Indian-American singer-songwriter Raveena has never been shy about embracing her roots and culture in her art. Her music reflects a sum of her influences – from the Bollywood soundtracks her immigrant parents raised her on to the R&B, hip-hop, soul, folk and jazz the Jersey girl was exposed to growing up. This tapestry of sounds will be heard on Raveena's forthcoming sophomore project Asha's Awakening, a concept album led by the single "Rush."
On Asha's Awakening, listeners will hear "the riveting tale of a space princess from ancient Punjab who, through a fantastic journey across the centuries, learns about love and loss, healing and destruction." Asha's musical story begins with the upbeat pop of "Rush." Raveena sings of the Punjabi princess who sounds like quite the femme fatale. "Heard she's made of music / Ready for your ruin / American fantasy," she coos over a sound bed populated by synths and South Asian percussion.
Raveena co-directed the visual for "Rush" with Munachi Osegbu. She plays the role of Asha and welcomes viewers into her colorful temple. There she is backed by four dancers who appear as shape-shifting beams of light. Raveena joins them in some interpretive choreography that looks straight out of a Bollywood movie. In other scenes, she's serving up bathing beauty in a pool of water and dancing solo outdoors. She encounters some distress when the song gets to the bridge when we see male hands grabbing at her before she collapses onto the grass. Although "Rush" ends, the video actually keeps going. After fading to black and fading back, the song changes to another new song, "Time Flies." Raveena/Asha is surrounded by the light beam dancers who step back to reveal her in a different outfit. The scene switches back to the outdoors where she's seated under a tree next to a tabla player. We only get a snippet of "Time Flies," but it's enough to make us want to hear more.
Asha's Awakening will mark Raveena's debut on her new label home Warner Records. The album will be released on Friday, February 11th. While you wait to receive Raveena's latest collection and hear how Asha's story unfolds, get into the audio and video for "Rush" right here and add the song to your music library.
