Soraya (12)

Soraya Rashid, (full name) is a guitarist and songwriter who has been performing since she was a young adult. She became entrenched in a truly important time in the Toronto music and arts scene which birthed prolific queer women punk groups like The Fifth Column, as well as alternative rock and indie acts like Cowboy Junkies, Change of Heart, mixed art and film directors like Canada's Bruce MacDonald (Hard Core Logo, Roadkill, Highway 61, The Tracey Fragments, Alan Zweig's "Vinyl," and more), as well as the band that Bruce MacDonald based his movie "Roadkill" on, A Neon Rome, (whom Soraya also played with), and later acts like Peaches. In the late 80s and early 1990s, Toronto, similar to other cities around the country, was going through a different type of musical revolution at this time, and a more informal DIY-spirited Canadian independent music in the Queen Street West scene was growing and taking shape. Soraya has worked and recorded with artists and musicians who have played in the band(s) Swans, Unsane, The Sadies, and Dinosaur Jr. Over the years, Soraya has recorded her work in her hometown of Toronto, as well as working with musicians in New York, and Miami. Also records under the name(s) Soraya, Soraya Rashid, Lady S, and Soraya Soul. Soraya currently lives and still writes and records in Toronto, Ontario, in Canada. She is also the sister of prominent designer, Karim Rashid.