Riovaz

"RioRave II: Disturb the Norm"

wsg Kanii

Wednesday, September 27, 2023
The Pike Room
7pm Doors / All Ages

Riovaz’s music deftly captures the frenetic, unpredictable energy of growing up. Influenced by drum & bass, post-punk and dance composition, his genre-blurring, cutting-edge pop songs that have won him both critical and commercial success before he even graduated high school—are both emotionally rich and dizzyingly varied. It’s rare that two songs sound exactly the same. On his lovesick 2020 breakthrough “Prom Night,” he sang of feeling like death over lilting pop arrangements. But he’s equally likely to spill his heart over crystalline electronic arrangements (“you’re a parasite”) or bouncy house refractions (“Tell Me All Your Fears”). It’s all different, but each track is united by honest, lived-in lyrics from a teenager who doesn’t want to pretend to be anyone but himself. He demonstrates that on his eclectic EP Disturb The Norm. The 8-song project boasts singles “U Neva” and “Tantrum (Pace Yourself)” as well as the skaiwater-assisted “Hypnotized.” Propulsive and poignant, the dance anthems continue to highlight the 19-year-old’s songwriting and defiant originality. Disturb The Norm went on to received major backing – Office Magazine praised him naming his process “boundless,” while Billboard, acclaimed him as a “21 Under 21” artists to watch.

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/riovaz