JVNA is quickly rising in the ranks of EDM producers, with her most recent album, Hope in the Chaos, garnering heavy stream counts as well as a lush fan base getting down to her sets at main stages such as Freaky Deaky, Spring Awakening, Electric Zoo, and Sunset Music Festival. We had a chance to catch up with JVNA to talk about her new album, experimenting with new genres, her upcoming tour, anime and more.
RR: Congratulations on releasing Hope in Chaos! So there is a lot of layers, experimentation, and flush soundscapes going on here. How was it playing around outside of the previous norms like the psy drop in “Bullseye” or the gritty bass textures in “Breakdown”?
JVNA: Thank you! It’s always super fun for me to experiment with making different types of drops. I’ve always aimed to be a producer who could still have a consistent sound throughout any genre I create so that I don’t get defined by one genre or one way of producing. It’s also super fun to play psy-trance at a show when I’m mainly melodic bass and dubstep. Certain songs like “Bullseye” or my 2019 release “Chemicals” have elements of rolling bass/psy-trance. Breakdown’s 2nd rop is also pretty different from my past releases since I’m using a more detuned synth to make a “pew pew” sound. When I write drops, sometimes I like to think of the reaction and visuals of the show I would be performing at so it’s also another method of my writing process for coming up with ideas.
RR: Moving forward, are there more genres you are interested in exploring?
JVNA: I have not yet done house! I’m a huge fan of house music and tiesto is one of my favorite house DJs. I would love to try writing a fun deep house song one day.
RR: So this album is representational of going through your own journey of grief, finding your footing in adulthood, and aligning with the story of Pandora’s Box. How important was it for you to share this journey and what do you hope your fans take away from it?
JVNA: The theme of pandora’s box and overcoming grief was a particularly important theme to deliver as my first album because these moments and stories make up who I am. Since it is my debut album, I wanted the entire album to be sort of a statement or business card of who I am (LOL). That is why there are also no collabs on this album. I hope that my fans are able to relate if they are going through similar situations and hopefully heal along the journey.
RR: A lot of themes are delved into with this project and different facets. With songs like “Ghost” and “18” how do you feel about confronting sexism and why do you think it’s important to explore that in your work?
JVNA: It is important for me to write about topics because I am a female producer and singer-songwriter in the male dominated industry of electronic dance music. There aren’t many songs within my genre about these types of topics coming from a female point of view. I don’t want to just write vague lyrics about finding lost love. I want to be cut throat and talk about true stories that happen to people everyday. Because there are plenty of women who listen to electronic dance music, and I think it’s dope to be able to confront these topics that people relate to.
RR: How have the reactions from your fans been so far?
JVNA: I’ve gotten messages and emails from fans telling me that they’ve been going through a hard time – some have lost their family member during covid, some are in a breakup, or some are just dealing with a tough time during our current pandemic. Seeing messages telling me that my music has been healing for them really melted my heart. A lot of my listeners have noticed the through and detail I put into this project so it’s very heartwarming and makes me so happy to know that my work has helped and impacted people in some way.
RR: So as an anime fan, what are some recent loves you have had (for example we noticed Demon Slayer in your set at Freaky Deaky this year) and maybe some older favorites you would recommend?
JVNA: My top animes I love are: Guilty Crown, Blue Exorcist, Attack on Titan, Your Name, Death Note, Naruto (I binged the entire thing in high school for half a year and it was epic), Bleach, and Kamisama Hajimemashita.
RR: Before we let you go, anything you want to say about your upcoming tour that kicks off in February?
JVNA: This show will have new visuals, live vocals for all the songs on my album, dope remixes from the album, keyboard playing. I can’t wait!
We want to thank JVNA for taking the time to chat with us and can’t wait to see what she releases next. You can stream her new album, Hope in Chaos, on Spotify, Soundcloud and Apple Music now. Check out her tour dates here.
Connect with JVNA:
https://www.facebook.com/jvnamusic
https://twitter.com/JVNA
https://soundcloud.com/jvna
https://www.instagram.com/jvna
http://www.jvnamusic.com
https://www.twitch.tv/jvna
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