There’s probably a Latin maxim about self-aggrandizing artistic pseudonyms (Elvis Costello, where do you get off?). But L.A.-based singer-songwriter Vōx’s choice in name, meaning “the voice” in Latin, shouldn’t be mistaken for merely a nominal flex. As in her music, which channels bits of James Blake, Anohni, and FKA Twigs, there are more layers to the story; though now her defining instrument, Vōx’s voice was once her Achilles Heel. “I wasn’t very good at singing when I first tried it,” she says. “For me, my voice is everything [because] being able to express myself is something that I really wasn’t able to do for most of my life, [whether vocally] or even talking about emotions with friends.”

Raised in the power-plant town of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Vōx’s upbringing was a far cry from the visual and sonic qualities that define her artistic practice, which today is laden with both pathos and avant-garde flair. “I grew up in the kind of culture where you didn’t talk about your feelings; the only place I felt I could express myself was in poetry, and then the poetry became songs.” she says. “It wasn’t until maybe five years ago that I figured out how to express myself to other humans, like when not singing [laughs].”        

While her neo-romantic covers of revered musicians like Frank Ocean and Kendrick Lamar showed gumption, her new single, “I’ve Never Been So Happy To Be Bleeding,” displays a new kind of confidence. Invoking the oldest body-shaming implement there is, a woman’s period, Vōx reclaims it as a symbol of self-love and empowerment. “The song is about finding self-worth and strength in being a woman, and not a man,” she says. “Periods are still kind of stigmatized to not talked about, so [I wanted] to spin the idea. To find strength in the vulnerability of sharing a wound.” 

Hear “I’ve Never Been So Happy To Be Bleeding,” out today, below.