Biography
Yorkshire born, Hannah-Rei, simply emanates passion with her effortless brand of piano-driven soul. Being influenced by artists such as Nat King
Cole, Stevie Wonder, Brian McKnight, and Beyoncé, Hannah-Rei’s music has a timeless quality and international appeal.
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Born into a musical family, the 23-year-old singer and songwriter was self-taught on the piano from the tender age of three.
“My dad plays the piano,” she explains. “I learnt to play by copying him when I was young.”
Growing up, she was exposed to a variety of musical styles, courtesy of her parents’ collection of records, which included music by bands such as
Weather Report, Yes and 10cc, as well as Joni Mitchell and Elton John.
At the age off 11, she began writing songs. Fusing this with what was, by now, an impressive piano-playing ability, Hannah-Rei was steadily
developing herself into a fully-fledged artist. Taking her craft seriously, she later applied – and was accepted into The Liverpool
Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA) to study music and graduated in 2007 with a 1st Class Honours degree.
“I have done an awful lot of studying,” Hannah-Rei laughs. “But I do think it has made a positive impression on my music. Most of what I have
learned though hasn’t been from lessons but from self-improvement and personal endeavour and living life! But I do believe in education,
especially as an artist, because you grow so much and really find out who you are, which is vital when you want to say something in your music.”
Another notable achievement for the songstress is the MBF National Songwriting Award that she won in 2006 – not least because fellow LIPA graduates, The Wombats, won it the previous year. In the summer of 2009, Hannah-Rei was the youngest ever graduate from Bath Spa University with an
MA in Songwriting.
When not absorbed in music – though she admits, “that hardly ever applies to me” – Hannah-Rei spends her time being gripped by good crime novel, going to the cinema with friends, or thrashing her two brothers at Guitar Hero!
The rest of her time is dedicated to trying to connect with her fans. With several networking sites, Hannah-Rei constantly updates and takes the time to reply to as many of her fans as possible. For Hannah-Rei, being able to
connect with her audience is essential.
“Audiences like to feel in touch with the artists that they are into,” she says. “Sites like MySpace give them that connection. I’m always using my
mobile phone connecting wirelessly with someone when I’m on the move. It’s very important to me as essentially, your fans are the people that give
you a career, so it’s nice to be able to reach out to them and say “Hi and ta for the support!’”
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.