Rituals of Mine – the immersive, hybrid R&B electronic project of Los Angeles-based songwriter Terra Lopez – announces her new album, Hype Nostalgia, out September 25th on Carpark Records, and shares the lead single/video, “Come Around Me.” Hype Nostalgia follows 2019’s Sleeper Hold EP, which was filled with emotional intensity and self-reflective songwriting, confronting the emotional rollercoaster that came with the death of her father and later, her best friend.
On Hype Nostalgia, Lopez didn’t want to solely focus on the heaviness of her life. Instead, she opted to create an album written from a pre-loss perspective. There are dark moments and devastation throughout, but what largely transpires is Lopez’s ability to reconcile with her emotional trauma by reimagining her past in a way that isn’t shrouded in total darkness, but glimmers of light and hope.
Between St. Augustine, Florida and Los Angeles, Lopez collaborated with producers Wes Jones and Dev the Goon on Hype Nostalgia The result is a self-assured 13-track album interspersed with future R&B, electronic and pop, and layered with the softness of Lopez’s ethereal vocals. From tackling what it’s like to be a woman of color in the music industry to exploring intergenerational trauma, HYPE NOSTALGIA is an all-encompassing look at Lopez’s personal growth and resilience.
Amidst the dark synths, future R&B undertones, propulsive bass and moody lyrics, the softness of Lopez’s vocals elicits a quiet confidence. On the self-assured lead single “Come Around Me,” the most straightforward song Lopez has ever written, she confronts being taken advantage of as a gay woman of color in the music industry. “None of this fake shit when you come around me,” she sings breathlessly.
For the accompanying video directed by Leo Pfeifer, Lopez says, “Our aim was to take themes from the record and incorporate them in various ways: the rain (representing loss/grief), the trophies room (representing the overachiever in me), the TV room (representing memory and nostalgia) and me in quarantine now (representing current day reality). For obvious reasons, nostalgia is the central theme of this record as I am writing from an era of pre-loss and pre-grief so we wanted to bring in some surreal elements into each setting to elevate the story and make it interesting.”
With Hype Nostalgia, Lopez offers a glimpse into her own experience in the hopes that it will open the door for listeners to confront their own mental health challenges and serve as a touchstone as they find their own way to process and heal.
Watch “Come Around Me” Video:
Hype Nostalgia Tracklist
1. Tether
2. Come Around Me
3. Exceptions
4. Heights
5. Trauma
6. Post Trauma
7. Free Throw (feat. KRIS)
8. Reflex
9. 65th St
10. OMEN
11. 222
12. Hope U Feel
13. The Last Wave
