Ravyn Lenae on Being Big, Bold, and Riding Creative Momentum on Blue Island
Words: Madison Huizinga | Photography & Creative Direction: Nicole Ngai | Stylist: Kelly-Ann Hughes using Nordic Poetry | Hair: Efi Davies | Makeup: Bea Sweet | Video: Shannon Oxley
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When Ravyn Lenae opened for SZA on the CTRL tour, back in September 2017, she had only two EPs out. The performance marked the first time I’d heard her name and her music - but with her effervescent soprano tone and graceful confidence onstage, she commanded the room like a seasoned performer, and instantly won my affection. Her groove-laden 2018 EP, Crush, produced by Steve Lacy, would go on to soundtrack my early twenties, and by 2026 - following a year of opening for Sabrina Carpenter, embarking on her own tour, and seeing her song “Love Me Not” reach number 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 - she eagerly awaits the release of Blue Island, her third studio album, on August 7th. This is an expansive, rambunctious record, laden with electrofunk pop beats and her signature soulful lyrics and sound.
A week before her album’s release date, Ravyn tells me that this period is the calm before the storm, in a good way. The week before an album release, she explains, is a special time for her to be alone with her art before it belongs to the world. “It’s a cool feeling, but also scary every time,” she laughs.
Typically, Ravyn will take a bit of a breather in between projects, giving herself time to reset and find new inspiration for her next album. But “Love Me Not” gained rapid popularity as she wrote and recorded Blue Island, and with that, her second studio album, Bird’s Eye, had new life breathed into it, too, bringing about a host of new opportunities.
John Galliano 1992 crochet gown via Nordic Poetry
“It’s so exciting, and it brings so much inspiration to my life,” Ravyn says of the success of “Love Me Not” and her whirlwind 2025. “But it also doesn’t leave much time to think.”
Watching “Love Me Not” go viral brought about many mixed emotions: excitement and joy, of course, but also the realisation that her career was changing quickly. She remembers experiencing a new sense of certainty and confidence before releasing Bird’s Eye, recalling feeling that the album was going to “work” in a different way than her past projects had. And she was right. “That was the best thing for me to experience and feel moving forward,” Ravyn says. “Because now I know what’s possible, and how it all starts with me,”
“Everything I’ve been dreaming about is right at my doorstep. How could I say no?”
Trying to silence the noise of what was happening outside the studio proved challenging when recording Blue Island. But Ravyn chose to ride the momentum, allowing the energetic buzz surrounding her music to fan her creative flame.
Vivienne Westwood 1992 ‘Always on Camera’ collection corset jacket via Nordic Poetry
Vivienne Westwood S/S 2003 street theatre corset top and skirt set via Nordic Poetry
“When you’ve been in music for 8+ years, and you’ve been dreaming for a moment like this to happen, you kind of get into this frame of mind of wanting to say yes to everything,” Ravyn tells me. “Everything I’ve been dreaming about is right at my doorstep. How could I say no? And then on [less busy] days, I was in the studio trying to figure out what the next thing was.”
The “next thing” in question is Blue Island, the second of Ravyn’s records produced by Dahi, a Grammy Award-winning artist known for his work with Kendrick Lamar, 21 Savage, and Drake. Since Bird’s Eye, Ravyn explains that she and Dahi have only developed a deeper understanding of one another as artists. “It’s really special to be able to build with someone in that way, and also become like family. It’s like I’ve gained a big brother, and that’s the most special part to me,” Ravyn says of her collaborator.
Thematically, Ravyn shares that Blue Island evokes the feeling of “arriving,” but not being entirely sure where you’ve arrived at. This certainly comes across in the visuals for the album, including the music videos for “Handle” and “Reputation” (ft. Dominic Fike), which feature dancers performing in liminal spaces, almost akin to hallways or waiting rooms. The hazy tone and colour of these scenes are juxtaposed with the lush album art, which features Ravyn in a vibrant powder blue gown, looking down at the camera, surrounded by greenery, rocks, and blue sky. A kind of mysterious paradise, almost like a desert island.
Ravyn credits her creative director, Isha Dipika Walia, for helping her convey the feeling of a transitional phase, which they achieved through a more subdued, pastel color palette. “I wanted the spaces to feel familiar, but also [make you wonder] ‘Wait, where is she?’” Ravyn says. “I like the feeling of playing with memory.”
“I got really fascinated by big, simple pop chords, with a beat under it that’s a little off-kilter or snappy, and something like chanty on top for the melody”
Ravyn also teamed up with choreographer Akira Uchida to incorporate dance in her recent music videos, a relatively new aspect of her creative expression. She says that in the past, she felt like she wasn’t the type of artist who could do choreo, as her artistic persona lacked “diva-esque” qualities. But she found herself drawn to Akira’s eclectic, internally-driven movement style, viewing dance as a form of self-expression and emotional liberation. Ravyn says leaning into dance felt fitting for this particular moment in her career, calling forth a feeling of bursting into uncharted territory.
“I’m somebody who’s very brain-forward; my mind leads a lot of my decisions and how I move in the world,” she says. “Letting that take a backseat and letting my body do what it’s naturally responding to just felt so cool to me. I think everyone should do that at least once a week. Just dance in your bedroom.”
Many of the Blue Island tracks will certainly make you want to get up and groove. The record ebbs and flows emotionally, bursting with sparkly lovesickness on songs like “In & Out” and “Sew Me Back Together,” and simmering down on mid-tempo tracks like “Babygirl,” which features Doechii, and “Wish You Well.” Blue Island calls to mind an array of sonic influences: Blondie’s punky pop tones, the alternative dreaminess of The Cranberries, as well as Marvin Rev-like synths. Ravyn also says she listened to Nelly Furtado’s Loose album quite a bit while making Blue Island.
After performing in arenas for the first time opening for Sabrina Carpenter, Ravyn got curious about what it would feel like to make music that fills up that large of a space. “I got really fascinated by big, simple pop chords, with a beat under it that’s a little off-kilter or snappy, and something like chanty on top for the melody,” she says. “It’s the combination of all those elements that makes something uniquely universal. I think that’s the magic.”
In September, Ravyn will kick off a six-week U.S. tour for Blue Island. “I’m so pumped about it,” she says. She’s enjoyed getting in the weeds of the show design, figuring out how best to immerse people in what Blue Island means to her. She teases that there will be many more elements to this show compared to previous tours, including a stage build and some choreography to help bring her music to life.
All in all, Ravyn hopes Blue Island gives people a better sense of who she is, and who they are, after listening. “I hope that people feel big and bold in the way I felt making the album,” she says with a smile.
