Vanessa Raine

Vanessa Raine
Moongazing
“I don’t think you can be genuinely uplifting if you haven’t experienced the other side of emotion.” Vanessa Raine.
Most artists that write with the character, depth and color that Vanessa Raine does are tormented, troubled souls on the verge of an inner meltdown. Having conquered her inner demons Vanessa Raines voice is that of an artist that has broken through to the other side and her songs offer a fresh, real and hopeful vision.
Born in Sydney, the daughter of a doctor and raised in a catholic school, the last road anyone anticipated for this young girl was the path of a rebellious singer playing her piano and guitar in smoky late night bars. However, the veneer of privilege hid much turmoil and unrest in the family home. Vanessa escaped by running to the piano she was given at the age of four: “Often the only time there was peace for me was when I was playing the piano, singing and making music….” It is the very same piano that features on all her recordings today.
In a home where there was not many records played, the day she heard her brother turn on Cat Stevens was a life changing experience.
“I heard this voice float down the hallway and into my room; I instantly got up went out into the hallway and stopped dead in my tracks. The ache in his voice and the truth in his lyrics hit me like a ton of bricks. I knew I wanted to do what he was doing, I felt compelled.”
A young girl still attempting to conform Vanessa spent some years studying classical singing and piano until eventually breaking free to explore jazz, and modern music. The day she discovered this new path, she felt free from trying to be something she wasn’t, free to find her own voice. From then on the union of words and music started pouring out of her.
“I was quite an uptight young girl and when I sang, I felt free. I felt really connected to myself when I sang and when I played the piano”. It was completely left of field for her parents who anticipated she would become a doctor. Vanessa had other plans.
Vanessa packed her bags leaving Sydney and headed up north for a sea change to play and sing in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. This was a prolific period of writing, performing and self discovery. It was during this time that she signed to Warner Chappell Publishing and set up her home studio. Honing her skills as a producer Vanessa recorded a mass of work with a wide range of musicians exploring arrangements from string quartets to electronica. Slowly she developed her style and sound.
It was not long until Vanessa felt the itch for the lights of the city once more. The cultural city of Melbourne was beckoning. Since her arrival in 2003 Vanessa has played in many well known haunts such as The Espy, The Cornish Arms and a string of acoustic bars along Brunswick St. After writing a collection of songs inspired by the characters and cityscape of Melbourne, Vanessa Raine produced and recorded material for what would become her debut ep, “Moongazing” and her debut album “Playing for Reggie”.
"For me recording the album has been such a journey, not just a musical one but a spiritual one too. To maintain integrity through the process and stick to your guns became a quest. The outcome has filled me with a sense of pride, relief and excitement. “
“I want to touch people in their lounge rooms and their cars. People are so busy rushing around and working nine to five that sometimes they forget to see the little bits of life around them. And I’m hoping that’s what my place, and every artist’s place is, to help put a mirror up so people can just pause for a moment in their hectic schedule and just taste a little bit of life again.”
The “Moongazing” ep, available online through Goset Music in November, will give Vanessa the opportunity to tour and take her music to her growing number of fans and help set up the release of her debut album, “Playing for Reggie” due out early/mid 2007..
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