Alumna Rimmy Doowa ’12 is living the dream. Since graduating from Whitman in 2012, life has become one wild ride as Doowa turns her sights to a career as a full-time musician. As her professional persona Rimi Nique, Doowa has been kept busy with rehearsals, interviews, photo shoots and performances –– big performances. She’s sung in venues that range from Hard Rock Café, Pattaya and even to the Overlove Music Festival in Thailand where 2,000 fans watched her perform.
Recently The Pioneer caught up with Doowa to find out what life’s been like since leaving Whitman and how her stay here has impacted her flourishing career.
According to Doowa, music has always been one of her biggest passions. As a child, she sang with her grandma at temple and was pushed by her parents to perform for their family friends. Wherever she went, people took note of her vocal chords, described as an emotional mix between Rihanna and Alicia Keys.
Originally from Thailand, Doowa studied as an international student at Whitman and was active in numerous parts of campus life. An environmental studies-economics major and music minor, Doowa chose Whitman because she believed the school stressed the notion of being a Renaissance person. This appealed to Doowa especially as she had been involved with the prestigious Jeremiah Singers choir group at her Thailand high school and knew she wasn’t ready to give up singing just yet.
“Some people say when they grow older, go to college, they stop all this choir stuff they did in high school unless they were serious. But I kept doing it because, why not?” said Doowa in an email.
Although Doowa didn’t major in music, she wasn’t deterred from following a musical path. Doowa was one of the founding members of student band, Dabbles in Bloom, touring with other band members Adriel Borshansky, Jonas Myers and Robby Seager across the northwest in summer 2011.
Although the band enjoyed a supportive fan base at Whitman, Doowa noted that all good things came to an end. When she graduated, Dabbles in Bloom disbanded. Doowa returned to Thailand to initiate her professional musical career, and through a musical contact named Paul Ewing, Doowa met Journeyman producer Henrik Algren. According to Doowa, Algren’s support has made her a one-of-a-kind act as a Thai-Indian performer. Her performance name Rimi Nique came from a play on words with her first name Rimmy and the word “Unique.”
Along with live gigs, Doowa also participates in “The Voice: Thailand.”
“I was always skeptical about these singing shows,” said Doowa. “But for some reason I thought I should try this out because I agree with their audition process –– the most unbiased and fair audition one could ever think of.”
Doowa went on the show to have fun and enjoy the experience, and she did that knowing that participation was reserved only for elite singers. “The Voice” continues to air in Thailand and is currently in the battle rounds.
While Doowa has been making progress in her career, she is still facing obstacles inherent in the music industry. Her dad has been her makeshift manager, as she does not want to commit to a contract until she finds the right fit. Regardless, Doowa is on her way up and plans on a career in the music industry whether it be as a musician or a manager. You can listen to her music and follow her journey at riminique.com.
Editors’s note, Oct. 26, 2013, 6:33 p.m..: A previous version of this article incorrectly attributed the second photo of Doowa to Rimmy Doowa.
