Me in my studio: The Bloody Beetroots

The Bloody Beetroots has been the musical moniker of Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo (AKA Simone Congo) since 2006. Early single Warp 1.9, which featured Steve Aoki, was a noughties EDM staple, and recently got a 10th anniversary reissue.

The Beetroots’ new single, Fkn Face, was released last week, serving as a prelude to their forthcoming Heavy EP.  

Ahead of festival appearances at OpenAir and Topfest, we asked Sir Bob to show us the setup he uses to cultivate the Beetroots’ sound...

“The Coffin Studio is where all the Bloody Beetroots productions are created. I love using Ableton Live 10 as my main DAW for all the songs that I produce because it’s intuitive, fast and incredibly mappable with external controllers. It’s also very flexible.”

“I cannot mix or play any instruments if I don’t visualise where they are on the spectrum.  Because of this, I largely use the Audioscope 2813 and have been since day one. The Avalon VT 737sp is my favourite preamp for vocals. I’ve recorded everybody from Nic Cester of Jet to Greta Svabo Beck with this.”

“I have tried many studio monitors throughout the years, but what really suits my taste for mixing and mastering is a combination of Eve SC208 and Yamaha HS5. They are good on the low and the high end, and I don’t feel the need to have any other speakers in my studio (with the exception of just a little one to check the mono). These are must-haves in the Coffin Studio.”

“The Kemper Profiling Amplifier is my favourite virtual preamp for guitars. It is the most complete and updatable tool to achieve the sound you want.  It has infinite possibilities. It’s also a real space saver.

“The UAD Infinity 4-710d serves the studio by recording all the external gear - synths, drum machines and even bass guitars. It’s like a DI with a special flavour.”

“The Mackie Big Knob is my best friend. It’s old and has been with me forever. Everything is connected through the Knob and it's pretty much the core of the studio.”

“I love the Ableton Push 2 but I use only about 25% of its potential. I prefer to finger drum on the keyboards, but it’s good for automation on the go because everything is already on the MIDI map and easily accessible. It’s really good for creating alternative harmonies, especially for a musician who wants to break some schemes.”

“I used to have an SSL Nucleus as a DAW controller but I sold it because I could never get a decent update from SSL and I got frustrated. So I started using the PreSonus Faderport 16 and it blew me away with its quick setup and ability to provide full control in Ableton Live 10.”

“If other producers are like me they have changed many interfaces over the years, but when I found the UAD Apollo 16 I never turned back. So, additionally, I bought an Apollo 8P and Duo MK2 for my other two studios.

“The beauty of the UAD system is the DSP and the incredible overall quality of sound. And it’s the only service that allows me and my engineers to share all the purchases with one account on all the interfaces, no matter where I am in the world. I can recall all the settings recorded on one side of the world and quickly bring them up on the opposite side, just like that.

“Having the luxury to equip your UAD with a distressor, Neve preamp or a Fatso is a real space, money and time saver. In this photo, there is a Fatso hardware unit that I’m not using anymore because I bought the virtual version for the UAD and it sounds as good as the hardware.”

“I don’t like using many VST instruments but I like using the ones that serve my productions. With that said, I love Kontakt, Reaktor and Serum, which is my number one ready-to-go synth to start a song.

“Sample-wise, I'm a Splice user - I find it amazing because not only is it loaded with high-quality samples, but I can also work remotely on a session through Ableton Live with my production team wherever I am in the world.”

“No matter the instrument, I love improving my craft. I practise a lot, and that’s why I bought the Pioneer XDJ RX2. It’s a good solution if you don’t want to buy a separate mixer with CDJs. It works well with rekordbox and I love it. It’s easy, quick and fun.”