There’s a passionate, zen-like quality to Rae’s elevation on the scene. A shining light, hell-bent on blowing up dance-floors, with her dynamic, tech-kissed DJ sets and striking vocal layers. Versatile and multi-skilled, we’re transfixed as she evolves from collaborative artist to a vital star in her own right.

Picture this. It’s a gorgeously hot, sunny day on the outer skirts of London at the end of the week. But for DJ, singer, song-writer, Rae, it’s starting up all over again as she throws open the windows at her studio and begins the prep for her weekend ahead.
A dutiful artist in the spring years of her career, Rae’s involvement in dance music has been a steady, organic one.

“I got into house whilst still at school,” she explains. Stealing her brothers mix tapes from Up Yer Ronson and Back To Basics, sneaking out to clubs and getting inspired to write her own songs, “I remember putting my songs over tracks and getting really excited about it,” she recalls.
“All through school and college I was performing arts orientated, but at the end of it I didn’t know quite what to do. Luckily a friend was really up for going abroad to figure stuff out so we went to Ibiza. You knew that one was coming!” she laughs.

Yep, the motherland claimed yet another scalp. A taste for Italian and Balearic house, the lure of Space Terrace and Bora Bora mixed with the contrasting double-sided appeal of Ibiza and its ability to do chilled and outrageous, snared our Rae. She returned home with stacks of vinyl only to find her brother had bought some decks. “I just thought ‘oh my god this is fate’, this is meant to be,” She wasn’t wrong.
Her tech-infused sets are a testament to the heady vibe she creates and her ability to tune into the crowd. “I still do some gigs where I’m there to perform as a live PA, which is totally cool, but all my DJ sets have live vocals. For me it just makes no sense to be playing one of my songs with a vocal and not be singing it live. That’s my thing, that’s what I do and that’s what I wanna be known to do.”

There’s a raw energy and enthusiasm in Rae’s voice that ripples with ex citement and lures you into her domain. “I was a bit of a crazy clubber, just getting more and more into the whole music. You don’t really know how to make a professional living from it, you just know that you’re loving the vibe and this is where you want to be.”
What about her singing? How did that evolve? “My dad was very influential and still is, he really pushed music on me hard from an early age. I’ve got a really eclectic musical taste, I used to listen to people like The Supremes, Dusty Springfield to the soul divas like Aretha Franklin. I had a thing for harmonies and melodies and naturally picked them out and could sing them. And then I got into the house scene and I remember hearing India, I was just blown away. Knowing that you could have really big beautiful songs and still get a dance-floor going crazy, that kind of combination in dance music is what I really appreciate.”
And so this is where Defected made their appearance, having taken Rae under the warm embrace of their wing, cooing away and nurturing her talents since 2008; releasing her first collaboration with Sandy Rivera (‘Can’t Stop’) and ATFC on ‘Give Me Luv’ and ‘It’s Over’. “I guess it goes back to where house began, the whole family and unity thing. It sounds a little bit ‘yeah, ok’, but seriously once you’re in it the connection’s really strong. It’s really positive.”

Indeed, it’s time for their starlet to take on the legacy that is the Defected In the House series, handing over the reins to her for the Tokyo compilation with label mates Studio Apartment. “To be representing Defected in this way really does mean a lot,” she says.
Equally, her appearance at the Ibiza closing party, singing through Simon Dunmore’s set and performing her forthcoming single with Sandy Rivera, a timely remake of the classic ‘Hide You’, are the icing on the cake and the highlight of her year.
“It was fantastic to be part of it. It was a really good feeling and I think this was one of the best seasons they’ve had out there.”

Lending her sassy, honeyed vocals and emotive lyrics to fellow artists is all well and good but next year Rae will be looking ahead to doing less collaborating and more of her own material. “I’m really proud of who I’ve worked with and the songs that have come out of that and next year moving forward I’m putting myself to the test and really carving out my sound with my own singles and more creative control, so it’s really exciting.
“I’m trying to get my sound and my songs and my approach to it right, I want to hit and start the year feeling really focused.”

It sounds like you’ve got a masterplan? “I have my plan, my sights are set high and I have an open mind to where music can go. I think that the unexpected is pretty exciting, so who knows what could really happen.”