Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo — the leader of and brains behind The Bloody Beetroots — was born on December 18, 1977 in Bassano del Grappa, Italy. Though he’s a classically trained musician, Rifo got his start and earned his reputation in the music industry by producing a range of styles of music, from punk to new wave.
Rifo stays mostly anonymous, his only distinguishing feature — as he performs in a mask — being the “1977” tattoo across his chest, symbolizing his birth coinciding with the birth of punk rock. While The Bloody Beetroots is an electro house band, Rifo also uses the name for almost all of his solo projects.
The Bloody Beetroots formed in 2006 with Rifo producing and playing keys, guitar, and DJing. Tommy Tea joined him, bringing sampling into the mix, and Beetroots became a duo, known as The Bloody Beetroots DJ Set.
Shortly after forming Beetroots, Rifo released his singles “Warp 1.9” and “Cornelius”, gaining him support from Steve Aoki, Alex Gopher, and Etienne de Crecy. By ‘08, the EP Cornelius was in the top 100 downloads on iTunes worldwide. In ‘09, Beetroots went on a short U.S. tour with Aoki. The Bloody Beetroots were recognizable, at this point, by their anonymity, as all the members wore Venom masks on stage.
During their 2010 tour, Rifo labeled their live band The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, adding drummer Edward Grinch to the team. In ‘11, Dennis Lyxzen, of Refused, joined as vocalist for a few songs on the Church of Noise tour.
As Rifo’s brainchild, The Bloody Beetroots project continues to morph and grow. Rifo and Tommy Tea toured all of 2012 as The Bloody Beetroots DJ Set again, playing festivals like Ultra and Tomorrowland.
