“100% Pure Love” isn’t just the name of Robbie Rivera’s latest production; it’s an apt description of his passion for house music. That’s what the veteran producer/DJ and Juicy Music label boss plays almost exclusively—he throws in a little tribal, too—and while it has limited his local venue options, his previous visits haven’t let me down once. He returns to Las Vegas to make his debut at Life, where he’ll likely play recent tracks “La Gente,” “The Thing,” “Shake It”—and whatever else he wants.
You’ve had a long history with Las Vegas. How do you regard your relationship with the city? When dance music got popular in Vegas and the clubs started popping up, I thought it was great because, first of all, the venues are amazing. As a DJ, it got really great, everything was doing fantastic. And then it got so commercial … Everybody wanted to come party in Vegas, so eventually a lot of DJs wanted to play there.
How do you feel when the big EDM headliners claim they’re playing house? It’s bullsh*t. There’s this little thing going on I see so much on Twitter, like all these big names saying they’re playing house and they’re doing house … They do one track that sounds house, but it’s really a mixture between electro and house. It’s not a real house track that grooves on and [is] very funky.
You’re not the type to cheese up your sound for Sin City, correct? EDM blew up all over America, so a lot of people became DJs and thought they were DJs. A lot of them came to Vegas and kind of ruined it for other DJs because they came and played radio hits—which anybody could do … I like to take the crowd on a journey.
Robbie Rivera With John Dählback. October 10, doors at 10:30 p.m., $33+ men, $22+ women. Life, 702-761-7617.
