Sonya Kahn's attitude toward her music is simple. It's her way or the highway. "People say if you want to get it done right, you have to do it yourself," says the talented singer-songwriter. Sonya is the first to admit that when it comes to her music and career, she definitely likes to be in control. That attitude is much in evidence on her recently completed album "New Beginning". Serving as singer, songwriter, producer, multi instrumentalist and arranger, Sonya Kahn, on such songs as ‘Without You', ‘About Love' and ‘Where Do You Go', has forged a high energy, emotional and ambitious rock sound that, while firmly entrenched in the best the past has to offer, has its creative sights set on the future. "It's a little bit of everything," declares Sonya in describing her music. "It contains elements of classical music because that's my background. This is why you'll hear influences by composers like Bach, Schuman and Rachmaninov. These are influences almost unheard of in rock. But there's also that modern edge and that comes from groups like Pink Floyd, Genesis, Metallica and Prince. My music comes from a lot of places but at the end of the day, it's all about passion." It is that passion which takes flight on the strength of Sonya's vocals, a deft mixture of raw inflections and polished vibrato. "It's a strong, soulful singing style" explains the singer. "It's a powerful sound, an honest, emotional approach to singing pop/rock." All of which combines into the perfect engine to propel Sonya Kahn's songs to extreme levels of storytelling, emotion and power. "I write about personal stuff. The life experiences which make for great songs. The struggles you go through to find your soul mate or when it seems like there is no justice, fairness in the world. My songs have always been about the happy times as well as all the obstacles and challenges that people face in their lives. Things that have a big emotional impact on me are the things I like to write about." Sonya is proud of the fact that her musical makeup defies stereotypes and instantly sets her apart from the clichés of rock and roll women. "I'm not going for some bimbo singer image," she says. "I'm an accomplished musician and an educated person and I'm damned proud of that. What I do is not all about sex, drugs and rock and roll. My goal has always been to break away from the expected notions, to forge my own identity. I would like to be compared to some of the great women musicians. But I'm different." Sonya Kahn was born into a musical family. Her mother is a noted concert pianist and university professor. Her sister is an accomplished saxophone player. Her grandmother was a noted theater actress, radio performer and talented singer. So it came as no surprise that Sonya was introduced to the joys of classical music at an early age. A true prodigy, the young girl began playing piano at age 3, began singing at age 5 and wrote her first song at age 6. "I fell in love with the idea of music at an early age. It was a whole different world for me. Classical music was the backbone of everything." However it was not long before Sonya began to be influenced by her mother in a non-classical way. "My mother always had these old 45's laying around. The one that made the biggest impact on me was 'Hotel California' by The Eagles. Rock was a whole different world. "Sonya landed her first professional gig at age 6 when she joined the pop group Sunshine. For the next six years, Sonya would tour much of Europe, singing lead vocals on three Sunshine albums, getting her first taste of popular music stardom. "I was just a kid,” she remembers, "but I loved the idea of being on stage and singing in front of so many people. It was my first taste of success. "While performing and recording with Sunshine, the young performer was furthering her musical education at a prestigious European music academy. She majored in piano and continued to add to her knowledge of theory, composition, harmony and vocals. Keeping up a non-stop schedule, Sonya found time to excel as an actress and singer in several productions on national television and to make strides as a singer/keyboard player/composer in her first band, the pop/jazz/rock group Take Five. Sonya Kahn settled in Los Angeles in 2003 where there continued to be challenges at every turn. While continuing to further her education with occasional trips back to Europe where she ultimately earned a Doctorate Of Musical Arts Degree in concert piano performing, and musical theory, the 23 year old Sonya Kahn began taking her first steps toward capturing pop music stardom. "I would regularly perform at coffee shops and comedy clubs in Los Angeles," she recalls. "Anyplace I could fit myself and a keyboard or acoustic guitar was where I played. I was excited and determined to write more songs when I felt the energy coming from audiences during my performances. They felt the music. They were moved. "Word of mouth about this talented performer began making the rounds of Los Angeles clubs. Sonya was soon fielding offers from producers who, she remembers, completely missed the boat. "When these producers heard my songs, they automatically assumed that I was trying to be a rhythm and blues or pop singer. I said, ‘No, can't you hear it? It's not those genres. This is rock combined with other elements of contemporary music.' But they had a completely different vision of me." The misconception did not stop Sonya from receiving several offers based on the fact that she had matured into a powerful rock vocalist. "I would get crazy offers,” she recalls, "I had an offer to go with a label that was being distributed by EMI. But they couldn't understand that I was not just a singer, but a songwriter and arranger as well. There were other interested producers and labels but all they wanted was somebody to sing their songs. I told them I was not interested." Sonya continued to pursue her musical goals on her terms. She bought her own production equipment, learned how to use it and began to record her own compositions in her bedroom. She started her own Myspace site to which she posted several of her songs, succeeding in building a grass roots following for her music. She was soon fielding offers that took her to the east coast where she performed before appreciative audiences in New York's famed East Village and at a club near the famed Pennsylvania University, Penn State. By 2006, she had gathered together what would turn out to be an ever changing lineup of musicians and began performing her songs in such Los Angeles hot spots as The Mint, The Knitting Factory and The Viper Room. "I knew from the beginning that what I was writing were big songs," she says "and that I needed a band to make them work. "In 2006, Sonya gained some notoriety when a film producer approached her to have one of her songs, 'Don't Go Away', appear on the soundtrack of the horror film "The Thirst." Session work that emphasized her instrumental and vocal prowess began to come her way. Encouraged by this sudden upturn in fortune, Sonya returned to recording in 2007, completing "New Beginning” in a North Hollywood recording studio, continuing her efforts to bring her music to the world. Sonya Kahn admits that the challenges have been many and there have been stumbles along the way. But as she prepares for what will most certainly be a bright, shining future in modern music, she remains committed to the fact that the music she creates will come from her heart and soul. "For me, it's all about the music. It's all about the art. This is my passion. This is what gets me off."