Q&A: Enjoying the Moments that Take Your Breath Away With Vivi Rincon

Q&AMusic

Sep 6

☆ BY Alicia Casey ☆

JUST LIKE A MOVIE ON YOUR REWATCH LIST — Vivi Rincon’s music is something to come back to over and over again. Her songwriting style is honest and raw, almost like that of a coming-of-age film. Her music tells the story of moving away for college, finding yourself, and falling deeply in love. And this is only the beginning.

Rincon is a Mexican-Venezuelan queer artist with an indie-pop sound inspired by her travels, icons, and risk-taking spirit. She writes songs as a form of therapy and self-love, as well as to help others who may be going through similar things. For Rincon, there is power in putting emotions on a page and letting them flow out instead of in.

Her debut single, “if we lived on the moon,” found its home on TikTok, amassing an astonishing 1.3M views, and received feedback from the likes of Lizzy McAlpine, Madeline The Person, and Alexander Stewart. It was at that point when things started to get exciting for Rincon, and she began her journey as an artist.

On Aug. 31, Rincon released her sophomore track, “can’t breathe,” which explores the experience of loving someone so much you don’t ever want to let them go. With its relatable and vulnerable lyrics and stellar production, it is the perfect song to start or end any playlist. It’s so much more than a love song — it’s an ethereal experience.

“‘Can’t breathe’ is about the intensity of relationships,” Rincon said. “It’s about passion and love and losing yourself in someone else. Holding on so tightly out of fear that you might lose her but willing to take the risk.”

Read below to join the Vivi Rincon cinematic universe.

LUNA: Can you tell us a little bit more about your background and how you found your way to music?

RINCON: Well, honestly, I've always been a musical person and I've always liked performing. I would do little concerts with my family when they would come over and force them to sit and listen for hours. That's when I was young, but then when I was around… I don't know, maybe 10 or 11, I started dancing. And then I wanted to be a dancer on Broadway, and because of that, I had to also take voice lessons and acting lessons. And I really loved the voice lessons part of it. But after a while, the dancing got kind of unhealthy. It can be really competitive, and you're always looking at yourself in the mirror, and I know … a lot of dancers struggle with self-esteem. I did, so I tried to stop dancing but it just wasn't helpful for me anymore. That's when I gravitated towards writing because it was a great way to express my emotions and everything I was feeling. So yeah, I quit dancing and started writing, and I go to Berklee now for songwriting, so I've been doing it. And yeah, I love Berklee.

LUNA: Did your guitar playing come out of you doing the vocal lessons? How did that come about?

RINCON: I actually started out with playing the piano. I took lessons when I was younger but I really didn't like it. I thought It was boring. I wish I would have stayed with it. I preferred playing piano and writing on piano first, and then I lived in Hawai‘i for like three months randomly and picked up the ukulele there. And that was kind of when I was like, “Oh, I like to write on this too!” And then I picked up the guitar because the ukulele was similar, you know? It just kind of progressed from there.

LUNA: Speaking of Berklee and pursuing music full-time, what's it been like being a full-time artist while being a student at the Berklee School of Music?

RINCON: It's really new. I'm a senior now, but in my first three years of college, I wasn’t a full-time artist. I was an artist, but I wasn't releasing music or anything. It wasn't until my last semester. I was studying abroad in Spain and I wrote “if we lived on the moon” and it had a moment on TikTok. That's when everything started happening for me. But my semester abroad was more chill. I wasn't really stressed out about school. I was taking pretty easy classes. Like, not easy, but just fun for me, so it didn't feel like working. I'm really going to get the sense of what that's like now because I'm back in school in Boston. It's really exciting. Actually, I don't really know how it's going to go, but I think it's going to go well.

LUNA: For those first couple years in college, were you developing your sound, vibing with music, and getting comfortable with what you wanted to put out? Stuff like that?

RINCON: Yeah, I mean, I was honestly just finding myself because I wasn't sure if I wanted to be an artist or if I wanted to be a songwriter. For a while, I just wanted to be a songwriter — I had so much anxiety about performing and all that stuff, and I still do. I’ve been working it over. So I was just finding myself, trying to figure out what I wanted, and then “if we lived on the moon” … just kind of happened. I actually realized that I wanted to be an artist very recently.

LUNA: I read that Matt Martin from COIN, who worked with artists like Faye Webster, produced your new song “can't breathe,” which is amazing! Did you get to work with him on the project? And if so, how was that experience for you?

RINCON: Yeah, he worked on “can't breathe” with me and it was awesome. I love him because I feel like we just connect creatively and I really trust his instincts. He played a guitar line and that line he played was the one we used. We didn’t even have to think about it — it just happened. It just flowed really nicely. We wrote “can’t breathe” in a day, so it happened really fast and it was just fun. He is such a great guy.

LUNA: Talking about “can't breathe,” we have a fun question for you! Please finish the sentence, and if you want, you can elaborate on your answer too. Here it goes: After listening to “can't breathe” I hope that the listener (fill in the blank).

RINCON: I hope that listeners just have fun. Yeah, I hope they dance around in their room and scream at the top of their lungs and just have fun. I thought my last song was beautiful, but yeah, I want fun now! The last one was sad and slow and beautiful and “can't breathe” … it's fun and upbeat. I want people to feel that energy.

LUNA: Since “can’t breathe” just came out, what are some things that take your breath away? Maybe with your music or things you like — songwriting, it could be anything.

RINCON: That's a good question — most things, really! I’m trying to think about things that really take my breath away. Wait, my girlfriend just came in and pointed to herself, so obviously her, but I was gonna say that I'm on TikTok a lot and there are some lyrics on TikTok that blow me away. Oh my god, I think that the lyricism is my favorite part of songwriting. When people write lyrics that are so clever and they rhyme so beautifully and I love that. Like, there's this artist on TikTok called Kevin Atwater and everything they do is amazing, and the new “Complex” song that went viral — sounds like that takes my breath away.

LUNA: “Can't breathe” is about getting to hold onto a relationship you can’t lose. It’s that whole scream-at-the-top-of-your-lungs, dance-around-your-bedroom kinda vibe you describe. Do you have any advice for listeners who might want to hold on to someone they like but are too afraid to take that risk?

RINCON: What I would definitely say, at least for me personally, is that I would rather live with what I tried and have it not work out then live with the what if and the regret of what could have been. Like, what if that would have been great? As a person with anxiety socially, I don't like living with those what ifs. So I would say that it could go great or it could not, but however it goes, at least you tried, and that's really it. And again, it could be amazing! It could be an incredible relationship. And you don't want to risk losing that.

LUNA: Now for a get-to-know-you one. Who or what inspires you? What does a safe and welcoming creative space look like to you?

RINCON: I mean, artists-wise, the artists that really inspire me are Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lord Huron. I think Lord Huron creates perfect songs. I think “The Night We Met” is a perfect song and I stand by that. It's just beautiful. But yeah, I like those types of indie-folk artists. Also in my life, what inspires me a lot is my relationship because I'm, like, madly in love, and a lot of emotions come with being in a relationship and that's inspirational, but also my mental health. I've had a lot of troubles growing up, and now I take inspiration from my mental health, the tough times in my life, the times where I've gotten over the tough times, and just really all of that. Yeah, mental health can be really, really deep and really hard, but also it can be light and not necessarily just good and bad. I love writing about the good and the bad, the black and the white, and then everything in between that. My job is basically just to be personal all the time.

LUNA: This question relates to your last release, “if we lived on the moon.” If you were moving to the moon, what items would you pack in your suitcase?

RINCON: Okay, I know… but I can't pack them in my suitcase. I have four dogs that I feel like I would want. I have l two dachshunds, a big Sheepadoodle, and a Maltese, and I feel like they would look so cute with little space suits on! So I feel like I would definitely bring my dogs, and also definitely a guitar because I feel like there wouldn’t be much to do there. There's not, but I'd probably be really inspired if I'm on the moon, so I’d need my guitar, a journal, and a pen so I could write things down. Yeah, things like that.

LUNA: Curious minds want to know: What are your plans for the future? Are there any collaborations that you're eyeing? Places you want to play, things you want to do, or are you just vibing? What's going on?

RINCON: I actually recorded more music with Matt, and yeah, I hope to come out with that soon! That's going to be like a whole project and I'm really, really excited for that; it’s still TBD as far as a date goes. I'm going to play some shows, especially here in Boston. I have some coming up and I want to keep making music, keep studying, and hopefully graduate very soon. And who knows, maybe I’ll move to LA or New York?

LUNA: Is there anyone that you'd like to collaborate with in the future? Do you have a dream collab?

RINCON: Oh my gosh. I don't know.

LUNA: Anyone on your playlist that you have on Spotify?

RINCON: Lord Huron probably. I would love to. I mean, they did a duet with Allison Ponthier. I don't know how to say I know it, but she's so dope. If I could do something like that I think my life would be made, and honestly, like any of the Boy Genius girls like Julian or Phoebe or Lucy — I love them. They're very, very inspiring to me.

LUNA: Is there anything else you want people to know about you? I always leave it open if anyone has a cool quote, book, or TV show they want to share.

RINCON: Yes! I’ve been watching Only Murders in the Building on Hulu, and I feel like everyone should watch that. But yeah, I mean, other than that, I'm just vibing, making music, and hoping people resonate.

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We couldn’t be more stoked to have Suriel Hess as our new headliner for our upcoming LA show 🤩 🫶 Not gonna lie, us & Notorious Noise kinda went OFF with this line up & you’re not gonna wanna miss it - ticket link in bio 🎫