Long Island Sound: Del Rio finds his rhythm

Mike Del Rio believes in doing things himself.

Sure, he wrote and recorded his new EP "The Mad World" in his mother's Franklin Square basement. And yes, he's putting it out himself. But Del Rio's hands-on approach extends to the album's artwork and packaging, and even his stage lighting, which he collaborated on with Nine Inch Nails' lighting designer. (At Friday's Bowery Ballroom release party, everyone gets a free EP that the singer-songwriter made himself.)

"I'm very excited about it," he says. "A lot of work went into it, and now I'm ready to bring the magic."

The wide-ranging "Mad World" EP captures some of that magic, with pop anthems lining up nicely against some upbeat rockers.

"There's a lot of hills and valleys," he says. "I'm trying to avoid any labels."

The groovy "Feelgood," which could have come from the last Mark Ronson album, has already found a home on VH1 as the theme for its "Jump Start Live" show. The grand "These Days" could hold its own against anything from OneRepublic with its sing-along chorus.

"Dance music never goes out of style," Del Rio says. "I'm a big disco head. Who doesn't love a good rhythm? But I like doing epic and slow things, too."

Though the niche-obsessed may worry about Del Rio's genre-hopping, he certainly isn't.

"Who says you can't?" Del Rio says. "What rule book is that from? Let's do it all . . . let's just make it as bright as we can."

Mike Del Rio plays Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St., Manhattan, at 8:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $16.05 through Ticketmaster. For a free download of "The New Year," go to mikedelrio.com.

Contact The Long Island Sound at glenn.gamboa@ newsday.com or follow @ndmusic on Twitter.