Neo Soul

As lovers of music, we (the listeners) seek truth within a sound and movement within words. When a voice can take us through an experience that changes the rhythm of our breathing, we know we have been touched by musical grace.

Enter Rhian Ayanna…

A classical education, decorated with opera, soul and musical theater backgrounds, is merely a drop in a deep blue bucket for this undeniably gifted chanteuse. Certainly we should recognize Rhian’s formal training at the University of Northern Colorado and her study under such talents as Sarah Dash (LaBelle) and internationally renowned opera singer Diane Bolden-Taylor. It is just as important to note her honorable mention in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition for her composition Time.

Though she has clearly left a mark on the musical universe through each of her accomplishments, nothing can prepare one for what transpires the moment Rhian parts her lips to set free her vocal splendor. Rhian has a unique ability to transpose her environments, her cultures and her choices into profound lyrical arrangements that reflect an awareness of a universal experience.

Born in New York and reared in Trinidad, Rhian was destined to breathe notes filled with diversity, warmth and spice. The same voice that has journeyed through Gospel and Jazz realms can just as easily ease into a Caribbean melody and mix it up with urban flavors. Much like a chameleon, Rhian is able to take on the colors of the music that surrounds her, becoming one with sound and vibration. With a quality such as this, it is no wonder that her nation-wide experiences include performances at the Blue Note Jazz Club, a vocal appearance on RH Factor’s 2004 Grammy-nominated Strength EP and background vocal performances with Ladybug Mecca of Digable Planets.

Still, the most extraordinary quality that Rhian possesses is not her many notable accomplishments, not the fact that she writes and arranges her own songs . . . it is her power to reach within each listening individual and touch the part that longs to fly. She is not afraid to plunge into the depths of human emotion and she does it naturally.

She is a performer who undoubtedly shifts the paradigm for today’s artist.

She is Rhian Ayanna.

NSN: Describe your earliest musical experience.

Rhian: Some of my earliest memories are of singing with my best friend when we were around five or six years old. We would sing everything, be it commercial, theme song to a TV show. I’ve always loved harmonizing. I think that was my favorite part. I recall hearing my parents play Earth Wind & Fire, Lou Rawls, Luther Vandross, Bob Marley, Lord Kitchener and several other calypsonians and jazz artists. I grew up singing in the church and school choirs, and started playing the piano when I was four, so music has always been a part of my expression.

NSN: Where did you grow up?

Rhian: I was born in Brooklyn, New York, and spent many of my adolescent years in Trinidad, West Indies.

NSN: Name 3 of your biggest influences in life. Rhian: My family. The first time I heard Nina Siimone’s “Four Women”/ The first time I saw her perform live. The moment I realized I could choose how I viewed the world.

NSN: When you listen to a song, what do you tend to pay most attention to . . . the instrumentation, the lyrics or the vocals? Rhian: I first listen for the instrumentation then I listen for the meter and then the harmoniesNSN: What commercial artist or group do you think best defines your style of music?Rhian: There are so many. Anita Baker, Sade, Stevie Wonder, Brand New Heavies, Betty Carter, Nancy Wilson,NSN: What was it like to perform at the Blue Note?Rhian: The first time I performed there I opened for an artist by the name of Jeremiah. It was wonderful. I felt like I was supposed to be there, like it was my home. When I went back as the featured artist, I was going back to a familiar place. I ‘m honored to have had the opportunities to perform at such a prestigious venue. However, the experience of performing does not change necessarily because of the venue. To me it has more to do with what is happening in your life at the time.NSN: How do you feel about your current album and what would you like listeners to take from it?Rhian: I’m complete with the final product we were able to produce. Of course, being the perfectionist I am, I always want to go back and rework something, but in the end you have to make the decision that what you’ve created is perfect in the state that it is and for where you are at the time. I would like the listener to find themselves in the songs, and possibly look at areas of their lives differently after letting the music soak in.NSN: (Here’s that deserted island question) If you were sent to live alone on a deserted island, what 3 albums would you need to survive?

Checkout Rhian Ayanna at buySOUL.com for more info and music samples!