There is no doubt that one of the most exciting artists right now is Raveena. With the announcement of Raveena’s sophomore album ‘Asha’s Awakening’ coming not even a month after signing to Warner Records, it seems that 2022 is her year.
Drawing inspiration from her Indian culture and influences such as Alice Coltrane and Asha Puthli and blending it with the sound of early 2000s R&B creates the unique and electrifying sound of Raveena. This sound is then married with spiritual story-telling and idiosyncratic lyricism like no other.
Raveena’s upcoming album ‘Asha’s Awakening’ has been in the works for three years – with Raveena making a huge effort to ensure listeners are taken on an earnest journey through Indian culture. With this album, Raveena intends to pay homage to her heritage as a first-generation descendant of genocide survivors and Reiki healers. The album stays true to Raveena’s unique sound we have grown to love, blending influences from Bollywood and celebrated Indian artists like R.D. Burman and Asha Bhosle with Western music—specifically R&B, rock and soul— to create one cohesive body of work.
‘Asha’s Awakening’ takes us on the fascinating story of a space princess from ancient Punjab who journeys across centuries learning about love and loss, healing and destruction. The album’s lead single ‘Rush’ (which we included in our top songs of January), first introduced us to this concept.
As if the album’s announcement wasn’t exciting enough, Raveena also released the record’s second single ‘Secret’ (feat. Vince Staples). The track keeps Raveena’s Bollywood influences alive whilst injecting the infatuating components of noughties pop. Following up from the otherworldly visuals of ‘Rush’, Raveena directed the visuals for ‘Secret’, giving us a further glimpse into the immense world of Asha. Raveena rocks many looks for her video, from gorgeous traditional Indian jewellery to a sheer purple jumpsuit when performing a captivating aerial dance.
Speaking on the meaning of ‘Secret’, Raveena said;
“To me, ‘Secret’ is a song about love that traverses through different dimensions. People on Earth are starting to have sensual dreams ignited in them by a space princess – someone they feel like their body knows, but whom they also do not know and cannot reach in this dimension. What if your lover was enticing you from space and you couldn’t reach them in this realm? What if a spirit from an outer dimension ignited your sacral chakra? This is what ‘Secret’ explores.”
You can fully immerse yourself in Asha’s journey on the 11th of February, when ‘Asha’s Awakening’ will be available to buy and stream across all platforms.
Words By Nadia Clasper
Photo Credit: Raveena_Aurora Instagram
