RAYANE FORTES: THE GUITAR IS HER SECOND VOICE

From the musical roots of Brazil to a sound that refuses to be confined

Photo credit:  Natália Marques

EDITOR IN CHIEF | GEAR TECH | GUITAR THRILLS MAGAZINE TAMPA, FL U.S.A.

Edward Schooley

Founded in 2021. GUITAR THRILLS MAGAZINE of Tampa, FL Guitar Thrills Magazine of Tampa, FL U.S.A. The GUITAR THRILLS MAGAZINE is excited to bring you some of the music industries finest talent. Including the world of entertainment. Our focus includes the long term goals and aspirations of artists of all sorts. We are an unbiased reporting platform. You are getting insight into the world of music. No, we are not your fathers website for music news. We have grown into our own, and rely upon decades of music experience and knowledge. Guitar Thrills Magazine is a hard act to follow.

There is something unmistakable about a musician who understands that playing guitar is about more than knowing where to put your fingers. Technique can be learned, scales can be mastered, and equipment can be upgraded. But finding a musical identity is something entirely different. It requires an artist to discover what they want to say, how they want to say it, and ultimately, what makes their voice recognizable. For Brazilian singer, songwriter, and guitarist Rayane Fortes, that journey has become an increasingly interesting part of her story.

Born and raised in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, Rayane has developed a musical personality that refuses to settle into one category. Her influences stretch across blues, soul, rock, jazz, R&B, and Brazilian musical traditions. Yet what makes her particularly interesting is how naturally these elements come together. She isn't trying to become another version of an artist who came before her. Instead, she is taking what she has learned from those who influenced her and allowing those experiences to become part of something distinctly her own.

Rayane's musical journey began early. Growing up around music, she developed an appreciation for different instruments and musical expressions. Her early exposure to Brazilian styles, particularly choro and bossa nova, would eventually become an important part of her musical vocabulary. Before electric guitar became such a defining part of her identity, she explored the mandolin and developed an understanding of improvisation that continues to influence her playing today.

That background is worth recognizing because it helps explain why her guitar playing doesn't always follow the familiar paths associated with blues and rock. There is a melodic sensibility in her approach, an understanding that a guitar can communicate something beyond a collection of technically impressive notes. Her influences are evident, but they don't completely define her.

One influence stands above the others. Stevie Ray Vaughan has long been her guitar hero. His ability to combine power, feel, phrasing, and tone represents much of what she admires about the instrument. The musical period spanning the 1960s through the 1980s also holds a special place in her appreciation, not only because of the artists who emerged during those decades but because of the cultural and visual identity surrounding the music..

But influence and imitation are two very different things. Rayane understands that distinction. When interpreting classic material, she respects the original composition while allowing her own personality to emerge through the performance. That is an important characteristic of a developing artist. The objective isn't to reproduce someone else's musical identity perfectly. It is to understand what made that music meaningful in the first place and find a way to connect with it personally.

Her introduction to a much wider audience came through The Voice Brasil in 2023. Her performance turned all four judges' chairs, and the resulting video attracted more than seven million views. It was a significant moment, bringing attention to an artist whose abilities extended well beyond the television stage. Her performance also attracted attention from Guy Oseary, the prominent music manager associated with Madonna.

Television exposure can introduce an artist to millions of people, but sustaining that attention requires something more substantial. Rayane had already been developing her own musical direction. Her 2021 album, Atenta, featured ten original compositions and explored pop, R&B, and blues, establishing an early foundation for her songwriting and production ambitions.

Her live performances have also demonstrated that she is comfortable in front of substantial audiences. One particularly memorable appearance came at Fortaleza's Castelão Stadium, where she performed during the Copa do Nordeste festivities in front of a crowd of approximately 60,000 people. Experiences like that can change an artist's relationship with the stage. There is a difference between performing for a room and standing before a stadium full of people. Both demand confidence, but the scale of the experience introduces an entirely different kind of energy.

There is another side to Rayane's story that deserves attention. Being a woman in a guitar culture historically dominated by men has not always been an easy experience. She has spoken openly about the assumptions and criticism that accompany her career, including situations in which others presume to know more about her equipment, her tone, and how she should approach the instrument.

There is a larger issue here. Guitar ability should not require a separate explanation depending on who happens to be holding the instrument. A musician should be judged by what comes through the amplifier, what happens onstage, and what they contribute creatively. Unfortunately, that standard has not always been applied equally.

Rayane has also addressed the unnecessary attention directed toward her appearance and clothing. Her position is straightforward: being attractive and being a capable guitarist are not mutually exclusive. She should not have to sacrifice one aspect of her identity to satisfy someone else's expectations of what a serious musician should look or sound like. Her guitar, her sound, and her personal presentation belong to her.

Musically, her newest chapter represents an important step forward. In 2026, she introduced RAY, a two-part project that moves more deeply into blues and soul while retaining the broader influences that have shaped her career. The first installment, released in February, includes the single "Eu e o Som," a particularly personal composition that explores her relationship with music itself.

That distinction matters. Much of popular songwriting revolves around relationships, heartbreak, and the complicated business of falling in and out of love. Those subjects will always have a place in music. But writing about one's relationship with music, and what it means to the person creating it, opens another door. It allows listeners to understand the artist behind the performance.

The new material also reflects her interest in combining Portuguese and English, extending the possibilities of how her music can connect with audiences beyond Brazil. It is not simply a commercial decision to reach another market. It is another expression of an artist who has never been particularly interested in limiting herself to one musical language.

There is also a growing professional dimension to her career. Her association with Laney Amplification's Global Artist Team, along with partnerships involving Warm Audio and Enya Music, demonstrates that her guitar work is attracting attention beyond the recording and performance stages. These relationships are important, but they also carry responsibility. Representing a respected equipment brand means that an artist's musical identity becomes part of the conversation surrounding the equipment itself.

Still, equipment partnerships and social media recognition are only pieces of a much larger picture. What matters most is what happens when the lights come up and the music begins. That is where an artist either connects or doesn't. Rayane's understanding of performance as an almost meditative experience suggests that she sees the stage as something more meaningful than an opportunity to demonstrate technique. It is a place where preparation, instinct, and emotion come together.

And perhaps that is where her greatest potential lies. She has the technical foundation, the vocal ability, and the influences to move comfortably between musical territories. But the real challenge is continuing to develop a sound that people recognize without needing to be told who is playing.

For an artist with her background, that means respecting the traditions that shaped her while remaining willing to move beyond them. Brazil has given her a rich musical foundation. Blues and soul have provided another language. Rock has supplied an attitude and an approach to the electric guitar that continues to inspire generations.

The interesting part is seeing what happens when all those influences meet in one musician.

AN INTERVIEW WITH RAYANE FORTES AND GUITAR THRILLS MAGAZINE

Guitar Thrills: Your musical journey has taken you from your early experiences with Brazilian music to a much broader international audience. When you look back, what has changed most about the musician you are today compared with the young artist who first picked up an instrument?

Rayane: My playing has changed quite a lot. Today, I have a much deeper connection with the instrument, almost as if the guitar has become an extension of my body. I understand my preferences much better now. I know which guitar body shapes work best for me, which pickups I enjoy, and even which strings suit my playing style.

But essentially, that girl from ten years ago is still the same. I'm still the girl who just wants to pick up a guitar and have fun playing. I've never wanted to make it feel too serious. I think keeping that sense of freedom and enjoyment is a very important part of who I am as a musician.

Guitar Thrills: Your latest project, RAY, represents a new chapter in your career. What inspired the direction of this project, and what did you want listeners to understand about you that perhaps they hadn't fully understood through your earlier recordings?

Rayane: I think this album was an opportunity to showcase more of my identity as a guitarist, beyond my role as a singer, especially compared to my previous work.

I also want people to understand that, besides being a singer and instrumentalist, I create and produce the arrangements for my own songs — which was exactly the case with RAY. I really enjoy having that creative freedom, being able to experiment, build the arrangements, and decide how I want each song to sound. Having that kind of artistic autonomy is very important to me.

Guitar Thrills: "Eu e o Som" is a particularly personal composition. Writing about your relationship with music rather than a conventional romantic subject takes a different kind of honesty. What brought that song to life?

Rayane:” “Eu e o Som" is a song I wrote for myself. I think that, among so many songs about love and heartbreak, I felt the need to write about a force that has never abandoned me: music.

It's a song about my relationship with music, about this constant presence in my life, regardless of what's happening around me. This song is very special to me.

Guitar Thrills: Stevie Ray Vaughan has been one of your most significant guitar influences. What was it about his playing that first connected with you, and have you discovered anything about his musicianship that you appreciate differently as you've matured as a guitarist?

Rayane: Everything about Stevie Ray Vaughan fascinates me! His sensuality on stage, his almost physical connection with the guitar, the clarity of every note, and those unforgettable riffs.

I was genuinely amazed by the live recordings he released during that era, especially how clean and articulate everything sounded. Every note had such incredible definition.

For a long time, I wanted to sound exactly like him, but in a way that was still my own. I didn't want to simply reproduce the same phrases or copy his playing style. I wanted that kind of musical articulation, that sensuality, and that level of commitment to the instrument.

From there, I wanted to bring all of those qualities into my own musical world. Not to imitate him, but to have him as an inspiration while developing my own identity. And I think that's exactly what happened.

Guitar Thrills: Your musical foundation includes choro, bossa nova, blues, soul, and rock. When you are composing or improvising, do those influences consciously enter the process, or have they become so much a part of you that they emerge naturally?

Rayane: In the beginning, I used to think a lot in technical terms. I believe that's part of the process, and it works for a while, until playing stops feeling robotic or mathematically calculated and starts becoming something natural.

To me, it's like learning a new language. When you're learning English, for example, you initially translate words in your head before speaking. Eventually, that process becomes natural, and you simply start thinking and expressing yourself in that language without having to translate everything.

I feel the same thing happens with the guitar. At a certain point, it stops being just about technique and becomes pure expression. All my musical influences and life experiences naturally find their way into the way I play.

Guitar Thrills: You have spoken about the importance of allowing your personality to come through when interpreting classic songs. Is there a particular performance or recording where you feel you successfully found that balance between honoring the original artist and making the music your own?

Rayane: Yes! I have a few recordings online of me performing "Voodoo Child," and playing that song is always magical for me.

Although it has very distinctive themes and improvisational elements closely associated with Jimi Hendrix's original approach, I feel I've managed to make the song deeply my own.

I like to respect the structure and essence of the composition while finding my own way of interpreting it. I think that's the balance I'm always looking for: honoring the identity of the song without losing my own.

Guitar Thrills: Your musical foundation includes choro, bossa nova, blues, soul, and rock. When you are composing or improvising, do those influences consciously enter the process, or have they become so much a part of you that they emerge naturally?

Rayane:In the beginning, I used to think a lot in technical terms. I believe that's part of the process, and it works for a while, until playing stops feeling robotic or mathematically calculated and starts becoming something natural.

To me, it's like learning a new language. When you're learning English, for example, you initially translate words in your head before speaking. Eventually, that process becomes natural, and you simply start thinking and expressing yourself in that language without having to translate everything.

I feel the same thing happens with the guitar. At a certain point, it stops being just about technique and becomes pure expression. All my musical influences and life experiences naturally find their way into the way I play.

CONCLUSION: THE NEXT CHAPTER BELONGS TO HER

There is no shortage of guitar players capable of delivering impressive performances. The instrument has produced generations of extraordinary musicians, and the standard continues to rise. But technical ability alone doesn't guarantee that an artist will leave a lasting impression. What separates one musician from another is the ability to develop a recognizable identity, to make the instrument communicate something personal, and to give listeners a reason to return.

Rayane Fortes is still writing that story. She has already demonstrated that she can command an audience, move comfortably between musical styles, and stand behind her abilities in an industry that doesn't always make that easy. Her latest work suggests an artist becoming increasingly comfortable with her own creative direction.

What makes her journey worth following isn't simply where she has been or the recognition she has received. It is the possibility of where she can go next. She has the influences, the experience, and the determination. Now comes the challenge of continuing to turn those ingredients into something unmistakably her own.

And if there is one thing her journey has made clear, it is this: Rayane Fortes isn't waiting for someone else to define what kind of guitarist she should be. She is busy defining that for herself.

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A RECAP OF WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

• RAYANE FORTES: THE GUITAR IS HER SECOND VOICENovember 9, 2026
• The Tone Revolution: Premium possibilities without the premium priceOctober 26, 2026
• Jake Kiszka: The Guitar Wizard Redefining His Own RulesOctober 26, 2026
• Dirty Laundry: Don Henley Saw the Problem. We Made It Bigger.October 22, 2026