Ana Roxanne

Los Angeles-based Southeast Asian artist Ana Roxanne makes soothing, meditative ambient compositions featuring vocals influenced by sacred choral music as well as R&B divas from the '80s and '90s. On releases such as 2020's Because of a Flower, she explores themes related to beauty, empowerment, and gender identity. Ana Roxanne was born in Oakland, California, to Filipino immigrant parents. Raised in a devout Catholic family, she participated in school and church choirs, and additionally enjoyed singing along to hits by R&B stars like Whitney Houston and Anita Baker. She briefly attended a jazz and classical vocal program in the Midwest, and was exposed to classical Hindustani music and singing during a trip to India. This inspired Roxanne to finish her music studies at Mills College in Oakland, where she began composing songs using analog synthesizers. She recorded a six-song EP titled ~~~ in 2015 as a private project, and moved to Los Angeles shortly after. Matthewdavid heard the recording and gave it a wider release on Leaving Records in March 2019, months after Roxanne publicly came out as intersex. Because of a Flower, her first full-length for Kranky, arrived in November 2020. ~ Paul Simpson