Rachel Panay’s journey as an artist began with her childhood and teen years, training in classical dance, piano and theater. At Duke Ellington High School for the Arts in Washington, D.C. as a Musical Theater major and Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music as a Vocal Performance and Commercial Arranging major, Rachel excelled and emerged as a seasoned, sophisticated professional ready to take on the world! Rachel’s vocal guides include Charles Sorrento while at Berklee, and from 2002 to present with the famed and much sought Miriam Arman,
Her interest in diverse musical styles lead her to experiment in the Dance/Electronica genre where she was embraced by audiences and critics alike with several releases under the umbrella of Act 2 Records and Music Plant.
From 2004 to present, Rachel enjoyed a string of consecutive hit singles including underground club anthem, “The Walk of Shame” and Billboard Club Play smash hits, “Back to Love” (#2), “I Still Believe” (#7), “The Real Thing” (#6), “Its Got To Be Love” (#15), “Repeat Performance” (#29), and most recently, “Epic” which hit #22 on the Billboard Chart in May of 2008.
As an accomplished Billboard charting songwriter, she was one of 8 writers worldwide invited to attend BMI’s writer’s retreat in conjunction with The Royalty Network in 2007. Rachel’s songs also provided musical backgrounds for mainstream television shows like the Oprah Winfrey show & Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous & as well as edgy indie films like “Signage” and “A Four Letter Word” and “The Big Gay Musical” in Fall 2009!
Rachel has written with and been produced/remixed by some of the biggest names in US Dance music including Josh Harris, Manny Lehman, Guido Osorio of the legendary remix & DJ team Razor”n’Guido, DJ Ranny, Peter Barona, Rafael M. Mike Cruz, Georgie Porgie, Friscia & Lamboy, Twisted Dee, Monster Taxi, and many more.
2008/2009 has seen a broadening of horizons with “Epic” being remixed by Latin America and Mexico’s finest DJ talents, Alan Natal, Luis Erre, JJ Romero, Oscar Velasquez, & Tommy Love AND the European connection with remixes by The French Players and more on the way!
Having electrified stages of clubs, festivals & events from Miami to New York, CA to Washington, D.C.Chicago to Memphis, and many more cities in between, Rachel went global starting with the Amsterdam Dance Event in October of 2008. During this month-long stay in Europe, Rachel has had several writing and recording dates with noted writers and producers and is looking forward to several overseas releases as a result of these collaborations.
Nominated twice for Best Breakthrough Artist at Winter Music Conference’s InternationalDance Music Awards in Miami for 2005 and 2006 and receiving a WAMMY for Best Electronica Vocalist in 2005, Rachel continued to work in Jazz and Adult Contemporary groups in DC and NYC on stage and in the studio, constantly working on refining her vision and sound.
Most recently in her hometown of Washington, D.C. Rachel hosted The Art of Life, a weekly party at Mova Lounge where she presented the work of select painters, photographers, and various artisans. She also spearheaded Sunday Jazz, a weekly party that showcased local jazz talent from duos to quintets including a monthly performance by Rachel herself called 2nd Sundays.
She will be offering forth some of her most beloved swing, ballad, and Latin Jazz standards via an album in progress at the state-of-the-art studios at Duke Ellington High School for the Arts! Expect sneak previews soon as well as several new Dance hits already on the way!
