Tasty slice of Beetroot

Global dance festival Creamfields makes its Australian debut next month, after 12 years touring almost every other continent in the world to a combined audience of nearly three million people.
US electro-rapper Kid Sister gave the first hint that the festival was headed our way when she let slip to Sydney Star Observer earlier this year that she’d signed up to perform.
The full line-up has since been released, and it’s a corker: headliners including Steve Angello, MSTRKRFT, Ferry Corsten, LMFAO and Dirty South will join a huge list of local DJs and performers.
Amongst the big-name international acts are The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, the live version of Italian DJ duo Bloody Beetroots. The Beets’ last Australian tour, as part of last September’s Stereosonic Festival, drew unexpectedly large crowds — festival organisers quickly upgraded them to the main stage as their punky, anthemic electro proved more popular than anticipated.
The duo, Bob Rifo and Tommy Tea, wear masks on stage and in all public appearances, meaning their true identities are a closely-guarded secret, much like those of fellow dance maestros Daft Punk. And like Daft Punk, Australia has embraced the mystique — their debut album Romborama, home to anthems like Warp and the frenetic House No 84, charted just shy of the ARIA top 20 late last year.
“Thank you, Australia. I could kinda feel it coming but it’s always a great feeling,” Rifo told SSO of their success.
Even considering that English is not his first language, the Beetroots’ resident producer is a man of few words, preferring to let his act’s music and high-energy stage show speak for themselves.
“I’m going to be taking it easy after the sets and dosing my energy. Playing live is very exciting and I don’t feel the need to party more,” he said of the Creamfields tour. “But I can’t wait to see my friends JFK and Alp from MSTRKRFT.”
Rifo has stated that with Bloody Beetroots, his mission statement was “to bring punk rock aesthetics into clubland and the electronic medium”. It’s evident in the music — crunchy guitars and screaming vocals abound — but is it there in the duo’s behaviour and attitude too?
“Yes, I am five years old and I like puking wherever I go,” he quipped.
The Beetroots are a part of a wider merging of the rock and dance genres. There doesn’t seem to be the division between the two sounds — and crowds — that there once was.
Does Rifo enjoy being part of this cross-pollination of sounds?
“My mission,” he said, “is to kill all musical genres. Together.”

info: Creamfields plays at the Hordern Pavilion on May 1. Visit www.creamfields.com.au