Rachel Panay
ACT 2 Records is proud to announce the signing of dance music powerhouse, Rachel Panay, whose music exposes a level of creativity and lyricism meant to defy the meaning of the word genre. Her killer new single, “Back To Love” will be released by Act 2 Records in late August.
“Back To Love” is an upbeat and infectious track with strong crossover appeal, produced by Josh Harris, formerly of the renowned remix team, The Passengerz. “ His credits include Madonna’s “Love Profusion” and Seal’s “Waiting For You”, both of which hit #1 on the Billboard Club Play Chart.
Drawing comparisons to her influences Kristine W., Amber, and Ultra Nate, the sweet Washington D.C. native is unexpectedly feisty on stage, with Billboard sited tracks such as “You Make Me Feel”, that stun the crowd with their vocal enormity. Amongst other note-worthy tracks, “I Still Want You” has been featured on Music Choice’s Dance channel and her remake of Foxy’s, “Get Off” is currently available on BMG Latin compilation CDs, Latin Party 2003 and Verano 2003”
After graduating from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Rachel’s unique sound emerged as she became deeply involved in the Boston live music scene, experimenting with Jazz, Pop, R&B, and even Latin Funk. The sum of all of these influences makes up the unique style that she has carried over with her in to her dance music.
Rachel has performed for high profile Miami events including Winter Party, White Party, Mr. Miami International, Miami AIDS Walk, and Aqua Girl, and has held regular gigs at Twist, Frankie & Johnny’s (now Jade), The Cactus Club and the Hotel St. Augustine. She has also appeared at major east coast venues including Washington, D.C.’s Velvet Nation, Cobalt and Five, and Boston’s mega-club, The Roxy, as well as Venu and Embassy.
Rachel will be appearing with DJ BobbyT and Alexis at the Washington D.C. hotspot, Andalu, for a series of Thursday night events beginning on July 1st. The evening promises to be an unpredictable journey through torch songs, jazz standards, bossa novas and surprise unveilings of original material!
Commuting between Miami and her hometown of Washington, DC, Rachel no longer has to chase her dream; it has already begun.Have you performed in front of an audience?Yes, I adore the live performance experience. I have performed at all sorts
of events and clubs and crowds. One night I may have a gig in front of 2000
shirtless men like at Miami's Winter Party and White Party and then another
night I may do something in front of a smaller, more conservative audience
where I will perform jazz standards and musical theater pieces. I've done
gigs primarily in Boston where I went to college and then Miami where I
lived for the last two and a half years. Now I am mainly based out of
Washington, D.C. and have already performed at most of the major venues here
as well as done some smaller more intimate club parties.
The moments that I consider the most special at this point are the ones
where I am kind of witnessing what is happening through me....in other words
I become aware of the power and energy of the music and the crowd and what I
seek to give through my performance..... and its that power that is guiding
where I go, how I move, what I sing, how I interact with the crowd. After a
show, I will kind of recall what happened and say to myself "I can't believe
I did that!". When I was a kid and a teen I loved to perform but I had
terrible stage fright and would just close up so now when I perform I am
truly amazed at how confident and bold and even brazen I can be. Very
flirtatious, too! So for me the special moments are when I realize I have
had a break through and no longer am held back by the inhibitions that used
to block me.
Then also, when I see the a smile on someone's face in the audience I feel
so privileged to do this type of work. When you see a grown person smile
like a child with delight, its so pure, its really something. Or if I see
someone just getting down and losing control and not thinking about their
worries, just being absorbed in that moment of music, I feel great. And of
course when people are reaching for you to grab you that's kind of fun! Or
when the whole crowd starts to clap in time to the music or throw hands in
the air after a big musical build up, its a time when I realize how bonding
and unifying the force of music is.
Your musical influences
I listened to all types of music growing up. My mom is a classical pianist
so since the womb I have been exposed to that genre of music. Then as a
young kid I was really drawn to Musical Theater. All the other kids were
listening to Rock and I was listening to Barbara Streisand's "Hello Dolly"!
Then I saw a Donna Summer record with her in the flowing white dress and I
got it for my birthday and wore it out! This was when I was like 6! I got
into the Andrew Sisters since I loved harmony! Again, very odd tastes for a
kid. I had a fake ID by the time I was 14 so that's when I first started
going to clubs and discovering Dance music. It intrigued me but I didn't
become actively involved in it until I was out of college. Going to Duke
Ellington High School for the Arts in D.C. exposed me to Jazz and Gospel
both of which have totally influenced the way I sing. Then of course going
to Berklee College of Music introduced me to more modern jazz music and a
lot of instrumental stuff. I studied Arranging and learned to listen to
music in a really deep, comprehensive way from the perspective of layers and
lines and the shape of a piece of music. By the time I was finishing my
degree I was also into Latin music, Middle Eastern music, Acid Jazz, Funk,
you name it.
In terms of voices, I can name so many and still probably leave out someone
who was influential.......Barbara, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Elvis,
Johnny Hartman, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Donna Summer (still!), Stevie
Wonder, Steve Perry (yes, Journey!), Sting, Sade, Dave Gahan, Kristine W.,
Amber, Ultra Nate. Also within this list names are great songwriters as
well as singers so my admiration for them is double!What equipment do you use?
Not my department! lol! You would have to ask my fabulous current producer,
Josh Harris!Anything else?
Watching Deborah Cox go from her amazing work as a singer in the Dance and
R&B world into the role of Aida on Broadway in VERY inspiring for me and is
proof that it is possible for an artist to move through different mediums of
expression and appeal to very different audiences. It proves the obvious;
that talent is talent, pure and simple, whether you plug into one genre or
another, cream always rises to the top given time. I am living for the day
when I am able to both work as a recording artist and return to my other
love, musical theater!Admin
kyra
@kyra
