[REVIEW] Raveena Aurora sings of love and community

Fair Use Image: @jacksontisi Instagram

In Raveena Aurora’s “Temptation” music video, Aurora and Giannina Oteto lie on flower petals in a stunning visual metaphor for their love.

With a voice as smooth as the honey she sings about, accompanied with soft synth beats and breathtaking cinematography in her music videos, Indian-American musician Raveena Aurora’s songs resonate in the hearts of those who have grown up surrounded in the mesmerizing richness of South Asian culture.

Aurora dedicates her latest piece, “Temptation,” to the magic of attraction between women. The music video opens with mellow sunlight illuminating window curtains and pans over traditional Indian furniture and artwork before revealing Aurora, clothed in a silky green dress and with little pink flowers in her braids.

She sings about a Miss Temptation who pulls her into a new world and admires her beauty: “I wish that I had your body / I’m envious of your curves / In my dreams, I can feel your softness / Get lost in your head of curls.”

The Miss Temptation in question is portrayed by Kenyan model Giannina Oteto, draped in radiant dangling jewelry and bathed in golden sun.

By the end of the song, Miss Temptation and Aurora are lying on a floor scattered with flower petals, together in their love.

Aurora sings, “You always tell me that you’re lonely / You wanna open up to me / Wanna bloom, but we’re a bit guarded yeah / Let’s grow a garden / Don’t hesitate if it’s something you want, love / Don’t let it wait.”

On her Instagram, Aurora states the significance behind “Temptation” and explains why she wants to create more artwork for LGBTQ people.

 

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growing up, south asian culture and queer culture felt like oil and water. something that just simply couldn’t mix. i come from a super repressive and oppressive culture towards LGBTQ people, with sometimes dire consequences if u openly love who u want to love outside of the heteronormative story. i’m pretty sure i liked girls before i liked boys, but it took me until this year in my 20’s, partly thru writing “temptation”, to be able to really verbalize and know in my heart that this was one of my truths. my heart is still fluttering a bit as i write this in a public space, nervous of family member reactions or on the other end, bi-phobia. but fucc it. im writing this from a plane 40,000 feet in the air , cocooned in the sky from all that Bs, and it feels a bit symbolic. i love people for their souls and something childlike and pure i might see in them first, the rest is really irrelevant to me. i hope that for lil brown girls in the future their queerness will feel nothing short of completely , 100% mundane and normal ? ? by @ladyist 🙂

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In an interview with i-D magazine, she expresses her hopes for her music.

“The story I’m trying to tell is one of healing. I want to make a community and safe space for women of color because that’s something that I didn’t have growing up. But I did have music,” Aurora said. “So, I think that if I can combine my love for music by also making that space for women, it could be really powerful and do good in the world.”

Aurora’s music provides a doorway into a brighter world, filled with love and complemented with a vibrant aesthetic and beautiful message. Listen to more of her music on her YouTube channel or SoundCloud.