[INTERVIEW/RECAP] RINI Serenades His Fans in LA!

Singer-songwriter, RINI serenades his fans in Los Angeles with his voice and lyrics. On December 16th, RINI held his last stop on Past The Naked Eye U.S. tour at The Echoplex. Fans braved the cold to get in the venue to see not only the artist himself but his opening acts, SAFE and NNENA. (Check out RINI’s interview at the end of this recap).

Past The Naked Eye Tour

After SAFE and NNENA finished their sets, the packed venue awaited RINI’s appearance on stage. The fans screamed in welcome for him as he stepped on stage and grabbed his guitar. He performed many of his tracks, including songs off his older EP’s and his latest release, Ultraviolet.

The audience included many different fans; fans who knew his newer music like “Strawberry Blossom”, “Haunt Me”, and “Selfish”. Then, there were the OG fans who cheered and sang along to “Mimosa”, “Oceane” among many more.

The moment everyone was waiting for was when RINI started performing “Meet Me In Amsterdam“; the entire audience came together to sing along. This is the track that really introduced RINI to millions of fans and he talks about that some more below in his interview.

RINI didn’t disappoint with his amazing vocals, legendary music and wonderful stage presence.

But who is RINI?

RINI is a Melbourne-raised artist who speaks directly to listeners while wearing his heart on his sleeve. He first got people’s attention by busking on the streets of Melbourne. He then started releasing music in 2018 before basing himself in Los Angeles soon after. This also marks when his song “Meet Me in Amsterdam” caught the attention of millions.

After emerging as a remarkable new talent poised to thrive in today’s R&B landscape, RINI is laser-focused on continuing to push the boundaries of modern music with his unique style, accumulating over 376M streams across platforms while averaging 2.2M monthly listeners on Spotify to date. Over the years, RINI became emboldened by the discovery that music can shape the world around him. From relocating out West to acclimating himself to the fast-paced lifestyle, this stage of his career has been about growth and self-discovery.

The artist has officially released his newest EP “Ultraviolet“. He has music videos for “Haunt Me”, “Selfish” and “Pressure” which are all included on the newest release.

HypnoticAsia had a chance to interview RINI. Check it out below!

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Please introduce yourself to the HypnoticAsia readers.

Hey HypnoticAsia readers, I’m RINI and I’m an artist from Melbourne, Australia.

Why did you decide to put your music out on YouTube when you first began?

When I first uploaded music on YouTube, they were covers of other songs and to be honest back in those days I was really just doing it for fun, it was kind of like a cool little hobby turned into something.

Who would you say is your biggest inspiration?

I had a lot of musical inspiration growing up, from Guns N Roses Rock n Roll to Michael Jackson pop to Musiq Soulchild Neo Soul vibes. But who really inspired me to create more were artists like Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino and the Weeknd.

You moved here from Melbourne, correct? How has the location change impacted your music career?

Yes, I did. Moving to the US for me was one of the best decisions I think I could’ve ever made for my career. Great thing about it was I got to be in a new environment and experience new things, I got to learn more about the culture and have more knowledge of what people listen to out here which has given me the chance to grow my music and my fanbase. Also got to work with a lot of talented people who have helped my sound evolve.

When writing music, do the lyrics typically come from life and relationship experiences?

Typically yes but sometimes I kinda make up scenarios/situations and put myself in another person’s perspective and try to imagine what I would do/feel if I was really going through it and that’s how I’d come up with words.

Do you believe you have grown as an artist since your debut?

I strongly believe I have come a long way. I look back a lot and think damn, I been to so many places, done experienced so many things because of this music thing. Super blessed.

For listeners who are just starting to get to know your music, which song would you recommend to them?

I would always recommend the latest music that I’ve put out and if they like it then they can do the rest of the digging in the discography haha. It’s fun when I find new artists that I like and I go find more old stuff they’ve done that are so fire.

How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard your music before?

I’d say it’s a bop! Just pure vibes

In August 2022, you surprised the crowd with your appearance during Thuy’s stage at Head In The Clouds LA 2022. Would you be interested in having your own set at the festival in the future?

I was blessed with the opportunity to share the stage with Thuy that time and I’m forever grateful. I would definitely love to do my own set for Head in the Clouds one day.

Is there an artist you’d like to collaborate with that you haven’t had the chance to yet?

Yes, I really would love to collab with SZA one day, it’s a goal.

You collaborated with singer-songwriter, Thuy, on the track, “Trust”; tell us a bit about how that came to be and what it was like working with her? 

Working with Thuy on “Trust” was honestly one of the breeziest sessions I’ve ever had with another artist. Her team reached out to my team while I was in LA and I pulled up on her at the studio. We kicked it off so easy and I could genuinely say that Thuy knows exactly what it takes to get to the top. Her drive and her attitude towards music is so inspiring! Talk about her vocals too, she’s just one hell of a talented human being.

On the same subject of collaborations, you recently released the track “Selfish” with Grammy-Award winning artist, Beam. How was that experience? 

That was pretty crazy to me… I’m a big fan of BEAM as well and to be able to share experience with him was a blessing. His writing game is another level and all I could say is he’s an alien and I mean that in the best way.

You are releasing a new EP this Fall entitled “Ultraviolet”. Tell us how this EP differs from your past music. 

UltraViolet is going to be a completely different vibe compared to my previous stuff. This EP is a lot bolder, more fun and has a lot more attitude.

You have pre-released “Haunt Me” ahead of the release of your upcoming EP. Can we expect this track to set the mood for the rest of the album? 

You could say it sets the tone for the EP but not completely because there’s songs in the EP that are also so different from Haunt Me but still has the same vibe.

You’re going on tour! Congratulations on selling out your upcoming tour stops. What can fans expect from your shows? 

Thank you so much! I think the fans will have an amazing time coming to the show specially because it’s the very first time I’m actually headlining a tour here in the US, all their favorites they’ll be hearing live and more!

You released “Meet Me In Amsterdam” 3 years ago and the video has garnered over 21M views. Do you believe this song plays an important role in who you are as an artist today? 

Absolutely, I think Meet me in Amsterdam was really the song that set my music career off. MMIA to me was probably one of the best songs I’ve ever made.

What advice would you give to a struggling aspiring artist? 

I feel like saying “keep going” would be cliché but that’s really it. Believing in your vision and putting the extra mile every time. Don’t be afraid to take criticism as well because that’s what pushes you to get better at what you do.

Is there anything you’d like to say to your supporters who have been following your musical journey since the beginning? 

If you’ve been following me since the get go then I have one thing to say to you. I LOVE YOU and THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.