With your eyes closed, it might sound like Rayannah is performing with a group of vocalists and a percussion section, but you need only open them to see this local musician standing on her own, using a loop pedal to sing lead and backup vocals and perform percussion simultaneously.
On June 19, Rayannah will take her sound to new heights with the addition of a live band.
Rayannah’s loop pedal project allows her to be versatile as a musician, performing both solo and duo shows.
“I like being able to have a variety of different options, and I think it keeps it fresh for the audience, too,” she says.
Rayannah is a graduate of the University of Manitoba’s school of music, but didn’t start experimenting with loop pedals until her graduate recital. She liked using the rented pedal so much that she bought it, and began developing a completely new sound.
You’ll hear hints of James Blake in her music – she’s a fan, and says, “While our output is pretty different, his sound is something that I listen to a lot so I imagine that it shows up in there.”
Rayannah is continually adding to and changing her sound.
“Even just today I was checking out synths [ . . . ] there’s an endless amount of options, and I feel like it’s a continuous growth and discovery to find out what it’s going to be,” she says.
Rayannah performs on June 19 at 10 p.m. at Cinematheque. Individual tickets are available for $15 through jazzwinnipeg.com
