JVNA
Genre: Future Bass
Origin: United States
California-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist JVNA produces electronic pop that plays at the dichotomy of light and dark, bass and melody, organic and synthetic. As an early music streamer on Twitch, she’s built a strong following and earned a reputation among her peers as technically gifted. Rising as an innovator in the scene, her forthcoming debut album sees JVNA writing expert melodies, as well as deeply-personal lyrics that put her squarely in her own lane.
Coming up in the melodic future bass world, the young artist spent the first two years of her career honing in on a voice that’s all her own. Powerful, poignant and ready, JVNA now steps from the neon shadow of her past into a bright spotlight of confidence and sonic experimentation.
Raised in California by Taiwanese immigrants, JVNA studied classical piano from the age of 6 and started writing songs when she was 11. Inspired by the strong female voices of her generation, she taught herself to record and compose using Reason Studios, but becoming a pop star seemed like a truly impossible dream.
Her studies continued at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Here, she learned to score films and video games, using sound effects and textures to create emotional atmospheres and layered moods. Somewhere between classes and homework, she was exposed to the world of raves and electronic music.
Enchanted by the ethereal heaviness of future bass sounds, JVNA made fun edits and remixes of her favorite anime and video game soundtracks. It was all in the name of experimentation, but when her take on the MapleStory Login Theme was shared by the game developers, it caught fire on the Internet, earning half a million views in 24 hours. Suddenly, JVNA found a fanbase.
JVNA continued to grow and evolve in front of her audience, exploring different sounds and styles and sharing those experiments via Twitch and YouTube streams. Fans tuned in to her DJ sets and gaming sessions, connecting with the young artist in a way that felt more personal than simply collecting singles. That connection only deepened when JVNA found strength in honesty.
Her 2018 song “I’m With You,” inspired by her father’s death two years earlier, dared to dive deep into an emotional world. The contrast of hard-hitting grit and glittering softness mirrors the confusion of loss mixed with so many loving memories. JVNA self-directed the song’s music video, the first in her career, visually translating the song’s melancholy wonder as she floats through the streets of LA in twilight.
“It was a metaphor for chasing after something that’s gone,” she says. “That song still means more to my fans than other songs … I think no matter how much I change as an artist or evolve musically, a common theme [will be] the ethereal, very pretty sounds with an underlying darker meaning.”
Explosive follow-up single “Catch Me,” released in 2019, continued to build on that momentum. Fans loved the juxtaposition of the bright and hard-hitting chorus against tender verses and vulnerable lyrics. The song took JVNA on a sold out tour across the United States, a thrilling and validating experience.
“This was the first time I was able to believe in myself as an artist,” she says, “hear people sing along to my music in the crowd, and meet all my fans in person. It empowers me to keep going and do what I love. It made me realize what I was doing was real, and I’m very grateful to be able to have had some sort of an impact on the people who listen to my music.”
Having spread her wings and found such honesty so freeing, JVNA continued down a path of personal, musical exploration. When the COVID-19 virus cancelled live performances, the producer buried herself in the studio, producing some of the most open and vulnerable works of her career. It also marked a return to her studious roots, as JVNA pushed herself to incorporate more live keys, piano and organic textures, bringing in some of the textural flourishes and rounded sonic layers she’d learned to use during her scores.
“At Least It Was Fun” is the first taste from that process. Intimate and yet expansive, the clear piano stabs and near-whispered vocals tell the story of a person who finds solace in the end of something hard. The single builds in ecstatic dynamics toward a big rush of a chorus.
It’s got all the elements of JVNA’s signature style, building on the energy of 2019’s “First Storm,” but it’s only the tip of the iceberg. In fact, JVNA’s got a whole album’s worth of material due for release in 2021.
Hope and Chaos is a diverse collection of styles, drawing equal influence from pop, rock and melodic bass music with hints of psytrance, drum’n’bass and more. Mostly, it features JVNA’s voice like it’s never been heard before, opening up about so much more than the standard dance floor love songs.
“I want to be able to let my fans know that there’s beauty in pain,” she says. “You’re holding on to that one silver lining in a world of chaos and toxicity.”
Just as she brought all facets of her personality and skill to the tracks, JVNA has started to bring more live synth work and vocals to her sets and performances. By learning to follow her gut, take the leap and try something new, JVNA has emerged a strong female voice with a powerful presence. Nothing is off limits, and JVNA is just getting started.
