RINI’s Lucky 7 EP boldly marks the dawn of a creative awakening.
The project, available now on Warner Records, reflects his most recent sonic odyssey filled with discovery. The Filipino-Australian, who emerged on the scene in 2017, started experimenting with more sounds following his 2022 EP, Ultraviolet, which was the catalyst behind him stepping outside his usual musical calling card.
“For the past couple of years, I’ve been soul-searching what my sound is. Being able to go back to my roots and use the influences that I’ve had has helped me build this new era of RINI, and I’m sticking with that,” RINI tells Rated R&B over Zoom from his Los Angeles apartment.
Ultraviolet delved into hip-hop soul, save for the title track, which was a slight deviation from his 2021 debut album, Constellations. “I tried to incorporate more of a hip-hop vibe and even the rocky elements of music because that’s something that I grew up listening to a lot,” RINI says of the former EP. “Constellations was very neo-soul [and] classic R&B. I kind of wanted to move away from that for a bit and try new things.”
Lucky 7 still retains RINI’s soulful essence while he fuses R&B and rock with swirling psychedelic flourishes. Inspired by the making of Ultraviolet, RINI decided to further explore his childhood passion for the guitar.
“I think Ultraviolet helped me transition into this whole rock world, which is now Lucky 7,” he reflects. “Lucky 7 is heavily influenced by rock and alternative R&B. Growing up, my dad was playing a lot of Queen, Eagles, Journey, and heavy rock bands from back in the day. I was like, ‘I need to incorporate this guitar thing more in my music.’”
He continues, “The whole journey between Ultraviolet [and Lucky 7], I was exploring the guitar [and] the different ways I can use my voice in a sound where it’s not your classic R&B, it’s more like rock-fusion R&B. It’s a lot of experimenting with this one.”
Lucky 7 is preceded by the singles “Miracle,” “Matter to You” and “Your Ecstasy.” Regarding the latter spellbinding track, RINI previously told Rated R&B, “‘Your Ecstasy’ explores the theme of becoming someone’s addiction, equating the euphoria induced by their presence to that of a powerful drug. Sonically, I wanted to take it into this psychedelic world that evokes feelings of both excitement and danger.”
Even though Lucky 7 is just the beginning of RINI’s new musical chapter, he feels more confident than ever. “I think where I’m at now with my sound, I think it’s really me as an artist. There’s always going to be an R&B root in there, but just always adding a touch of something else.”
Below, RINI discusses his Lucky 7 EP in-depth, plus teases an upcoming tour and album.
What does Lucky 7 represent for you?
This full concept started with me reflecting on my journey [and] musical career. I’m originally from Australia. I moved to the U.S. in 2019, and it’s been a rollercoaster. I’ve learned a lot within myself and my career. [Lucky 7 is] me talking about a lot of the stuff I went through for the past couple of years — my relationship. I’ve lost some friends [and] people that I used to work with. Those experiences helped me grow and kind of shaped who I am as an artist and person. Moving overseas and risking everything is what the whole concept of this project is trying to hit the jackpot.
When I came from being overseas during Covid, I was looking for an apartment. I was struggling to find one because I’m from overseas [and] I don’t have a crazy credit score here in the U.S. I [eventually] got a place in Studio City, and it was unit number seven. My homie was like, “Yo, we need to call this ‘Lucky 7’ because this was the last place that we were hoping to get, and we got it.” A lot of the songs on the EP were made when I was staying in that apartment.
On “Scars,” you sing about loving and wanting to be loved for your whole self, including your flaws. How do you navigate musical scars? Do you keep at it until it feels right, or do you try not to overthink that process?
I’m a bit of both. [For] some songs, I’m really nitpicky and would do millions of versions until I have the right one. Sometimes, I’ll find myself being too much. I think it sounds great, but I’m just like, “I think there’s something missing.” Sometimes, you have to let that go. If you dwell on it for too long, it starts to stunt your creativity and you start to not make any new music because you’re just stuck on that thing. When I know that I can bring a song to a certain point, then I’ll try to do it as much as I can. Once it reaches that “OK, it feels good,” then I move on to the next one. I think having limits is my way of navigating through that creative block. But if I feel that I can push it, I’ll push it to the max. Many times, I have to remake the song or rewrite it.
“Gone With the Wind” sounds like a dreamy ‘80s ballad. What inspired that song?
I wrote that back in 2022. I love George Michael. “Careless Whisper” is one of my favorite classic songs ever. Me and my homie Snaggle Owky from Korea were exchanging beats and stuff. I was like, “Yo, I need something that sounds like the ‘80s.” I gave him a bunch of George Michael references and he came back with that. During that time, I was going through something. I think this was around the same time I wrote “Matter to You.” I was imagining, “What if I really lose this person that I love?” That’s kind of where the whole idea of “Gone With the Wind” came from. That phrase got stuck in my head and I was like, “That sounds like the emotion that I’m feeling right now.” It’s like if I lose somebody and I can’t catch up to them, I’ll just be stuck there forever. I’ll just be wondering where they are or wishing they were still there.
What’s the story behind making “Under the Surface”?
That one actually came from two different songs that we ended up merging together. One of the songs, the original, was called “Under the Surface,” but it sounded completely different from what you hear now. That came from a writer’s camp that I did. The other song was called “Right Hand.” When I was in the studio with Malay, and we were going through all the songs that we made, those two songs sounded really similar to each other. We were like, “We got a lot of different stuff. We don’t want to have two songs that [are] right next to each other. This sounds identical. Why don’t we merge them together?”
The concept of being under the surface is kind of like “Scars.” We all have things in the past that we’re not proud of, and we try to keep them in the past. Sometimes, our partners try to ask, “Yo, what is up with that? Why didn’t you do this with me first?” And I’m like, “It’s out of my control.” That was the most fun song that I’ve ever worked on, as well as being able to do something different vocally rapping.
You mentioned that you wanted to take “Your Ecstasy” into a “psychedelic world that evokes feelings of both excitement and danger.” What sonically inspired the song?
I was listening to a lot of Tame Impala records for the past couple of years. I’ve been a huge Tame Impala fan just because the whole psychedelic rock world was new to me. It was exciting and I was curious how I would navigate that kind of sound. So I was like, “Let’s make something super sexy and R&B.” Lyrically, it’s like, “I’m trying to get with you,” but it has the sonics of the feeling of being under some drug or on shrooms. It is another one of those songs that is experimental to me and concept-wise, it’s super simple. It is how you feel when you are with somebody that makes you feel like you’re high.
You conclude Lucky 7 with “Far Away.” What was your intention with that song?
“Far Away” was inspired by my relationship. My girlfriend still lives in Australia, and we’ve been together since before I got signed. Six years long distance and it was never easy for both of us. I feel the way we navigated through the whole situation was by communicating, learning from each other, and having boundaries. In the process of doing that, we became really close. “Far Away” is no matter how far you are physically, because of what we’ve built, I feel like you are still here no matter where I go.
I chose to end it with that because the rest of the songs in the project are very dark. I feel like the rest of the songs that didn’t make it to this project have a very happy energy. I wanted to put that there so I can have an opening for the rest of the songs to come in later, which is going to be a whole different side of the rock-R&B. It’s going to be happier. You see the night before you see the day.
Does this mean an album is coming? If so, what can you share about it?
I originally wanted to put out a whole album and call it Casino. The reason why I wanted to do Casino is that [it] covers the whole concept of betting on yourself [and] risking everything. For me, moving out to the U.S. was a risk of everything. I’m chasing a dream. I’m trying to get the jackpot. I’m trying to win. So, in this project, there are a lot more topics that I wanted to talk about in life, losing and just everything that’s going on in the world. I think I’ll probably see how this goes first because right now, I am going through the whole Casino concept. I’m currently moving out of my spot right now. I feel like I’m going to end up writing more songs about what I’m going through.
For the next project, I’m going to take my time. I feel like that’s going to tell this beautiful story of my whole journey being from the Philippines, moving to Australia, and moving to America to pursue this music career in the world of short-form content. It’s so difficult to navigate. I’m not the only one that’s going through that. So I have a lot of stuff that I want to say that I can only say in the music. I think after this project, I’m going to leave it open for new ideas and new sounds to come through. But yeah, that’s the plan. Put this project out, take it on tour, and then when it feels right, I’ll have a full-length album that will be called Casino.
What was your biggest takeaway from creating Lucky 7?
I got to discover myself more and became more confident in the music that I make. It feels like me a hundred percent. That is one of the most important things because, for the past couple of years, I’ve been soul-searching what my sound is. But being able to go back to my roots and use the influences that I’ve had has helped me build this new era of RINI and I’m sticking with that. I’m excited to see where it goes.
What do you want listeners to take away from Lucky 7?
I just want them to enjoy it. I don’t expect anything. I love the music, and I hope that they will, too. I really have a great feeling that they will. I hope they can relate to the songs.
Stream RINI’s Lucky 7 EP below.
