Raveena

In the two years since releasing Asha’s Awakening, a lot has happened for Raveena: She’s toured internationally, become the first woman of Indian heritage to perform solo at Coachella, and recently completed her Saturn Return—welcoming a season of growth, transformation, and calm that’s central to her newest full-length offering, Where the Butterflies Go in the Rain. As a first-generation descendant of genocide survivors and Reiki healers, the queer Indian American artist has long centered spirituality in her creative process. Muses like Ella Fitzgerald, Sade, and Minnie Riperton helped her find her voice, but creating her own music allowed her to coalesce the Bollywood soundtracks she grew up with and the R&B, pop, and folk she discovered later on into a portal that transports listeners into another realm. Following in the footsteps of classic artists like Fleetwood Mac, Brandy, and Marvin Gaye, Where the Butterflies Go in the Rain draws inspiration from people who “are really good at capturing the beauty and loss of life in the same breath” to create an exploration of eco-futurism and sensuality that merges Indian aesthetics with ethereal fantasy. In her signature style, Raveena seamlessly unites powerful storytelling, traditional Indian instruments, and feel-good early 2000s pop hits like Sheryl Crow’s “Soak Up the Sun” and Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Put Your Records On” to put forth a work that’s more unabashedly herself than any that’s come before.