Mike Del Rio and Crista Ru, known as POWERS, are forces behind some of the biggest hits from artists like Selena Gomez, Icona Pop, and Christina Aguilera, among others. Now that they’ve broken out into their own duo, the music delivered is a wide range of genres (funk, pop, indie, soul), held together by their strong songwriting skills and electrifying performances. Bringing soulful funk back to the generation, Mike Del Rio and Crista Ru, are a lively duo with outfits to match.

Interview and photography by Mike Greene

What is your inspiration for creating such positive and upbeat music? Do you feel your experiences, either positive or negative, have affected the way you create and write?

Crista: We’ve tried to take the bad times and package them into a nice little upbeat way to make people feel good
Mike: When we usually get the question “where does you find inspiration or what type of genre is your music” the easiest way for us to explain is to say that we make celebratory music. You celebrate the highs and lows, right turns, left turns and all the bullshit in between – any writer will tell you that. Music is here to enrich moments – It’s a soundtrack to a moment in time, a sensation, a feeling. Thats our vibe and it just so happens to be packaged into some bright, disco stuff.

What’s it like as producers to grow up in New York? Do you feel that this environment made you into the type of musicians you are today, compared with people who grew up in areas where music, and festivals, weren’t as prevalent?

Crista: We both grew up in New York where you had unbelievable hip-hop, tons of clubs and dance music going on at all times. Between our parents and grandparents we had all different kinds of music genres floating around our lives. We didn’t have the internet until we were about thirteen and once that came about it blew our minds and the rest was history.
Mike: I played CBGB when I was fifteen years old and I knew it was a big deal. The first time I went to CBGB as a fan was with my mom, because i wasn’t old enough, and we were walking into the city and I remember this bluegrass punk band called ‘Uncle Fucker’. I remember we walked in and my mom told me this was exactly how the venue looked like in 1977. New York is always on the cutting edge of something and it just bleeds creativity. Being around millions of people you’re bound to have a creative spark. The struggle of being in the city is also something to thrive off of and cut your teeth and learn as an adult or an artist how much work it takes to do anything in life.  We’re both very fortunate because, although we didn’t grow up in Manhattan, we still had the access to what the city provided and it was a great eye opener.

Do you think things would be different if you had grown up in Manhattan?

Crista: I don’t think so.  I had family all over so I was coming here [Manhattan] every weekend. The moment I was old enough, I was on the train everyday
Mike: We didn’t have the internet the entire way, but for the first time ever, our generation and the generation below us has access to the last 60 years + of music. They can look up blues of the 50’s and disco in the 70’s and totally be engulfed in it. I think for us it was just more of the work effort and the community that was in New York. Both of us really found each other in that music community. In New York it’s so tough that you really bond with those people. It’s really about cutting your teeth and grinding in this city.

“The creative process for the most part is just the two of us.  We’re in a bubble and it’s like a vacuum where we just get buried in our own heads and it can be very intense but so much fun, especially when someone else comes in and vibes it out and you get to see how they work.”

Speaking of family, are there any particular musicians, from either of your childhoods that you or your parents listened to, that affected how you create today?

Crista: For me, it was The Beatles and The Platters, they just melted me. I have a very vivid memory of when I was a kid, being in the cadillac with my dad and him singing along to the Platters and Beatles cassette tapes – that’s how I fell in love with music and I wanted to know why I loved it so much. I’d sit down and pick it apart and try to learn how to play all the songs.  For sure that played a big role in my influence of writing and where I pull my melody ideas from.  You can play most of the beatles songs on a guitar.
Mike: For me, Frank Sinatra was always on growing up in my house, and that was such transformative music. You listen to Frank Sinatra and you’re immediately transported to New York in the 40’s. My dad grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.  That’s where they shot Saturday Night Fever, and growing up we would always watch that movie. Just growing up I thought it was the coolest thing ever and I guess that subconsciously has stayed with me. The regalness of disco and the romanticism of being in New York in the 70’s, you know hip-hop came out of that, disco, new wave, punk; all of these colorful genres of music came out of New York in the 70’s. My parents weren’t disco cats, but they grew up the 70’s.  Music was always a big part and it was always huge in my house. My dad would sing, and we had a piano, guitars, etc.  I think it’s more their influence [my parents] affecting me, and luckily they had pretty good taste. Oh, and Billy Joel of course.  Crista, you were definitely more punk rock than I was…
Crista: For me, outside of my family, punk rock was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was an amazing community and the underground scene was so tight. It was a big influence on my attitude for not giving a fuck and saying what i wanted to say. Either way there’s going to be somebody who feels the same way, you know what I mean?

Mike: Well you did have your gay uncle…

Crista: Oh man! My uncle used to throw all these crazy parties. He’s like this super fun, into film and TV.  He would just give us bits and pieces of the songs he loved from the clubs.  He has a great taste in music

Was your uncle the inspiration for where you are today? Was he the one who led the pack?

Crista: He definitely fed into it. He was one of the first people in my life to be like “hey you should check this out”. When CD’s came out he would burn me copies, and send me videos of all these different artists that he liked, totally obscure artists like Grace Jones who, for example, blew my mind.  This woman [Grace Jones], oh my god, is a goddess. She’s amazing. I got a lot of influence from Uncle Mike.

He’s got a great name…

Mike: couldn’t agree with you more! I don’t know one bad Mike.

Mike, was there a specific person in your life that provided the inspiration or push, or got you off your feet on a bad day?

Mike: Honestly, it was my whole family.  I was really so fortunate to have a really supportive family. When I was a kid I was a dancer – I had a cousin who was an Alvin & Alley dancer and I saw one of his performances and since then I knew i wanted to be a performer, I was hooked. My dad had a guitar that he didn’t know how to play – it just had one string on it. I started writing songs with one string and it wasn’t like we started playing it then, I was just always trying to write. From the first time i picked up an instrument I was infatuated with it, I was 12 years old, and that was 15 years ago.

This was all when MTV was cool back in the day…

Mike: There was something distinct that we had back in the day, and that was mono-culture. Everybody kind of got the same influence at once. I don’t want to be like, “oh those were the golden days” but of course it’s amazing we all have access to whatever our tastes let us choose, but it’s just interesting how we can all reminisce about SNICK. I don’t know if that’s nostalgia, there was just something about that TRL moment.  Coming home from school and turning it on being exposed to Limp Bizkit or Britney Spears… I used to love that red catsuit.

Finally, what’s something you’ve learned from collaborating and working with so many individuals – a lesson, technique, etc.  You’ve worked with a pretty wide range of individuals from Tim McGraw to Selena Gomez, our friends The Knocks, etc.

Crista: It’s interesting to get other people’s takes on your creative process. The creative process for the most part is just the two of us.  We’re in a bubble and it’s like a vacuum where we just get buried in our own heads and it can be very intense but so much fun, especially when someone else comes in and vibes it out and you get to see how they work. Everyone has a different process and songs can honestly start from anything, whether a little tempo, rhythm, a melody line, or even a concept. I think we’ve both learned to go with the flow as we’ve worked with a lot of people.  The more you do and the more you interact it becomes easier to express things with people you may not be so personable with. Its a very intimate thing, writing music, and you’re letting out whatever secrets – you’re opening yourself up to criticism or whatever you want to call it when you’re writing. It’s about learning not to care so much and just be free… at least for me personally. The biggest thing I have gained from working with people, and writing with people professionally is not to give a fuck.
Mike: Just being self-aware and confident and knowing what to do. I think the best collaborations stem from people who are comfortable with themselves. Whether we’ve had good sessions or collaborations you’re always learning something about life and you end up taking the best out of it.  The craft of collaboration is an art form itself.