Latvian drummer and composer Rinalds Maksimovs brings together electronic composition and an improvisatory approach to percussion on his debut album Rincore. Developed between 2022 and 2026 through live performance, studio work, experimentation and collaboration with Gatis Zaķis, the album moves between ambient electronics, minimalism, jazz, dance music and heavier rhythmic territory.
Across the five tracks featured here, electronic patterns often provide the framework, but Maksimovs’ drums rarely settle into the role of straightforward accompaniment. Instead, they push against the electronics, introduce new dynamics and gradually reshape the direction of each piece.
Print 2
“Print 2”, the opening track from Rincore, establishes this relationship particularly well. Synth arpeggios move around an irregular time signature, creating a bouncing, repetitive pattern that provides the foundation for the track.
The drums initially push through from behind the electronics, introducing a loose, improvisatory quality and an increasingly jazzy feel. As the track develops, the playing becomes funkier while retaining that sense of freedom beneath the repeating synth pattern.
There is also a noticeable change in the balance between the two elements. The synth remains present throughout, but the drums gradually become more dominant, eventually taking centre stage and pushing the electronic pattern further into the background.
Snake Beat
“Snake Beat” begins with simple synth tones rising in pitch, with reverb creating a sense of space around the relatively minimal electronic arrangement. A kick drum soon starts to push through, establishing a rhythmic foundation without disrupting the simplicity of the opening.
Again, it is Maksimovs’ drumming that brings much of the variation. The electronic layer remains simple and integral to the composition while the percussion becomes increasingly expressive and improvisatory.
The result is essentially an arrangement of synth and drums, but the interaction between them gives it considerable depth. Rather than simply keeping time underneath the electronics, the drums become one of the track’s principal voices.
Panda
The eighth track from Rincore, “Panda”, takes a different approach. It opens with a dense texture of distant vocal sounds, gradually shaped by rhythmic movement emerging from within the layers.
A subtle undercurrent of drums begins to develop before slowly moving towards the foreground. As the percussion becomes clearer, the track takes on a downtempo feel while retaining the hazy vocal textures of its opening.
The transition is gradual, allowing the rhythm to emerge naturally from the atmosphere rather than arriving as an abrupt change. Later, the groove becomes increasingly defined, with the addition of synth bass giving the track greater weight and firmly establishing its rhythmic character.
It is an engaging use of texture, moving from an abstract vocal opening towards something much more groove-driven without losing the atmosphere established at the start.
Print 3 (feat. Gatis Zaķis)
At over ten minutes, “Print 3” has considerably more room to develop. Lo-fi textures establish the initial ambience while a synth introduces a syncopated repeating pattern. Drums gradually join this electronic framework, interacting closely with its rhythms while retaining an organic, improvisatory feel.
As cymbal crashes enter, the atmosphere becomes darker and the textures denser. Repetition remains central to the composition, but subtle changes in instrumentation, dynamics and performance allow the track to continually reshape itself.
The extended running time becomes particularly important later in the piece. From around the six-minute mark the arrangement opens up further, with piano improvisation bringing another acoustic voice into the electronic environment and strengthening the jazz influence already present in the drums.
Featuring Gatis Zaķis, “Print 3” demonstrates particularly clearly how Rincore sits between composed electronic structures and the unpredictability of live performance.
AN
“AN” opens with resonant, pulsing tones that already have a strongly percussive quality. Synth elements and syncopated additions gradually build around them, with reverb helping create an increasingly expansive electronic texture.
When the drums arrive, the character changes considerably. The rhythm becomes harder and more propulsive, pushing the piece towards territory that draws as much from rock and post-rock as it does electronic music.
It is one of the more forceful combinations of acoustic and electronic sound among these five tracks. The layers continue to grow while the drums drive the composition forward, resulting in an exciting collision of electronic texture and live rhythmic energy.
Maksimovs has dedicated “AN” to Alexei Navalny.
Rincore
Taken together, these five tracks reveal the central idea behind Rincore: a continuing conversation between electronic composition and live, improvisatory musicianship.
Maksimovs’ background as a drummer is crucial to that identity. Repeating synth patterns, ambient textures and electronic rhythms frequently establish the environment, but the acoustic drums can alter the weight, momentum and character of a piece as it develops. At other points, vocal textures, piano and bass expand that relationship further.
Created over four years, Rincore is the result of experimentation, improvisational risks, live performances and studio work with Gatis Zaķis. Maksimovs describes his music as balancing acoustic and electronic worlds, drawing on ambient music, minimalism and the avant-garde while retaining strong dance music qualities.
The album has already attracted attention beyond Maksimovs’ native Latvia, reaching number one in the Europe Jazz Media chart published in the May 2026 issue of Jazzwise.
Maksimovs will bring the music to London on 4 September, performing at Music Room as part of a triple bill with Phoebe Massey and Sun God.
