RAANI (rah-nee) is a pop/soul singer-songwriter. Her musical influences are eclectic and inspire her with the emotion and energy in their delivery which she in turns impacts on her listeners. Her latest release, the single ‘All My Ladies,’ available at all major retailers was nominated for a 2016 Edmonton Music Award in the best R&B/ Soul recording of the year category. RAANI is getting ready to release her next single and tour in the Spring. 1 In Music meets the artist.

1 In Music: Hey Raani, thank you for talking to us. Lets start with the main question: what is unique about your music?

Raani [R]: I guess what’s unique about me here is that I’m East Indian and that cultural influence tends to come out in my music and music videos.

1 In Music: What shaped your music and who supports you?

R: Everything that I have experienced and everyone in my life has shaped me into the person I am and my music is an extension of who I am. I am blessed to have the support of God, my loved ones and people in the music industry that I admire and respect.

1 In Music: At your point, did you realise you were going to make music professionally?

R: I realized I was going to make music professionally when I was 21. I was going down an academic path that my family wanted for me and I hated it. I decided that I didn’t want to hate my life anymore and that I was going to do what I loved because it was fulfilling and right for me.

R: 1 In Music: Your music influences are eclectic. Who do you listen to?

I listen to all kinds of music. For me a great song transcends genre and time. I go from Ray Charles one day to Beyonce the next to Elliot Smith to Hov to Dead Kennedys to Frank Ocean to The National to ZZ Top to…….. I could go on and on and on… So much incredible music to listen to and not enough time!!

R: 1 In Music: Who, to you, is the most undervalued music artist?

There are so many brilliant artists that do not get the recognition they deserve. One of them is Frank Ocean. He breaks the rules and his music sounds GREAT! I’ve been obsessed with his song Ivy since the first time I heard it. It has really interesting chord progressions and is the most mesmerizing spiral of a song. You gotta check it out!

R: 1 In Music: How do you prepare for your performances?

I prepare by doing a vocal, physical and mental warmup. My vocal warm-up consists mostly of breathing exercises to get my air flowing. My physical warm-up is largely yoga based and my mental warmup is doing some meditation to clear out any thoughts/ emotions that might be weighing me down so that I can go out and focus completely on my performance and having a great time.

R: 1 In Music: What do you do when you don’t do music (creative or otherwise) and that you are passionate about?

Outside of music, I am also an actor. I do a lot of theatre in my hometown of Edmonton and do some commercial work as well. Currently, I am acting in a production called ‘The Bully Project’ with Conrete Theatre. We tour in schools in and around Edmonton to educate kids about the difference between bullying and conflict and what to do if they are being bullied. Its lots of fun and I love seeing the impact it has on the kids.

1 In Music: Success to you is…?

R: Success to me is making a living from creating the art I want to create and believe in.

1 In Music: What do you wish you were told when you started out and that you think would help anyone who starts out?

R: I wish I were told to always trust my intuition and not what other people think I should or should not do.

1 In Music: Any upcoming projects?

R: Yes! I have recorded my next single, which I am super excited about and will be doing a Western Canada Tour to promote it next Spring when it is released.

1 In Music: Massive thanks Raani for sharing your talent and passion with us. Where do we find you music and next projects?

R: You can find my music on Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, TIDAL or SoundCloud.

Huge Thanks to Tiki Black for featuring me! Find me on: Facebook:  Instagram/ Twitter: @raanimusic