepunk, Tokky Horror and Bobby Wolfgang, who he describes as “raw, fresh and authentic.”
• Although he remains tight-lipped on the details for now, The Bloody Beetroots hints that his next EP will feature collaborations with some of the artists he’s recently discovered on SoundCloud. 

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Links and Extras

Follow The Bloody Beetroot’s journey on SoundCloud.

Press play on The Bloody Beetroot’s new collaboration with Bob Vylan, “Killing Punk.” 

Listen to The Bloody Beetroot’s track with N8NOFACE, “This Is Blood.”

Go back to where it all began with The Bloody Beetroot’s collaboration with Steve Aoki, “Warp 1.9.”

Discover more about The Bloody Beetroot’s 20-year anniversary tour here.

Explore some of The Bloody Beetroot’s wide-ranging influences, including Daft Punk, Jackson and His Computer Band, The Prodigy, Refused and Erol Alkan, to name a few. 

Listen to the New Era Hardcore/Punk playlist on SoundCloud.

Never miss an episode and follow the official Sound Advice playlist on SoundCloud.

Getting The Most Out of SoundCloud

• Learn more about using DMs to connect with fellow artists and potential collaborators.
• Learn more about how to make a custom playlist on SoundCloud.
• Learn more about unlimited uploads, available with an Artist Pro subscription.
• Learn more unlocking access to unlimited distribution, available with Artist Pro.
• Learn more about getting heard with SoundCloud’s updated algorithm, available to Artist and Artist Pro subscribers.

To discover additional features a SoundCloud Artist or Artist Pro subscription offers, visit here. To catch up on past installments of Sound Advice and make sure you don’t miss out on future episodes, visit here.

_{CREDITS Host: Vivian Host, Executive Producer: Mike Spinella, Producer: KC Orcutt, Audio Engineer: David “DibS” Shackney, Coordinator: Trevor McGee, Editorial Associate: Lauren Martin}

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