Open me Slowly Phidelity and Rena Jones
Rena Jones
Links: Rena Jones Website Rena Jones Myspace Page
Downloads: Rena Jones Press Kit
A multitalented composer, producer, audio engineer, sound designer, violinist, cellist, and vocalist, Rena Jones has been described as "the revered daughter of San Francisco's electronic music scene" -- OEM Radio. Rena Jones' third and most recent release "Driftwood" (2006) on Native State Records; features mid-tempo, glitch and chill out. The album weaves cello, violin, woodwinds, electronics and rhodes through unique instrumentation. "Driftwood" was given the honor of the sixth most essential album of 2006 on NPR Echoes Radio. She has also released several tracks with such reputable international labels as Iboga, Spun Records, Aleph Zero and Native State Records. Rena Jones' live sets are a potent sonic session. She orchestrates her cello and violin over hand crafted beats melding the organic with the electronic. Her performance is a sophisticated example of the modern movement in electronic dance and ambient music. Multiple tours around North America and Europe have lead Rena to perform at some of the worlds most established cutting edge electronic music festivals; The Glade Festival (UK), Shambhala Music Festival (Canada) and Burning Man (USA). 2007 has ignited to be a solid year with a completed tour in the Pacific North West with Plaid (Warp Records U.K.) as well as several commissions for various established labels around the globe. As an adept and proficient, sound engineer plus "sage" of stringed instruments, her work is in high demand. Rena has worked with many influential international artists from a myriad of genres. Notable artists she has worked with in the studio and on stage include: Alan White (John Lennon), Peter Buck (REM), Danny Heins, Dave Tweedy & Stephen Bradley (No Doubt), Brad Houser (Critter's Buggin' and Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians), Golden Arm Trio (A Scanner Darkly), Sylvia Massy (Tool, System of a Down, Red Hot Chili Peppers), Earl Harvin (Seal & Air), Mark Deutsch, Bluetech, Richard Devine, Sound Tribe Sector 9 and J.Viewz. Rena's innovative repertoire also includes creations with dance troupes such as "Dance Mission and El Circo", award winning video games "Dance Dance Revolution, Life Line and Karaoke Revolution" and for films such as "Boom the Sound of Eviction". Always humbled by her art Rena Jones slips through the veils of defined sound. She is best known for her epic sunrise sets but can hold the stage for an evening set of deep mid-tempo grooves which takes people into unknown realms of touching mystery and instrumental mastery. Review for Driftwood "For some reason, cellists--more than any other classical instrumentalists--seem drawn to electronica. Recent CDs by Zoe Keating, Jami Sieber, Hans Christian (Rasa), and Gretchen Yanover find cellists riding electronica atmospheres. Rena Jones is a bit different from most of them. They use electronics to extend their cellos' range and sound. Jones plants her cello next to her laptop in fractalized grooves. Driftwood is an entrancing album that's as much about Jones's translucent laptop compositions as her gifts on cello, guitar, violin, and clarinet. But all those instruments give her music a different feel from many laptop jockeys. Compositions like "Photosynthesis" and "Driftwood" have an almost classical flow, as her strings and clarinet articulate Arvo Pärt-like lines of liquid inevitability while rhythms pulse, shudder, and ping through the melodies. But it's not all airy on Driftwood. "Open Me Slowly" finds her plucking a cello bass line with a funky grit you can't get with a computer sample. Rena Jones's soulful cello lines lend her music a somber tone and soulful beauty, which is all the more striking when cast against her chromium-plated arrangements. The combination makes Driftwood intoxicating". - John Diliberto, Echoes.org "Gorgeous and so completely alive, Driftwood is a triumph in electronic and classical instrument fusion. String instruments such as violins and cellos are often used in gothic and electronic music as an auditory focus, carrying the tune while backed by abstract melodies and heavy beats, abusing the instruments to force a traditional sound or mood. But San Francisco's multi-talented Rena Jones did something decidedly different when she integrated them into the very soul of every composition. Sometimes as expressive as a voice, the cello will waver above the electronic beats, fluttering and flying as if on a soft breeze. At other times, keyboard loops will tell a story while the violin carries the rhythm like vibrations in a deep pool. Jones calls her musical style "down-tempo sounds from another dimension" and she couldn't be more right. These sounds come from a place where down-tempo doesn't mean sleepy or morose, but can create dreamscapes so vivid that they practically replace the reality that surrounds you. The stimulating "Undercurrent" has a life all its own, toying with the listener and seducing one to come out and play. "The Passing Storm" features a subtle cello duet that hints at gentle longing, while "Seedling" practically illustrates the time-lapse of a budding plant or thought or emotion. And these are only a few of the amazing offerings on Driftwood. Subtle and never over the top, Jones maintains a beautiful mellow vibe that in no way feels forced. You may never look at classical instruments the same again." Charity VanDeberg - ReGen Magazine.com