MANILA, Philippines — For Filipino-Australian singer-songwriter RINI, experimenting or exploring new ideas is in the nature and DNA of any artist. Such an endeavor, as everybody knows, fosters artistic growth. It also makes a creative to offer something new.
It’s safe to say that RINI’s latest EP, Lucky 7, is a testament to how far he has come so far in his music and a preview of what lies ahead of him.
Released via Warner Records, it is composed of tracks such as Scars, Gone With The Wind, Under The Surface, Miracle, Ecstasy, Matter To You and Far Away.
“Personally, real artists, they’re never the same, like, every year, it’s like they change and that’s just the nature of, like, a creative person, I feel like,” said RINI in a recent virtual chat with The STAR, “‘coz I find myself always kind of like gravitating towards a new thing every now and then, and you know, the new stuff that I create is, like, in six months’ time, that’s old. I wanna create a new thing. I think that’s the natural thing for artists and that’s a great thing.”
He sees an artist as someone who pushes the envelope to evolve “and like, find, a fresh new thing every time,” added he. “You know, you don’t wanna be listening to the same stuff every time and you know, things tend to get boring sometimes.”
“So, I think you get out of your comfort zone and it’s like explore where you can go and just like, take chances, take risks and ‘coz you’ll never know you might create a new movement, you know.”
Now based in Atlanta, where he does music rehearsals and recordings, while his label is in Los Angeles, RINI complements his work routine by going to the gym and running.
“I’ve been practicing guitar a lot because I really wanna, like, you know, improve, my skills on that and just having more knowledge in, like, music-making,” he furthered to give everybody a sneak peek into his life beyond the music studios.
“If you keep practicing, it becomes more, you know, muscle memory and I just wanna be a better artist overall, you know, and I’ve just been focusing on the music development side.”
After the release of Lucky 7, RINI shared a piece of good news that he is doing a tour in December in Australia and reuniting with fans in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. By this time, he and his band had already gone back to Australia for rehearsals.
“We are also planning an Asia tour right now. Philippines would definitely be included,” said he, who might do two or three shows, “‘coz I feel like, you know, the fans deserve so much.” Doing showcases in Europe and the US is currently in talks.
A piece of information from his publicity team said that the R&B artist “pulls listeners into his most intimate moments via heart-on-sleeve lyrics, emotive vocals, and a vibe that swirls up quiet storm, ‘90s nostalgia, and a little alt embellishment.”
“(His music has) over 652 million streams on Spotify and the artist’s Top 10 streaming markets include the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia,” it added. “He has amassed over 1.8 million monthly Spotify listeners and earned No. 1 spots and cover features for Spotify’s Mood., TikTok Music’s Smoove R&B, and KKBOX’s R&B (Love Western R&B) playlists.”
How does he make sense of these feats in his recording career?
“It’s definitely inspiring,” said RINI, who also attributes all of it to Him and appreciates the people who are supporting his music. “I’m just super grateful and I’m happy to, you know, be where I am now, and the one thing that I’m trying to focus on is enjoying the ride, just cruising lang and just make good music, go perform for the fans, and yeah, that’s it.”
Is collaborating with Original Pilipino Music (OPM) artists part of his future plans?
“I’m planning to. When I go back to the Philippines, I wanna spend more time, just like staying in the Philippines, you know, like, really get to know the culture,” answered he, who can also be tapped by local stations and variety programs to grace their shows here and abroad.
“If they invite me, I’ll be there,” concluded he, who would watch “ASAP” when he was a kid.
(Access the Lucky 7 tracks via rini.lnk.to/lucky7 and follow RINI on social media platforms such as Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok and his website.)