Biography
Born 26 years ago to a Japanese lawyer and German-Italian school teacher, Rachael started life in Washington DC. After a chequered academic career and an initial flirtation with acting, Rachael soon gave way to the music. At 14 she started writing songs, at 19 she moved to Chicago to join electro funk band Bumpus. For the next five years she sang and played tambourine and dated the band's guitarist. Ultimately Rachael quit the band, the boy and the funk and took her piano, guitar and tambourine to go solo. Her first gig brought her a record deal. Her second brought her a 5000 person standing ovation in Madison Square Gardens, where she opened for David Gray. Since then she has been critically acclaimed in the US for her recording and live efforts, and has fond herself performing her sophisticated blend of piano driven blues folk, jazz and rock on the same stage as Liz Phair, Damien Rice, Gomez, Ed Harcourt and Air. Such swift triumphs are partly thanks to her mad-cap decision making (she picked her manager by tarot card reading), but mostly due to her unadulterated talent as a singer, songwriter and musician (self-taught on piano, guitar, tambourine, flute). Armed with a lifelong love for the music of the 1970s (Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, Carole King, et. al.) as well as her admiration for contemporary songbirds (Fiona Apple, Norah Jones) and musical innovators (Bjork), Rachael has forged a grove-laden style and raspy, unadorned sound that sets her in good stead to become the next big female singer song-writer.
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