Rituals of Mine - Burst

Rituals of Mine is a duo made up of songwriter/vocalist Terra Lopez and percussionist Adam Pierce. They have a new single “Burst”, which comes with a powerful video.

Lopez is a protean songwriter, continuously reinventing herself. Her electronic pop is moody, it is glitch-y; it is best classified with terms that denote change, like ‘volatile’ and ‘experimental’. If there is one thing you can expect when you listen Lopez, it is to be surprised. Even her stage name has gone through multiple changes, from ‘Silent and Clementine’, to ‘Sister Crayon’, and finally, ‘Rituals of Mine’.

This track leans more heavily into the R&B influences that also appeared on their latest album, Devoted (released 2016). This song is about growth - more specifically, about Lopez confronting her past. The music video, shot and edited in a sort of 90’s horror aesthetic, sees Lopez take on (and crush) a team of masked zombified basketball players. She explained to Billboard, “the opponents all represent obstacles I've had to face being a queer woman of color in this industry ... this video was a way for me to confront both my childhood traumas and adulthood obstacles through the activity that has always grounded me.”

If the metaphor seems heavy-handed, that was the intention: “I made a promise to myself that I'm no longer going to play small or hide behind metaphors, that I'm going to really lean into self-confidence, self-reliance and take up space.” Lopez has no problem taking up space here, performing with a swagger that calls to mind Princess Nokia.

The rest of the three-track EP will be released on October 4, via Carpark Records. I can’t wait to see Lopez take up more space, and continue to push her limits.