Ana Roxanne is an ambient and ambient pop artist from Los Angeles, California. Born in 1987, she is based in Los Angeles and works as a solo artist as well as a member of Natural Wonder Beauty Concept.

Background

Roxanne grows up in the Bay Area to immigrant parents. Her early interest in singing comes from her mother’s collection of 1980s and 1990s R&B singers. Raised in the Catholic church, she sings in choir and develops a strong interest in choral music and harmony.

She later spends time in a vocational jazz programme in the Midwest, where she studies jazz and classical music in a small town and performs with ensembles in old cathedrals in nearby cities. These experiences shape her interest in sacred music and the relationship between music and spirituality. A near-death experience also informs her view of music as a healing practice after tragedy.

Study and artistic development

In 2013, Roxanne spends several months in Uttarkhand, India, where she studies with a voice teacher who introduces her to Hindustani classical singing. That period influences her understanding of the voice and the emotional vulnerability involved in singing. She later completes her music studies at Mills College in Oakland, California, where she begins to combine the different influences that shape her solo project.

Themes and identity

Roxanne’s work draws on her interest in gender and identity. In 2018, she comes out publicly as intersex and speaks about intersex youth and social justice. Her writing and performance connect themes of romance, love, worship and personal revelation.

Self-titled project

Her self-titled project is developed during her later years in the Bay Area and is presented as a tribute to the musicians and landscape that shape her formative years. The project sits within ambient music, with ambient pop also listed among her genres.