Meet Rini | Singer, Composer & Violinist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rini and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rini, what inspires you?
I am really inspired by global music and the possibility of blending Indian music with different musical ideas. I am always looking for cool artists to collaborate with. I am also very inspired by all the musicians I work with and their stories . It’s amazing to hear how they got started and what motivates them to do what they are doing.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I grew up in South India learning South Indian Classical music (Carnatic) and listening/performing film music which was blending traditional Indian music with Western classical and contemporary music. After getting an opportunity to record a jingle with Grammy and Oscar winning composer A.R.Rahman, I was inspired to learn composition and write my own music.I auditioned for Berklee College of Music and came to Boston in 2012. I was amazed by the incredible talent from around the world there and it took me a couple of years to focus and figure out what I wanted to do. I graduated with a major in Electronic Production and Design and started my project ‘Rini’ in 2015 with members from different countries. I wanted my project to be a way of expressing my creative ideas of putting together music from my culture with music from around the world. Apart from my project, I got a lot of opportunities to perform with amazing musicians like Idan Raichel at Beacon Theater, A.R.Rahman at The United Nations and other popular Bollywood artists touring the US. I also got to co-compose the score and theme for the Netflix show ‘The Fame Game’ starring the Bollywood icon Madhuri Dixit (the show was in the top 10 in more than 10 countries when it released earlier this year). I got to work as a composer on the musical ‘Bollywood Kitchen’ by Sri Rao in its initial stages and will be working more on it later this year. I toured with the production ‘Bollywood Boulevard’ as a lead singer and violinist, performing across the US at different performing arts centers. My journey had its ups and downs and I learnt along the way what I liked doing more and how to focus my energy on opportunities that excite me. I like to constantly learn from the people I work with and its been amazing to hear the stories of everyone I have met and its exciting to meet more people everyday and hear their stories. My project has been a way for me to share my culture with my band who are all from different countries and helped me create a home here in NYC as an immigrant. I am always excited about what tomorrow would bring and what collaborations I can do with musicians.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love food and the outdoors. So it would be a short hike closeby (I live in South Orange, NJ now so the South Mountain Reservation would be best) and then head to the city to have some amazing food. There is an amazing dosa cart near NYU that I love and lots of incredible dessert places – Harbs is a japanese bakery which is my favorite. I would then take them to the Brooklyn pier or promenade in downtown brooklyn for skyline views and then maybe a ferry ride in the East River.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Would like to give a shoutout to my Indian classical teachers in India and the teachers that guided me in Berklee to help me get to where I am. Also a shoutout to the amazing musicians I have worked with over the years in my band, for playing my compositions and bringing in their influences to give it life as I envisioned it.

Website: www.rinimusic.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/rinimusic

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harinisraghavan/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rinimusic

Facebook: https://facebook.com/rinimusicnyc

Youtube: https://youtube.com/rinimusic

Image Credits
Mukesh Babu, Anne Whitman