SOUNDTRACK: RAVEENA-Tiny Desk Concert #922 (December 9, 2019).
Raveena’s music is so soft and delicate, so Lite-FM that I hated listening to it. But once I watched the video and gave it my full attention, it was another story. Because Raveena is full of 70s trippiness, delightful psychedelia and a lot of love.
From the moment Raveena Aurora stepped into NPR’s Music Department and looked at the Tiny Desk for the first time, she was ready. The Queens, N.Y. singer-songwriter and her team showed up early (which rarely happens) to meticulously arrange her stage props of homemade mushrooms and flowers, in the already endearingly cluttered space. These extra touches were meant to make clear that this performance would be all about community and safe spaces.
Her three songs are warm and enveloping. I’d never have guessed they were born of pain.
“A lot of my music talks about growing out of these really traumatic experiences,” Raveena told the audience once the cameras started rolling. “And if you’ve ever gone through something similar that I talk about in my music, I just want you to know that in this space that we’re in, you’re extremely, extremely loved.”
She plays three songs from her debut album Lucid.
This includes “fan-favorite single “Honey,”” “Bloom” and “Still Dreaming”
Once again I am amazed to hear that a musician has a following and I’ve never heard of her.
Raveena herself is very sweet and loving and the music feels warm and echoey. There’s delicate guitars from Tiana Ohara and twinkly synths from Cale Hawkins (who plays music while she speaks, as if she is speaking from a dreamy otherworld) And of course, drummer Tyler Newson on drums keeps everything smoothly.
She is assisted by two backing vocalists, Gayathri Menon and Ada Obieshi who add a ton to her sound, although Raveena’s voice is really quite pretty.
the rising star cultivated her range by growing up on Minnie Riperton, Sade and Asha Puthli, India’s ’70s disco queen
But my favorite person to watch was bassist Aaron Liao. He is in a state of bliss. So much so, that it inspired a comment on You Tube (I usually don’t watch these on YouTube, preferring the NPR site and I almost never read the comments, but this one stood out).
My man on the bass is a whole vibe by himself.
And Liao even wrote back:
I love how much this set won me over once I settled down and paid attention to it. Go Raveena!
[READ: March 1, 2020] “Ring of Fire”
I was interested in this essay because I’ve had similar calls (as most people probably have) but it never even occurred to me to ever answer unknown calls from California.
Kisner says that his parents live in California, so an unknown number in California could be an emergency.
But when he answered, he heard he voice was clearly a recording. The man said “First they deceived you, then they oppressed you.” It sounded like a Pentecostal preacher. “There is a person keeping you in this situation. Press the numerical option 1; press 1 now.”
He has picked up a few times and the messages are not the same, but they are similar.
After the message different voice says if you’d like to continue, press 1 if you’d like to no loner receive these calls press 4.
He knows he should press 4 (or maybe he shouldn’t) but he wants to press 1 to see what happens.
He says these calls started about a year ago.
One time it said “I saw the spirit of witchcraft; someone was trying to manipulate you.”
He says that in other years these would have seemed strange, but with everything going on these last couple of years, apocalyptic calls seems appropriate. It’s like they are in touch with the times.
Kisner says we are in the era of “being robbed.”: immigrants are coming to take your jobs; Republicans are coming to take your health care; Democrats are coming for your guns; silicon valley is coming for your privacy. The preacher says there is someone to blame and he knows who it is
The pitches never mention money, just that the preacher knows what’s wrong and you can know too.
He picks up often enough that its irrational, but he never goes any further, never pushes the numerical option 4.
It almost makes me want to see if my spam calls from California are this guy too. I actually got one right after reading this essay.
I Just Read About That... 
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