Rini

Emerging with a signature style of languid, intimate R&B, Rini achieved widespread attention toward the close of the 2010s through widely streamed tracks such as “My Favourite Clothes” and “Meet Me in Amsterdam.” Born in the Philippines, the singer and songwriter launched his professional path in Melbourne before relocating to Los Angeles once momentum built. His first full-length release, the Warner-backed Constellations, appeared in 2021, with the Ultraviolet EP arriving the following year. Tracks including “My Luv” and “Miracle” set the stage for his subsequent project, the 2024 EP Lucky 7.

Justerini Sandoval entered the world in the late 1990s; his initial encounters with music stemmed from his parents’ CD library, which ranged from Michael Jackson’s R&B to Bon Jovi’s rock catalog. His father, frequently absent at sea, gathered instruments during his voyages and brought home a guitar that Sandoval used to master his earliest chords. At ten he relocated with his family to Melbourne, where involvement in a local church soon followed. Fellow musicians there introduced him to keyboards, bass, and drums. Before long he began posting emotionally charged covers of popular R&B songs online, and by seventeen he had started composing original songs.

“Wasted,” a 2016 collaboration with Vince Valentino, marked one of Rini’s earliest official releases. In mid-2017 he issued a self-released, self-titled debut EP built around minimalist beats supplied by friends. The project attracted attention from Warner Music, which subsequently licensed several of his singles, among them the characteristically restrained “Emerald.” Although 2018 yielded numerous tracks, including the Snaggle Owky collaboration “For the Last Time,” it was the October release After the Sun EP that more completely shaped his sonic identity. After issuing the dreamy, Rhodes-heavy “Feels Natural” with fellow Melburnian Agung Mango in 2019, Rini moved to Los Angeles. Warner then threw its weight behind Constellations, which reached listeners in October 2021 and featured the well-received singles “Out of the Blue” and “Red Lights,” the latter boasting a guest appearance by Wale. The BEAM-assisted “Trust” and “Haunt Me” surfaced in 2022, with the latter later included on Ultraviolet. “My Luv,” a 2023 duet with Bibi Bourelly, preceded the solo releases “Miracle” and “Matter to You,” both highlights of the Lucky 7 EP that arrived in 2024.