Raya Max is breaking free from toxic relationships to find empowerment in sisterhood Whilst Dancing

Raya Max is a London based Ghanaian-British who creates electrifying disco music with catchy soulful melodies and a powerful groove. She is set on keeping listeners' inner disco divas alive during the trying year we’ve had so far. Her mission is to empower and bring a spirit of joy; she’s supplying the soundtrack with the goal of dancing in mind.

The track Starlight has been inspired by various important stages in Raya’s life. Throughout her lyrics she reveals themes of surviving abuse, culminating in homelessness. Her powerful takeaway is that you can find solidarity in friendships you find - whether this is on the nightclub dance floor in London or in the darker moments of your life. She tells these stories with vivid positivity and lightness. This being quite the contrast to the genuine Ghanaian instrumentation presenting itself in the full power of the impactful drum beat. Writing and producing her songs to bring together the impact her family has had on her creatively, choosing to incorporate an array of these influences in her music. Raya’s paternal side of the family is from Kumasi Ghana; her tribe performs variations on typical West African polyrhythmic instrumental layers.

These juxtaposing stylistic choices deepen the creative direction of the track which is driven home with Raya’s distinctive vocals. A true fresh new voice within the UK music scene.

Before releasing her own music, Raya toured extensively as a Jazz and Gospel vocalist to Europe and America - a highlight being performing solo to the sold-out Mandalay Bay arena in Las Vegas. Her multi-octave honey-sweet vocals have a strong call back to these previous experiences. In Raya's songwriting technique and style, she uses a traditional soul song format with chord progressions typically used in Disco music. Her style is reminiscent of the greats Stevie Wonder and Rod Temperton. She also has studied the vocal stylings of Patti Labelle and James Brown extensively and channels a Tina Turner Esque manner for her live performances. Composers such as Quincy Jones made a huge impact on her as well as Motown Records days in the late 70s.

A true veteran of the London club life scene, Raya has always been a bubbly person who loved to dance. With an optimistic look and life with her dancing shoes on, she’ll be sure to paint the town red with a smile on her face. She’s often been influenced by Afro-Caribbean culture and club culture, a true driving force for her party lifestyle. A large part of her younger years has continued to be of huge relevance in her support of the LGBTQ+ community. Club culture has always been infused with freedom of expression and acceptance so it was hard for her not to become involved in these subgroups of people.

Instagram: @rayamaxofficial

Website: www.rayamaxofficial.com

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/raya-max