RVSSLL Bringing Disco Back to the District

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with one of the District’s up-and-coming DJs and producers “RVSSLL,” who has been leading the charge with his “disco house” style across the US. A popular producer in Europe and in cities like NYC, LA, and Miami, RVSSLL has toured with his label “FVYDID Records” in Las Vegas, and frequently performs at iconic D.C. venues like U Street Music Hall, 9:30 Club Backbar, Flash, Soundcheck, and Hamilton Live. His remixes of popular tracks by POWERS, Kaleo, and Axwell /\ Ingresso on Soundcloud and singles on Spotify “Alright, Goodnight,” “Tech House Rewind,” and “Be Me (Ft. ZaZa Maree)” have amassed nearly 2 million plays, and he has provided support to artists like Cedric Gervais, Martin Jensen, Oliver Nelson, CID, Croatia Squad, Kav Verhouzer, Raven & Kreyn, and Lost Frequencies.

RVSSLL was initially trained as a classical and jazz pianist, competing with a regionally-acclaimed youth jazz quintet at the Berklee School of Music in Boston at age 17, and plays the piano, guitar, saxophone, and clarinet. Outside the music scene, RVSSLL is also consultant for a large IT strategy firm, and a Staff Writer for the popular DC-based music blog “Blisspop,” where he publishes features on popular disco, house, and hip-hop tracks and conducts reviews for local DC-based performances. Below, I ask RVSSLL about his music influences, his sound, and where he sees his genre going in the future.

What are your background, history, and influences in dance music?
My love for dance music began with my Uncle Mitchell. A mentor and father figure when I was younger, I remember spending a lot of time at my his family’s house jamming to disco and funk records from bands like KC and the Sunshine Band, Wild Cherry, Donna Summer, Michael Jackson, and the Bee Gees, and gained an early appreciation for disco when watching how people responded at to the DJ dropping a classic disco track at Weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and family functions. As a history lover, I’ve also always had a thing for nostalgia and would spend hours on the piano studying the chord progressions of old jazz piano legends like Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, and Cannonball Adderley to see how they switched from complex syncopated ballads to improvised crescendos. Finally, I studied abroad for a year in the UK, and while I was there, EDM music was at its peak and my roommates loved to go out, so I naturally became exposed to the European dance music influences through them. When I returned to the US and saw how clubs like Soundcheck, U Street Music Hall, and Eighteenth Street Lounge were embracing similar sounds, I knew the time was right for me to dive right into the scene.

What are your current sound and productions like?

Since starting my DJ career, I’ve been in a constant discovery phase, taking a few hours each day to experiment with different Ableton sounds and techniques in my studio to figure out the music sounds “right” for me. Naturally, I gravitate to disco and funk because of my background as a jazz pianist, but I’ve also spent a great deal of time learning how to make Progressive and Tropical House records as well. Also, my relationship with JackEL and FVYDID Records in Las Vegas has certainly helped to inform my more mainstream EDM records. I’ve recently started to mold my craft in the “Disco House” domain with my latest releases “Alright, Goodnight,” “Let Me Be Good to You,” and “Flatliner,” and expect to continue this trend into more soulful, funky, disco, and tech house sounds with forthcoming releases.

Where do you see the disco scene going in the near future and how will you remain a relevant part of this movement?
When people think of great music towns, they think of Detroit, NYC, Miami, LA, and Chicago, but people often overlook DC’s rich music history. The city is home to Duke Ellington, Marvin Gaye, and Ella Fitzgerald, and is where Chuck Brown began the “Go-Go” scene. It’s also where rock legends Fugazi and David Grohl began their careers and where EDM planted its seed in the U.S. as the launching point for the careers of the Thievery Corporation, Tiesto, and Armin Van Buuren. So, when identifying places where “disco” could make a comeback, DC certainly seems posed to do so.

In recent years, DC has brought popularity to Nu Disco producer Eau Claire, who has made great strides in expanding Nu Disco throughout the US and has given rise to up-and-coming disco DJs and producers like Fady D, Noce, Kundalini, Rose Corps, and Ozker. Furthermore, from a global perspective, labels like Defected Records, Soul Clap Records, and Ed Banger Records are all pushing popular Nu Disco artists like Purple Disco Machine, Breakbot, and Michael the Lion, and popular EDM artists like David Guetta, Galantis, and Tiesto who are all adding “funkier” elements to their latest releases. Viewing the return of disco music into the mainstream on the horizon, I hope that my “Disco House” sound will make an impression on listeners to the point that they demand more disco acts play at the major clubs, and that disco is elevated from an underground art to a mainstream phenomenon.