Born and raised on the United States east coast, Raveena Aurora personifies musical modernity. Known as ‘Raveena’, the artist is a second-generation Indian American whose artistry is rooted in the pursuit of cultural expression alongside psychedelic artistry – her latest track, ‘Rush’, is no exception to this endeavour.
The release is Raveena’s first under Warner Records; though, the artist’ signing to a major label shows no indication of dimming her shine.
The musicality behind ‘Rush’ is defined by cultural exploration. It finds its foundations in classical Punjabi percussion and the sampling of vintage Bollywood soundtracks, combined with contemporary alternative-R&B. The rare mesh of otherwise juxtaposing sounds produces vibrant, yet intimate, track which is easily traceable to Raveena’s earlier discography as an independent artist.
Raveena revealed the fictional world she created which inspired the track on Twitter: “RUSH is centred around a character I wrote named ‘Asha’ – a space princess who is trained by peaceful aliens in spiritual magic. When she comes back down to Earth after 2000 years in space, she attracts a cult following around her, which leads to her eventual demise.”
The artist also co-directed the accompanying music video, alongside Munachi Osegbu. Here, the inspiration behind the track is personified in all the best ways; Raveena, dressed in Indian-inspired mint two-piece, embarks upon a hallucinogenic journey accompanied by abstract humanoid creatures. An unparalleled blend between vintage Bollywood and old-school Western science fiction is perfectly portrayed.
In lieu with her existing catalogue, Raveena’s lyricism on ‘Rush’ depicts the abstract nature of a psychedelic trip: ‘Dive into a fruit drink / Every bit of juice, she’ll / Make you see wild things’.
Raveena’s debut album Lucid (2019), has been her only full-length release so far – the release of ‘Rush’, however, leaves fans feeling optimistic about the return of the South Asian artist on a much-anticipated studio album. If ‘Rush’ is an indicator of what to expect on Raveena’s next album release, she will certainly not disappoint.
After years of domestic success, Raveena will be performing live at the infamous Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, joining only a handful of non-white women to play the show. It is simply a matter of time before the artist breaks beyond the alternative scene, and achieves the international attention that is so thoroughly deserved.
Words by Aisha Sembhi
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