Running In Pairs: An Emotional, Art-led EP Launch @ Milney's Upstairs
Words | Esther McTigue, Photography | Tiphany Katselas, Esther McTigue
31 05 25, Naarm
There’s something about the right room. The right crowd. The right energy. When there is a sort of trinity between these elements, a night out transcends the function of a club event—and becomes a space for something shared, something more intimate.
Earlier this month, the unity of those elements made walking up the stairs at Milney’s feel more like stepping into a comfortable, high-energy house party than a typical club night. Melbourne-based Indonesian producer Rino brought this atmosphere to life with the launch of his new EP Running in Pairs—a record exploring emotional resonance, cultural reflection, and the familiarity of collective movement—on Seb Wildblood’s All My Thoughts label.
The sold-out event brought an intimate dance floor to life with a lineup curated by Rino himself: Amraks, DAWS, Baby G and Moopie. Across six hours, the room shifted between percussive UK bass and warm euphoric textures—mirroring the emotional arc of the EP.
"It definitely reflected what I wanted to evoke," Rino says. "The idea behind Running in Pairs was about that rush of feelings and the rawness of sharing it with someone else. Having warm, open-minded people—mostly friends of friends and familiar faces—on an intimate dancefloor gave off that exact vibe."
The night moved between euphoric club moments and more reflective, intimate energy. This flow was no accident. The event opened early (for a club night) at 6pm, allowing people to arrive without pressure and settle into the space’s reflective undercurrent before building to more club-driven moments later on.
This pacing also gave space for attendees to take in Gabriela Renee' textile installation—an immersive piece exploring themes of identity, diaspora, and cultural disconnection—anchoring the emotional tone of the room before the dance floor’s peak moments arrived.
"I way prefer club nights that have peaks and troughs," says Rino. "It helps with social and dancing fatigue. That early start allowed us to honour those more intimate, reflective moments even later in the night."
A Shared Sensory Landscape
Milney’s upstairs room proved the perfect host. “A relatively new space (to the public),” Rino had first experienced the venue a few months prior, and knew it would bring something special to the EP launch. Another considered choice on the night was Rino’s collaboration with visual artist Gabriela Renee, whose textile installation added a layered narrative to the event—one that could be felt as much as seen.
Suspended saris—rich with colour, texture, and gold embellishments—caught the light above the dance floor; a canopy of memory and presence. “The work became a dynamic agent, engaging people on both a visual and emotional level,” Gabriela Renee shared. “These materials carry stories of tradition and memory but can also be reimagined as vessels for joy, collective presence, and future-making.” In transforming the space into a site of cultural connection, Gabriela Renee’s work blurred the boundary between art and audience. “There was no separation,” she reflected. “The audience moved alongside the work, under it, around it… it was a space of community participation.”
For Rino, Gabriela Renee’s contribution was more than aesthetic—it mirrored the deeper intentions behind Running in Pairs. “Gabriela Renee’s work engages critically with themes of identity, diaspora, and cultural disconnection. These are themes I also try to explore in my music, and in my journey as an Indonesian artist,” he explained. “The sonics of the EP include a lot of Eastern and Asian samples, manipulated electronically. That’s always felt like a representation of my heritage—and one I’m excited to keep exploring.” The collaboration felt natural. Gabriela Renee’s art, like Rino’s music, offered a meditation on shared culture, memory, and emotion inviting the audience to feel into the environment just as much as the sound.
Community in Motion
For Rino, curating the lineup was an extension of his evolving approach to DJing: bouncing between warm euphoric sounds, groovy percussive bass music and UK influence. He brought together a lineup of artists he “could trust to contribute their sound to the energy in the room” and narrate the night’s arc.
Unsurprisingly, it worked. The event sold out, with extra door tickets added on the night—a testament to the community Rino has built around his music.
"I felt really grateful to have a community that supports the music and the art that I love making. And being able to share that with artists that I love also. Honestly, it made me super excited to share more of these moments with the community, hopefully sometime soon." Rino sees this style of art-led, intimate event as part of a broader movement in Naarm’s electronic music scene.
"I’ve been seeing more and more DJs and live electronic acts collaborate with visual artists. I think people realise that the two mediums go hand in hand so well, and can form a symbiotic relationship. Collaboration yields new friendships and creative relationships that are so important to the scene."
Rapid Fire with Rino
What moment in the night that was especially meaningful?
"The last song of my set was this Wallace Edit of a Trancefeld track called ‘Love Song’ and I remember looking around and realising that the room had filled out and people were smiling and vibing to the music—and I was about to pass on the torch to one of my favourite DJs. It just felt right and made me feel super grateful for everything."
Running in Pairs is out now via All My Thoughts
Purchase Running in Pairs via Bandcamp
Stay up to date with Rino on IG
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