Shani Rigsbee (Shani) is a Recording Artist - Singer, Composer and Producer appear in major motion pictures and she has performed at some of the world's most prestigious venues. Her song "El ...Show More
Shani Rigsbee (Shani) is a Recording Artist - Singer, Composer and Producer appear in major motion pictures and she has performed at some of the world's most prestigious venues. Her song "El Llamar de Pasión - Call of the Wild" was featured in the Academy Award Winner for Best Picture, Crash and was also chosen to promote Oliver Stone's Persona Non Grata for HBO. She was the Featured Vocalist in the 20th Century Fox epic, One Night With the King and her songs, voice and persona have been featured in numerous feature films such as The House of Sand and Fog (Dreamworks) in which she also appeared and The Keeper - The Legend of Omar Khayyam (Guide Company Films) with Academy Award Winner Vanessa Redgrave, in which she also played the exotic Court Entertainer and was also the Executive Producer of the soundtrack. She has also appeared in and provided music for many other independent feature films and television shows and was the featured Vocalist for Sony Playstation's Parasite Eve, a mega popular International Hit. On screen, Shani has played a variety of roles from a sultry femme fatale to a seductive ancient temptress and her recent role of a Detective in the upcoming Guardian Angel where she also serves as Co-Executive Producer. Her debut film role was the feature film Crossworlds with Rutger Hauer, Josh Charles and Jack Black and she also has several episodic television credits in her archives as a young girl in her early days in Los Angeles. Shani has also been a featured Artist in many high profile events including the Countdown for Barack Obama and later followed as the Producer of the Inaugural Purple Ball's show in Washington D.C with Performances with IL DIVO. She has also been the Featured Vocalist in the prestigious play Beneath the Veil which has been performed both the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles as well as the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and at New York's Lincoln Center. And she has supported in the past Amnesty International's Blood Diamond Campaign wearing an "awareness" pin for the Academy Award festivities. From an early age, Shani Rigsbee felt The Call of the Wild to travel and expand her sphere from beyond her birthplace of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Who would have guessed that this International talent actually stems from Bill Clinton's hometown? As a young girl, Shani would spend hours singing to the artists of the day while her father played drums and she would produce plays and concerts in her family's garage for the neighbors. Encouraging her passion for the arts, her family threw caution to the winds taking the Southern cheerleader and choir girl to the City of Angels, Los Angeles, to help her launch her career so she could be more exposed to training and performance. While in Los Angeles, Shani began to study her craft both musically and theatrically and found herself mingling with some of the International music scene's great talents, working closely with International/World music star Andy Madadian (Andy) and learning the intricacies of Eastern-based rhythms and melodies. She was forever hooked on the sensual and hypnotic sounds that would influence her own writing style which was more Pop, R & B, soft rock and "old school" influenced. She toured the globe, honing her skills in International concert arenas and developing a strong following. Along the way her path was interrupted when she was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Forced to channel all of her energies towards regaining her health, Shani felt her path enlightened by her spiritual search. Through her indomitable will, she conquered her ovarian cancer; this combination of inner and outer exploration had a profound effect on her development not only as an artist, but as a human being as well. She proudly supports and has been a featured performer for such organizations such as Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine and their Art of Compassion gala in Washington D.C and has been a supporter and walked many red carpets for many animal advocacy groups and humanitarian causes. She uses her talent as a means to expand her audience and to support other endeavors requiring immediate attention such as the Hurricane Katrina animal relief effort for which she personally coordinated animal rescues in the New Orleans area. To raise cancer awareness, Shani served as a Board Member at the Women's Clinic and Family Counseling Center in Los Angeles and often attends women's health events. A homegrown internationalist, she has recorded and collaborated with some of the International music scene's giants, and those songs play on satellite radio,television and in nightclubs around the world. These bold moves are nothing new for Shani who has sung in many languages and has left many people shocked to know that her roots are purely Anglo American with some Cherokee ancestry from great great grandparents, and not from the outer reaches of the globe. Shani simply loves the artistic challenge of blending genres, singing in different languages and forging new paths on the cutting edge of the musical mainstream, ultimately connecting people through the universal language of music. In her previous album, Call of the Wild, Shani broke new ground creating a global span of sound that combined percussive dance beats with sensual Eastern and Spanish overtones, creating a new sort of ménage-à-music. She followed its international acclaim with Velvet (an International release). With At the Casbah, which contains two updated Cole Porter standards along with 11 original songs, she practically creates an event, evoking an exciting blend of rhythm, sophistication and exoticism, free from labels, borders or boundaries. 7 tracks from the album are featured in Motion Pictures. Her music and videos from At The Casbah (CMG/Sony BMG), have played across the country, showing up on television and in shopping malls, major Airlines and on International television. She has since released multiple singles including the very successful dance hybrid, "DJ" a duet performed with Andy. Based on the strong international recognition of her music, Hollywood called. Not only were they pleased with her talent as an actress, but they began to request her work on prestigious soundtracks. Following this path, she forged ahead both in front of and behind the camera continuing to develop, produce and collaborate on projects and continues to tour and perform, enticing audiences all over the world from Los Angeles' Greek Theatre to London to Dubai. Her latest single is the throwback "Out of My Mind" which is followed by another venture called "We Hear Your Voice". This humanitarian / charity movement is led by an original song penned and Produced by Shani featuring some of the World's greatest voices giving voice to the people in solidarity and unity. Top Producers and musicians in the music industry have lent their support in this special project. The song's International release will also involve a music video featuring all of the Artists as well as a "behind the scenes / making of " short form documentary of the project. Hide
