Aphranova is a Dutch female fronted band that combines jazzpop, fusion and acid-jazz, telling personal stories which sounds like a mixture of Sade meets Incognito, with flavors of Steely Dan, Becca Stevens and ambient atmospheres of Norwegian jazz like Mathias Eick.

Formed in 2015 by singer Angelique van Os, Aphranova tells stories about nature, traveling and human connection. She works with rotating musicians and a number of returning faces, such as Arthur Buitelaar (b) and Tony Hoyting (p). With the latter she writes her songs. In the future, Angelique will also focus on new collaborations with other songwriters.

The Crossing

Debut album The Crossing (2020), elements themes like identity, perspective and connection form a common thread. As a travel journalist, Angelique is inspired by the power of nature, the emptiness, vast landscapes and tranquility during various trips.

Songs like The Crossing, Almost There, Intuition, The Mirror of Life, guilty pleasure Never Alone and Your Story are also about the search for a human connection, staying close to oneself. With The Willing Mistress, they honor the strong-willed woman Aphra Behn (1640-1689), who was one of the first independent freethinking writers, playwrights and poets from British literature.

Guests

On The Crossing Norwegian saxophonist and goat horn player Karl Seglem features on two songs. Also the Dutch Red Limo String Quartet (Kyteman, Eddy Vedder) features on three pieces.