Jump to content

Rena Jones

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rena Jones
Also known asJena Rose
Born1977 (age 46–47)
United States
GenresElectro-acoustic, downtempo, ambient
Instrument(s)Cello, violin, keyboards, synthesizer
Years active2002–present
LabelsCartesian Binary, Pok Pok
Websiterenamusic.com

Rena Jones[1] (born 1977) is an American musician, producer and audio engineer from Portland, Oregon. She composes and produces electro-acoustic, downtempo and ambient music with an emphasis on live string instruments. She has released six solo albums and collaborated on over 100 albums.[2] Her latest album titled Allegories was released in November 2021.[3]

Life and career

[edit]

Jones grew up in Texas and started on classical violin in second grade. She showed interest in writing music and as a teenager pursued electronic music. She said the freedom and flexibility that electronic music offered was very appealing to her. From 2000 to 2002 she studied sound engineering at Ex'pression College for Digital Arts in Emeryville, California. She then worked as an audio engineer and a musician in the San Francisco area. At Digidesign she worked on the development of the Pro Tools audio software. In 2006 she moved to Portland, Oregon.[2]

Jones plays the cello, violin, keyboards, and programs the synthesizer and drums. Her musical style is based on incorporation and "manipulation of string sounds from real acoustic violins and cellos along with purely electronic beats."[2] She has released six solo albums. Each album has a concept: Transmigration is about reincarnation, Driftwood is about the cycle of life,[4] Indra's Web is about the interconnectedness of reality, and Echoes is about duality, drawing inspiration from Rumi's poetry.[5]

Along with running her own record labels Cartesian Binary Recordings and Pok Pok Records, Jones has composed for film and video games such as Dance Dance Revolution under the name Jena Rose.[4] She was part of the Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 4 alongside artists Juno Reactor, Prodigy and others. Best known for her unique ambient-electronic music, Rena has released original compositions on groundbreaking labels such as LOCI Records, Disco Geko, Iboga, Spun Records, Aleph Zero, 1320 Records, Addictech, Ultimae, and Schematic Records, while also running her label Cartesian Binary Recordings.[6] Jones has performed at several electronic music festivals around the world including Shambhala, Burning Man and the Glade.[2]

Three of Jones's albums, Driftwood, Indra's Web, and Allegories were listed among Echoes radio's top 25 albums of the year in 2006 and 2009, and 2021 respectively.[7][8] Her album, Echoes, features performances by musicians located remotely in London, Los Angeles and Portland, including Sophie Barker, Earl Harvin, Ilya Goldberg, Matt Robertson, Laura Scarborough and Joshua Penman.[5][9] The album was listed among the top 25 albums of the month by Echoes radio in May and June 2013.[10][11]

Discography

[edit]

Solo works

[edit]
Year Album
2004 Breaking the Divide
2005 Transmigration
2006 Driftwood
2009 Indra's Web[12]
2013 Echoes[13]
2021 Allegories[14]

Collaborations

[edit]
Year Album Artists
2021 Xylem Emancipator, Rena Jones & Flowerpulse
2021 Force Multiplier Rena Jones & KiloWatts
2024 Caesura Rena Jones & KiloWatts

Compilations

[edit]
Year Song Album Artist
2005 Autumn (as Rena) Left Coast Liquid Vol. 1 Various artists
2006 Aurora Borealis Beneath the Surface
2007 Driftwood The Echoes Living Room Concerts Volume 13
Autumn Suggestion Temple of Science
Blueshift Floating Point 4 Dovla (2)
A Curious Unraveling Midnight Soul Dive Various artists
2009 Photosynthesis (Nalepa Remix) Imaginary Friends
2010 A Thousand Times Over Document
2011 Ymadyn (as Rena) Cloud 11

Guest appearances

[edit]
Year Contribution Song Album Artist
2005 Cello Better Day Artifact STS9
2005 Cello A Garland of Stars Sines and Singularities Bluetech
2007 Cello, violin Straight Heat Certified Air Raid Material edIT
2010 Producer, mixing, cello,
backup vocals
On the Horizon Lynx
2010 Mixing Rising Tide (Ft. Lynx) Blind Threshold Beats Antique
2012 Cello, viola Is She Gonna All the Pretty People Christopher Norman &
The Reverb Junkie
2012 Cello, violin, bass,
arrangement
Mesmer Mercury Retrograde Roel Funcken
2013 Cello Galapagos Dusk Till Dawn Emancipator
2013 Cello Light Up Your Lantern, and Liberte Light Up Your Lantern Lynx

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Twitter: @renajones". twitter.com. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d "Rena Jones". Muso.AI. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  3. ^ "Allegories". Cartesian Binary Rec. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Echo Location: Rena Jones' Ambient Chamber Music". the echoes blog. September 16, 2009. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Rena Jones: Discussing her new release with Jenna Roberts". triskelmanagement.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  6. ^ "About". Music of Rena Jones. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  7. ^ "25 Essential Echoes CDs for 2006". echoes.org. Archived from the original on April 30, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  8. ^ "25 Essential Echoes CDs for 2009". echoes.org. Archived from the original on April 30, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  9. ^ "Rena Jones – Echoes Review". sunisshiningdubnchill.blogspot.com. April 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 3, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  10. ^ "Echoes Top 25 for May 2013". echoes.org. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  11. ^ "Echoes Top 25 for June 2013". echoes.org. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  12. ^ "Indra's Web by Rena Jones". bandcamp.com. July 7, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  13. ^ "Echoes by Rena Jones". bandcamp.com. April 1, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  14. ^ "Allegories by Rena Jones". bandcamp.com. April 1, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
[edit]