RIMON is an Eritrean-born and Amsterdam-raised R&B musician creating soulful, self-empowered and hypnotising melodies as represented in her recent YouTube performance ‘never learned how to cope + feed me’. The dreamy aesthetic of the video features a renaissance style backdrop and angelic, beige and white styling for all of the singers, including RIMON. Through her live session performance, which was launched at the start of 2021, we are offered an insight as to what one of RIMON’s concerts will feel like post-lockdown. With her vocals varying from melodic lyricism to rhythmic rhyming, in hand with the accompany of electric instruments, she ignites her space as transcending boundaries while evolving nuances of R&B classics. Noticeably, RIMON’s eye’s remain shut throughout the first half of her performance, while the drummer, keyboard pianist, guitarist and backup singers accompany her into a soul to music engagement of sound. This contrasts significantly with the second half of the video. RIMON’s styling is vibrant, dramatic and her hair and make-up is purposefully curated to transcend her into a mythic, afrofuturistic being. She alludes confidence and her eyes immediately open wide as she invites you into her reiteration of a love story. The colour blue accompanies the vibration of this song as the emotive narrative is depicted as ethereal and timeless. In an exclusive interview with us, RIMON shares more about what inspires her artistry and how she has evolved in the year of 2020.
When did you first start creating music and what are your main goals as a musician?
I think I was around 17 when I first started recording music. I’ve been writing and singing ever since I was a kid though. My goal was really to create at first and to express my secret feelings that I’d never share. Along the way I started to realise that the vision is larger than me, so my goals are to connect people through my music, leave the world a more loving and empowered place, but also to set myself and my family straight for life, so we can provide a more stable base for the next generation of our fam.
Which three words would you use to describe your music + artistry?
Expressive, paradoxical and aesthetically pleasing.
Your recent YouTube performance ‘never learned how to cope + feed me’ was mesmerising. What inspired you to create this live session?
We didn’t do a live session for my last EP ‘I Shine, U Shine’ but in the meantime, we were full-on working on my next project ‘Digital Tears’ so we came up with this idea to do a session that bridges both era’s since they’re completely different, and I love contrast.
The diverging styles between the first and second song were beautiful to see, can you elaborate on what influenced the styling for the different songs?
The first song is a very personal song where I sing about certain trauma’s, so for that sequence, I didn’t want to have a crazy look, but keep it pure and simple, almost as if you’re naked (hence the nude colours) as I’m kinda stripped down to fully express my vulnerability. The second song, on the other hand, is a very conceptual song. My next EP will be about the dynamics between humans and technology/social media, so for that specific look, I wanted something that was abstract, and almost humanoid like. The latex dress and the covered faces were the perfect way to show what we had in mind.
How do you feel like your music has changed and evolved over the years?
Yes definitely. I think it’s becoming more grown, as I am growing myself. Also, the producer I work with, Samuel Kareem, is growing as a producer, and starting to learn several instruments and you can definitely hear that. Topic-wise, I just found myself thinking about the world a lot and what I see around me and as an artist, I’ve been feeling like I should give those thoughts and observations a place in my music, aside from the more introspective songs.
One of my favourite songs you created from 2020 was Got My Back – what inspired you to create this song?
It was based on the relationship I was in back then. The guy was someone I could rely so heavily upon, and in the song, I am basically explaining how communication was our main strength and how we would never really get into heavy arguments and we would just communicate about everything like adults. We broke up, but I still feel like we would have each other’s back forever.
How has the pandemic impacted your creativity and will you be posting any music videos soon?
It’s been a rollercoaster, at times I would be so uninspired and then I’d have phases of so much inspiration. It’s just been all over the place, but less present as ever, since I really need to be able to live life and experience shit to tap into inspiration, but I can’t complain, cause the next project was made in the pandemic. And OF COURSE, no music project without no visuals.
What energy are you manifesting into 2021 and are there any special projects or collaborations that we can expect to see from you?
I’m manifesting a year of introspection, going inwards more, to release emotions and energies for the album. That’s going to be the most important project for me. I’m also manifesting health, self-love, more discipline, and expressing through different media outside of music and visuals.
To stay in tune with RIMON’s pure energy, follow her on Instagram and keep updated about her artistry.
