Los Angeles-based artist, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Lani Renaldo artfully fuses a diverse mix of grunge rock, bedroom pop, and experimental sounds for a wildly eclectic and progressive swirl of cathartic ecstasy. Inspired by artists such as Tame Impala, Prince, Fleetwood Mac, Hayley Williams, and SZA, as well as producers Timbaland, Pharrell, and Greg Kurstin, Lani shows us an insight into their love of a myriad of genres that permeates into their own music.
Lani’s music often explores themes of hardship, relationships, emotional growth, and finding and accepting your true identity and states, “I think the light at the end of the tunnel has been really finding myself through the music and being able to come to terms with my identity as a non-binary person, wanting to change my name and wanting to physically change things about myself. That was all a part of this journey.”
The singer-songwriter’s passion and talent began at a very early age when chosen as one of six songwriters to attend GRAMMY Camp at Converse Rubber Tracks in 2012. From there, Lani then went on to study at USC’s Thornton School of Music, which further catapulted their musical education and career. Lani found solace and an outlet for their emotions through music, which became a driving force fueling their passion for music.
Lani Renaldo’s critically acclaimed EP NOHEARTBREAK2020 is an exploration of being in your 20’s. Entirely produced, written, and performed by the artist, the EP is about accepting where you are in the moment and not being so hard on yourself. The EP touches on humanity and queer sexuality, emphasizing the significance of being comfortable with who you are, whatever that may be. Through unbearably honest lyrics, their goal is to show others the importance of self-acceptance and to encourage others to be themselves, be uncomfortable and be truthful.
Now, after a period of deep transformation both personally and musically, Lani Renaldo has released their highly-anticipated defiant new single “Help!”. On the releases, Lani confides, “I think I’ve always been this person but it was coming to terms with that and allowing people to see those parts of myself. I was becoming comfortable with my identity and expression. There was a sense of just feeling unapologetic especially within the songs. And I think I didn’t want to feel bad for myself, I wanted to feel empowered by the fact that I was learning how to deal with my emotions for the first time.”
In “help!” the artist tells the dark narrative of losing yourself completely and watching the world crumble at your fingertips. The artist confides, “Selfishly, the song was written from a place of just feeling like I was spiraling. I didn’t feel like myself, I wasn’t on medication, I was going through really big changes in terms of my gender and identity and now trying to figure out who I was outside of a relationship. It was really tough. I forced myself to sit down one day and write about how I was feeling.” Featuring a compelling melody over garage-rock riffs and a 90’s hip hop influenced beat, “help!” is a brave and complex single about mental health struggles.
The upcoming release “Replay” explores feelings of anxiety, self-doubt, and the tendency to overanalyze and dwell too heavily on the outcome of situations.
Lani Renaldo has seen success performing with the likes of Alessia Cara at the AMA’s and opening for Halsey at The Shrine. Their collaboration on “Malibuu” with Matt Dimona topped Spotify’s Global 50 chart and currently has over six million streams. The artist confides, “You know, I think that we are often told that our sadness or struggle is a weakness. But I really come to discover that being able to talk about them or acknowledging that you had a bad night or moment, or even crying, that within itself is a win. You’re able to assess those feelings and feel human.”
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