Ana Roxanne - Because of a Flower

November 13, 2020 - Kranky

Our bodies are 80% water. So why do we constantly refuse to flow?

There is a meditation technique I learned as a child that asks you to erase yourself, one body part at a time, until nothing is left but the ground beneath you, the space around you and the sky above you. The goal is to cultivate awareness of yourself as part of the whole environment and of the universe, an antidote to thinking of yourself individually as a contained environment all your own. As though you were a string being tuned to accommodate the quality of the air and the instruments that surround you, you harmonize.  

Because of a Flower by NYC-based musician Ana Roxanne asks you to become fluid and maintain that state from start to finish. The listener flows from one track to the next, surrounded by reverent environments and sublime expanses that were carefully composed to hold her comfortably but not hold her still. Simple, pure and clear in function, this album meditates like an endless water fountain of one vessel pouring into another and so on, tumbling and undefined. The songs are soothing and ambient in nature, but they never get old. And they are not without tension. With thick layers of vocal droning like the chorus of ancient ceremonials and calls to prayer, Ana Roxanne, who identifies as intersex, has tapped into an auditory human history of music designed to make us feel small to speak softly the hard questions of identity against the terror of religion and societal structure. The idea of a vessel is one that pervades throughout the album thematically, and it begs us to notice everything that contains us in this life, and why. 

This body of work doesn’t have much instrumentation, and much of the compositional syntax is driven by human vocals or spoken words. In fact, ‘Suite pour l'invisible’ is the first time instruments are introduced into the ethereal sound honey, almost halfway through the album, simple synthetic blooming chimes and an even simpler guitar melody. Roxanne’s voice remains on this track in the atmosphere, as a whispering descant in the distance, guiding us all through some sort of healing release from above like an angel. ‘---’ continues with those twinkling chimes, breathing a more energetic and contented mood. ‘Camille’ is the only song that features actual percussion, and it’s in the form of a drum machine, a little bossa nova-like, with synthetic wooden sounds underneath Roxanne’s crooning in a minor key and a dramatic French cinematic sample of a tense conversation. 

My favorite song on Because of a Flower is ‘Venus.’ A metaphorical poem unravels over the sound of soothing swishing water into a long invocation that evokes the adventure of seafaring, the recognition of potential, the forgiveness of shape that water represents, and the great significance it holds in every human culture. I know this is a one-dimensional read from the track’s title, but if Botticelli’s Birth of Venus were a song, I believe it would be this one. You can luxuriate in the triumph of Roxanne emerging from the foam on the shore, in a scallop shell, brand new, positively radiant, powerfully authentic and unapologetic.

With great meticulous attention, Ana Roxanne is a true minimalist who knows quality over quantity where sound is concerned, and the result is an album that is so beautifully poetic it hurts. Words are objectified and woven in and out of each other, sometimes just as glorious sounds, sometimes as sounds with clear spoken meaning. Instrumentals are sparing to ears hungry for the variety they offer. Samples pregnant with emotional weight and concealed significance are introduced at essential moments to heighten their effect and peak curiosity as to why they are there in the first place. Listeners are thus left with an open-ended question and a strong desire to press the repeat button. 

Because of a Flower is effectively artistic because of its specificity, depth, and intimacy, but it is effectively musical because of its accessibility. Pretty and provoking, ambient but highly engaging, it’s an exciting release from an artist still early in her career. ☔