Raveena Aurora | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | Massachusetts, US | September 30, 1993
Origin | Queens, New York City, US |
Genres | R&B, pop, experimental |
Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
Instruments |
|
Years active | 2012–present |
Labels |
|
Website | raveenaaurora |
Raveena Aurora (born September 30, 1993), [3] [4] mononymously known as Raveena, is an American singer and songwriter. [5] [6] She gained a following after her debut EP, Shanti, was released independently in 2017. Her debut album, Lucid, was released independently in 2019 and distributed through Empire Distribution which rose to critical acclaim. [7] In 2020, she released her second EP, Moonstone. [8] After signing to Warner Records, she released her second album, Asha's Awakening , on February 11, 2022, and was met with positive reviews from critics. [9] On June 14, 2024, she released her third album, Where the Butterflies Go in the Rain, through Empire Distribution. [10] She is known for integrating R&B and her Indian heritage through her music by using Indian instrumentations.
Raveena Aurora was born on September 30, 1993 [3] [4] in Massachusetts to Indian Punjabi immigrants [7] and grew up in Stamford, Connecticut. She moved to Queens, New York City when she was 17 [11] [7] [6] and she would visit India regularly. [12]
Aurora is Indian Punjabi American; [13] her family immigrated to Stamford from Punjab, India, after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in which her maternal uncle was killed and her family's business was burned down. She was raised in a traditional Sikh household. [13] [14] Punjabi was her first language. [15] As a child, she started writing poetry. [16] She became exposed to R&B, Soul, Jazz and Folk music in middle school, which piqued her interest in music and influenced her musical style later in life. [17]
At the age of 11, she started singing and would sing in the bathroom for hours a day, also studying how to use her voice and use it as an instrument. [11] Her first performance was at sixth grade in a talent show where she performed "Colors of the Wind" from the 1995 Disney film Pocahontas . [16] Soon her passion eventually became a decision to pursue music professionally and "was pretty set on it, honestly. Since I was really young, I knew that there weren't any other options for me."
Although her parents were initially "very hesitant" that she wanted to pursue a music career, they always supported her in developing her music skills. She has stated that her father was interested in Indian Instruments such as the harmonium and tabla and kept them in their house. [18] At the age of 12, she wrote her first song [19] [20] and aged 13, [6] [21] Aurora began songwriting and consequently started experimenting music with different genres. She studied and graduated from New York University Tisch School of the Arts. [6]
Aurora began auditioning for Broadway musicals but she said that "there were no roles for little Indian girls". She mentioned that people told her many times that she could not be expected to sign a record deal if she was an Indian woman and said "It's not gonna work". She said, "It never became about signing a deal at that point. I was just like, 'I don't need to rely on these things, it's gonna work if it's meant to happen.'" [18] She would also sing for church services. [22] When she was 18, Aurora independently released her first single and music video, "Grey Eyes" on December 4, 2012, in YouTube along with her old EP, Where We Wander, which was released independently on February 19, 2013. She later made them private. [23]
During the beginning of her career, she was denied by multiple record labels: "I would have label meetings and people would be like 'We can't sign you, you're brown', to my face they would tell me 'there's no space for you.' I was forced to build the infrastructure myself. I hope that the people who have control over that infrastructure start to support marginalized artists really early on. It's such a hard phase when you're in it, and it breaks a lot of people." [24] [18]
She worked many full-time jobs like nannying and even worked at her first job in American Apparel as a sales associate and saved to spend her money to self-fund her music projects. [25] [26] When she was 21, she met and started working with record producer Everett Orr in 2015. [11] She and Orr continued releasing singles "You Give Me That", [27] "Johnny It's the Last Time" [28] and "Something's Gotta Give" on SoundCloud in 2016. [29]
She amassed a sizable online following after the release of her first EP, Shanti in December 2017. Shanti explored themes of self-love and healing, and blended R&B, soul, and jazz music. [30] Her debut EP drew praise from Sidney Madden of NPR for her "cool delivery and chill-inducing falsetto runs" and "astute songwriting chops". [31] She directed several of her own music videos where she displayed her Indian heritage and "rich interiority of women of color like herself". [32] The third track of the EP, "No Better" is included as a soundtrack for the 2020 romantic drama film, All My Life . [33] She also released a bonus track for the EP, "Wherever U Go" on January 12, 2018. [34]
Aurora performed her 2018 single "If Only" on the global music platform, COLORS, in January 2018 in which her popularity rapidly increased. [26] On June 6, 2018, Aurora announced in social media her first headline tour, Woman is Holy Tour, a reference to her lyric from 2018 single "If Only". [35] [36]
In the summer of 2018, she was included in ModCloth's Say It Louder campaign, which aimed to celebrate individuality and strong female icons in music. She was featured alongside other outspoken female musicians like Lizzo, Awkwafina and Hayley Kiyoko. [37] In November 2018, she performed at Tyler, The Creator's Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival. [38]
On October 23, 2018, Aurora released a new single, "Temptation" and came out as bisexual. [39] [12]
In March 2019, Aurora co-headlined the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, with H.E.R and Toto. [40]
On May 31, 2019, she released her debut album Lucid, distributed through Empire Distribution. [41] Lyrically, she explored sensuality, healing from trauma, and spirituality; through tracks like "Stronger" and "Salt Water", she opened up about her experience as a sexual assault and abuse survivor between the age of 17 and 22. [11] [42] [19] Lucid was met with very positive reviews. Sidney Madden of NPR described Lucid as "comforting but nuanced, balancing cultures old and new by mashing up contemporary R&B with traditions from the South Asian diaspora". [43] In a track review for the penultimate track, "Petal", Vrinda Jagota from Pitchfork wrote: "over the course of 12 songs, her sound becomes bolder and clearer, finding strength in everything from sun showers to her mother's resilience to her own femininity and womanhood". [44] To support her album, Aurora announced in social media that she embarked on her second headlined tour, Lucid Tour, on June 14, 2019. [45] "Lucid" was named one of the "Best Albums of 2019" by NPR. [46] Aurora's 2019 single "Stronger" was named one of the "100 Best Songs of 2019" by Noisey. [47] On December 9, 2019, Aurora performed a NPR Tiny Desk Concert. [48]
On February 7, 2020, Aurora released her second four-track EP, Moonstone through Empire Distribution and Moonstone Recordings LLC, her independent label. [2] It was released after a week of her single, "Headaches". The EP blends psychedelic indie pop with soul. Moonstone explored her past relationships and her own identity. [8]
On February 5, 2021, Aurora released a new single and music video, "Tweety". [49] [50]
In 2022, she signed to Warner Records and she announced her sophomore album, Asha's Awakening , in January 2022. [9] The record was created as a concept album from the perspective of a Punjabi space princess. [1] The release was preceded by the singles "Rush" and "Secret," with the latter featuring American rapper Vince Staples. [51] Asha's Awakening was released on February 11, 2022, and received acclaim from music critics. [52] Eric Torres from Pitchfork said that it is "a throat-clearing moment for the singer, drawing on both Western and South Asian inspirations and collaborations for a blend of dance-friendly R&B songs and soothing ballads, each of which stands on her distinctive, quiet strength." [53] In the track, "Time Flies", she opened her experience on having an abortion at age 21. [54] Asha's Awakening was included as the "Best Albums of 2022 So Far" by Rolling Stone [55] and also by Clash [56] and NPR. [57] "Rush" was included as "The Best Songs of 2022 So Far" by Rolling Stone. [58] On December 1, 2022, Asha's Awakening was included in Rolling Stone's "The 100 Best Albums of 2022" and ranked in 84. [59]
To promote Asha's Awakening, Aurora embarked on an Asha's Awakening national tour from 15 April 2022 to May 28, 2022. [60] [61] She headlined of the 2022 Coachella Music Festival. She became the first woman of Indian descent to perform as a solo artist at Coachella Music Festival. [62] On June 19, 2022, she performed in Something in the Water festival. [63]
On November 5, 2022, she announced that she embarked on a Latin America Tour where she performed at Primavera in Brazil, Buenos Aires and Chile. While on tour, she opened up about being sexually assaulted. [64] She also performed at Corona Capital in Mexico City, [65] and she made her India debut and performed at Lollapalooza India in Mumbai, India, on January 29, 2023. [12] On May 20, 2023, she performed in Head in the Clouds Festival. [66] On August 11, 2023, she performed in Outside Lands. She was featured on King Krule's track "Seagirl" in his fifth album, Space Heavy and in "Bloom", the tenth track of the deluxe version of Prateek Kuhad's album, The Way That Lovers Do. [67] [68]
On May 8, 2024, she released a new single, "Pluto" along with the music video. [69] [70] [71] On May 22, 2024, she released another single along with the music video, "Lucky", [72] and announced her third album, Where the Butterflies Go in the Rain, which was released on June 14, 2024, through Empire and Moonstone Recordings. [73] She started working on the album since 2022 and "wrote almost 115 songs for it." [74] The album explores themes of new love, maturity and comfort. [73] [10] She explained the album and the album title saying: "Butterflies are so delicate that they have to hide in leaves and flowers until the rain passes so that their wings don’t get crushed in the rain. I felt like that was kind of a metaphor for where I was in my life. I needed to go back to comfort—to deep rest—and stop weathering storms." The album blends pop and R&B with traditional Indian instrumentations. [73]
On June 5, 2024, she released her third single, "Junebug", with JPEGMAFIA as a featured artist. [75]
On July 18, 2024, she released the music video of "16 Candles". [76]
Aurora is set to serve as the opening act for the North American leg for Tinashe's upcoming fifth concert tour, Match My Freak: World Tour . [77]
In October 2024, she released a short film of the album, Where the Butterflies Went. [78]
Aurora cites Asha Puthli as one of her greatest inspirations and influences. She grew up listening to Bollywood soundtracks, especially to 70s and 80s music. [79] When she was 8 years old, she was first introduced to the music of singers Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. [19] The other influences that she drew heavy inspirations are Nina Simone, Minnie Riperton, [6] Corinne Bailey Rae, Sade, [7] rock band Fleetwood Mac, [18] Stevie Wonder, D'Angelo [11] and Björk. She also grew up listening to Indian musicians Asha Bhosle, [80] Lata Mangeshkar, R D Burman [79] and Ravi Shankar. When writing for Lucid, Feist, Sade, Kadhja Bonet, Asha Puthli and Björk were her influences for her album. [81] She cited the British-Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A. as an influence as during her teenage years, she only had M.I.A. that represent "some version of herself". [19] She focused and watched her go to mainstream music, M.I.A. showed and proven Aurora that she could go to mainstream as well. Speaking to NME, she said that "When I saw someone like M.I.A. go mainstream, I thought this is a path I could potentially take." When she started listening to Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, they inspired her to be a singer, saying, "Once I heard their voices, I was hooked, there was no turning back. I really fell in love with the voice and how to use it and study it and be as expressive with it as possible." [26]
Aurora has been described as a R&B, [82] soul, [83] jazz, [84] experimental, [6] [49] contemporary R&B and pop [14] singer. She plays the guitar and the piano. [74] The subject of her songs are based on her personal experiences or from observations. [85] [79] [12] Her lyrics refer to variety of themes, such as identity politics, sexuality, [12] heartbreaks, hardships, and mental struggles. [14] She stated that she had always found songwriting to be a form of catharsis and having music as a way to process and reflect on her experiences "saved" her. [14] [12] According to her, songwriting "happens by feeling" and the song process begins from the music then she writes the lyrics. [86] Before making Shanti, she said, "I wrote hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of songs before my first project. Good songwriting is the heart of any person's success, so I felt like the only thing I could do is write good songs to prove myself." [18]
In 2018, Aurora came out as bisexual through her 2018 single "Temptation". [32] On June 3, 2021, on Twitter, she said that she thinks that she is actually pansexual. [87] She is spiritual as she regularly reads Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu texts. She also focuses on meditation and mindfulness. [80]
In November 2021, Aurora started the Aurora Loving Kindness Project, a mutual aid hub providing "healing, wellness and investment". The Project’s first grant cycle was specifically for Black, Brown and queer musicians. The second cycle was for musicians of domestic violence, intimate partner violence and sexual assault. The third cycle was for musicians interested in sustainable futures through community programs such as "meditations, grants, shops for donation, non-traditional forms of trade and collaborating with other programs". [88] [89]
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Lucid |
|
Asha's Awakening |
|
Where the Butterflies Go in the Rain |
|
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Shanti [a] |
|
Moonstone |
|
Title | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Album | |
"You Give Me That" | 2016 | Non-album singles |
"Johnny It's the Last Time" | ||
"Spell" | 2017 | Shanti |
"Sweet Time" | ||
"If Only" | ||
"I Won't Mind" | 2018 | Non-album singles |
"Honey" | ||
"Temptation" | ||
"Mama" | 2019 | Lucid |
"Stronger" | ||
"Headaches" | 2020 | Moonstone |
"Tweety" | 2021 | Non-album singles |
"Rush" | 2022 | Asha's Awakening |
"Secret" (featuring Vince Staples) | ||
"Pluto" | 2024 | Where the Butterflies Go in the Rain |
"Lucky" | ||
"Junebug" (featuring JPEGMAFIA) | ||
Title | Year | Director(s) |
---|---|---|
"Sweet Time" | 2017 | Raveena |
"Honey" | 2018 | Raveena, Weird Life Films |
"Temptation" | Jackson Tisi | |
"Mama" | 2019 | Danica Kleinknecht |
"Stronger" | Raveena, Danica Kleinknecht | |
"Petal" | Danica Kleinknecht | |
"Headaches" | 2020 | Raveena |
"Tweety" | 2021 | Raveena, Chris Cadaver |
"Rush" | 2022 | Raveena, Munachi Osegbu |
"Secret" (featuring Vince Staples) | Raveena | |
"Love Overgrown" | ||
"Mystery" | 2023 | Melting Clock Films |
"Pluto" | 2024 | Raveena, Tanmay Chowdhary |
"Lucky" | Isha Dipika Walia | |
"Lose My Focus" (lyric video) | Raveena, Tanmay Chowdhary | |
"16 Candles" |
Asha Puthli is an Indian-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress, born and raised in Mumbai. She has recorded solo albums for EMI, CBS/Sony, and RCA. Her recordings cover blues, pop, rock, soul, funk, disco, and techno and have been produced by Del Newman and Teo Macero.
Cate Le Bon is a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. She sings in both English and Welsh. She has released six solo studio albums, to date, and is one half of the experimental music duo DRINKS with her partner Tim Presley. Her stage name is a tribute to English musician Simon Le Bon.
Nicole Zefanya, known professionally as Niki, is an Indonesian singer-songwriter. She is currently based in the United States and signed with the record label 88rising. She released her first full-length studio album, Moonchild, in 2020. It was followed by Nicole (2022) and Buzz (2024). Her debut headlining concert tour, Nicole World Tour (2022–2023), visited over 40 cities across North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe.
Kristine Meredith Flaherty, better known as K.Flay, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and rapper. She has released five studio albums: Life as a Dog (2014), Every Where Is Some Where (2017), Solutions (2019), Inside Voices / Outside Voices (2022), and Mono (2023).
Beatrice Annika Miller is an American singer and actress. She was the fifth contestant eliminated on season two of The X Factor (US) when she was 13 years old. She was later signed to Hollywood Records. Her debut EP Young Blood was released in 2014, and her debut album Not an Apology was released on July 24, 2015. In 2016, she released the single "Yes Girl". During 2017, she released the EPs Chapter One: Blue, Chapter Two: Red, and Chapter Three: Yellow. The three EPs, along with five additional songs, were collected as her second studio album, Aurora.
Solána Imani Rowe, known professionally as SZA, is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained recognition through her self-released EPs See.SZA.Run (2012) and S (2013), which helped her become the first female artist to sign with Top Dawg Entertainment. Her third EP, Z (2014), was her first project to be released to digital retailers and reached the top-ten on the U.S. Independent Albums chart.
Aurora Aksnes, known simply as Aurora, is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and record producer. Born in Stavanger and raised in the towns of Høle and Os, she began writing her first songs and learning dance at the age of six. After some of her songs were uploaded online and became popular in Norway, she signed a recording contract with Petroleum Records, Decca and Glassnote Records in 2014. Aurora gained recognition with her debut extended play (EP), Running with the Wolves (2015), which contained the sleeper hit "Runaway". Later that year, she provided the backing track for the John Lewis Christmas advert, singing a cover of the Oasis song "Half the World Away".
Brandon Paak Anderson, better known by his stage name Anderson .Paak, is an American singer, rapper, and record producer. He released his debut mixtape, O.B.E. Vol. 1, in 2012 and went on to release his debut album Venice in 2014. In 2016, he followed up with his second album, Malibu, which received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album, followed by his third album, Oxnard (2018). At the 61st Grammy Awards, Paak won his first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance with his 2018 non-album single "Bubblin". In 2020, he won two additional Grammy Awards for Best R&B Album with his fourth album Ventura, while a song from the album won Best R&B Performance with "Come Home".
Phoebe Lucille Bridgers is an American singer-songwriter. Her indie folk music typically centers around acoustic guitar and electronic production, with melancholic lyrical themes. She has received four Grammy Awards from eleven nominations.
Moriah Rose Pereira, better known as Poppy and formerly as That Poppy, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and YouTuber. She first earned recognition for surreal performance art videos on YouTube, in which she played an uncanny valley–like android commenting on and satirizing internet culture and modern society. She has become more widely known for being highly experimental and versatile with her artistry and music.
Dorothy Miranda Clark, known mononymously as Dodie, is an English singer, songwriter, author and YouTuber. Dodie began her career uploading original songs and covers to YouTube. As of August 2023, her main channel has over 196 videos, over 2.01 million subscribers and over 431.66 million views, and her second channel has over 203 videos, over 882k subscribers and over 100.46 million views.
Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, known professionally as H.E.R. is an American singer and songwriter. She has won an Academy Award, a Children's and Family Emmy Award, and five Grammy Awards, along with nominations for a Golden Globe Award, three American Music Awards, and four Billboard Music Awards.
Lovebites is a Japanese heavy metal band, formed in 2016 by former Destrose members Miho and Haruna. Its lineup currently consists of Haruna on drums, Midori and Miyako on guitar, Asami on vocals, and Fami on bass. After signing to Victor Entertainment, the group released both their debut EP and their first album in 2017, The Lovebites EP and Awakening from Abyss, before performing their first overseas concerts at the end of the year. With another EP and album released in 2018, Battle Against Damnation and Clockwork Immortality, Lovebites quickly garnered international attention and won that year's Metal Hammer Golden Gods Award for Best New Band. Following the releases of Electric Pentagram (2020) and Glory, Glory, to the World (2021), bassist Miho left the band in August 2021. After a year-long hiatus, Lovebites recruited Fami on bass and released Judgement Day, their fourth album, in February 2023. It is their highest-charting record to date, reaching number 5 on both the Oricon and Billboard Japan charts.
Infections of a Different Kind is the second studio album by Norwegian singer-songwriter and record producer Aurora. It was released digitally on 28 September 2018 and physically on 1 November 2019 by Decca and Glassnote Records. It serves as the first part of a two-part album, the second part being her third studio album A Different Kind of Human (2019). Aurora enlisted producers Askjell Solstrand, Jakwob, Couros and MyRiot, along with previous collaborators Magnus Skylstad and Electric.
Snoh Sheri Nowrozi, better known by her stage name Snoh Aalegra, is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, Feels, was released in 2017, followed by Ugh, Those Feels Again in 2019.
Catherine Grace Garner, known professionally as Slayyyter, is an American singer and songwriter. She started her career independently releasing songs through SoundCloud. Her single "Mine" reached number 38 on the iTunes pop chart. The song was included on her self-titled debut mixtape which was independently released in 2019. Her debut studio album, Troubled Paradise, was released in June 2021 under Fader. Her second album, Starfucker, was released on September 22, 2023.
Maia, known professionally as mxmtoon, is an American singer-songwriter and YouTuber. Her music is characterized by emotionally transparent, confessional lyrics and often employs the ukulele. She released her first EP, Plum Blossom (2018); her debut album, The Masquerade (2019); the 2020 twin EPs—Dawn, Dusk; and her second studio album Rising (2022). In 2024, she released her third studio album, Liminal Space.
Ryan Jillian Santiago, known professionally as Royal & the Serpent, is an American singer and songwriter.
Leah Kate Kalmenson is an American singer. Kate released her debut extended play, Impulse, in June 2019 followed up by What Just Happened? in 2021. In 2022, she released the single "10 Things I Hate About You", which charted in Australia and the UK. She was then chosen as the support act for the European leg of Madison Beer's Life Support Tour, taking place in March and April 2022. She released her debut album, Super Over, in September 2023.
Asha's Awakening is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Raveena, which was released through Warner Records on February 11, 2022. The album was preceded by the singles "Rush" and "Secret". Asha's Awakening is a concept album from the point of view of a Punjabi space princess called Asha.
Her birth year is shown at 3:57. Where baby Aurora was with her mother in a car on October 10, 1993.