Interview with Cavaliers of Fun

At one of our favourite Festivals of the Summer of 2015, NOS Alive, in Lisbon, we met with a cool chap named Ricco. His sound is a bit spacy with huge keyboard solos. Mix Corona (Not the beer but “The Rhythm of the Night” Corona) with Metronomy and you get Cavaliers of Fun.

Tune Munch: Tell us a bit about yourself.

Ricco Vitali: I’m Ricco Vitali, I play in Cavaliers of Fun. I’m from Portugal. We do a kind of electro-tropical-spacy kind of thing. Not sure what it is but I’m trying to figure it out.

TM: How long have you been doing this?

Ricco Vitali: I’ve been doing it for the last four years maybe. And the last year we played here, not live but on a really small stage, so this is kind of massive…

TM: It’s an upgrade.

Ricco Vitali: Yeah, yeah. It’s a massive upgrade and we’re really excited to be here.

TM: So you’re the main person from the band and then…

Ricco Vitali: I’m the band.

TM: You are the band, you don’t play with other people.

Ricco Vitali: Sometimes I ask some friends to play along with me, alongside with me. Tonight I’m going to have a drummer and a guitar player and I playing keyboard as well.

TM: What do you think about music from Portugal? What is the status?

Ricco Vitali: I think that music in Portugal is going through a really good period. There are a lot of bands playing, a lot of cool bands and the scene is really vivid. One of my favorite bands is standing over there, Capitão Fausto. They’re like the Portuguese Tame Impala, they’re really psychedelic. And in general, you know, maybe I think it’s more or less like all the countries. You know, like there’s good bands, there’s shitty bands, but there’s something going on. I think one of the main factors is the many music festivals in Portugal throughout the year,and the many other venues where bands can play their music. I’m the living example. I’m a newcomer and I’ve played for three years or something like that and I’m playing at one of the coolest festivals in Portugal and in Europe.

TM: When was the point that you realized like, wow, this is getting bigger.

Ricco Vitali: About two years ago when I opened for Imagine Dragons. At the coliseum in Lisbon I got to play like for about ten thousand people. Sure, everybody was waiting for Imagine Dragons but once we got on stage it was like, woooo! “Okay, they are not Imagine Dragons but yeah let’s party”. So, yeah, that’s one of the first times that I really got, you know, like a massive vibe from the crowd and I was really excited to be playing. Thanks Imagine Dragons!

TM: Cool. Where else have you played?

Ricco Vitali: This year I toured Spain, did a couple of shows in Spain. I toured in Portugal, other festivals. But I think the highlights, Razzmatazz in Barcelona, which was really cool. In London I played a couple of times two and three years ago.

TM: When’s the next time? Because a lot of our readers are from London.

Ricco Vitali: Now I’m going to record an album, I got a deal with Sony Music, so I’m really excited.

TM: Yeah! There’s some money behind it.

Ricco Vitali: Yeah! Wooo! I think until the end of the year I’ll be recording the album and getting ready for like a really cool 2016 year.

TM: What would you say to the people who are now starting out with making music?

Ricco Vitali: I’m also just starting out, but I think the main thing is honesty. You have to be really honest with what you do. If you believe in what you’re doing, I’m sure that you’ll get somewhere. I don’t know if that somewhere is like playing in all of the European festivals, but if you really take the extra mile, rehearse, always play with your bandmates. Yeah, if you get serious I think you’ll get there, you just have to be patient. I’m thirty years old now, so I’ve been making music since I’m sixteen and fifteen years later I’m playing live. It’s possible, things can happen.

TM: Exactly. Where in Portugal are you from?

Ricco Vitali: I’m from Lisbon.

TM: So far we’re loving it.

Ricco: It’s a good place. Besides this shitty weather.

TM: Shitty?

Ricco Vitali: No I’m just joking, I’m joking.

TM: Don’t tell the people from London about shitty weather. What’s your favorite venue in Lisbon?

Ricco Vitali: I would have to say Music Box. That guy over there is the owner *Points at the manager of the band Galgo*. Lux as well, there are a couple of good venues. And the Cais do Sodré and Bairro Alto areas are really cool too to hang out.

We were delighted to get to know Ricco. If you want to hear more of Cavaliers of Fun and get a taste of the awesome remixes he does, check out his Soundcloud.