Simonne Jones

Last updated

Simonne Jones
Simonne Jones at Hydrogen Festival by Dinetta.png
Simonne Jones playing Hydrogen Festival in Padova, Italy 2013
Background information
Birth nameSimonne Michelle Jones
Born (1987-02-23) 23 February 1987 (age 37)
Hollywood, California, USA
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • producer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • keyboards
  • bass
  • percussion
  • pump organ
  • piano
Years active2012–present
Labels
Website simonnejones.com

Simonne Michelle Jones (born February 23, 1987, in Los Angeles, California) is a producer, singer, composer, model and visual artist based in Berlin. [1]

Contents

Early life

Simonne Jones was born and raised in Hollywood, California. [2] She is of Cherokee and Barbadian descent. [1] Her maternal great-grandfather, Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell, is an accomplished West Indies cricketer and senator. Simonne grew up playing the piano. She taught herself to read music at age 3 and by the age of 10, started composing music. [3] As a young teenager, Jones began to produce her own music while learning to become a multi-instrumentalist. [4]

When Jones was 15, she graduated high school by homeschooling herself. [2] A year later, Elite Model Management signed Jones to a modeling contract at age 16. That same year, she moved across the country and began her college career at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County where she received her bachelor's degree in Biomedical research, and Visual arts with honors in 2008. [5] [6] [7] While she was there, Jones pursued both scientific and artistic interests. These included being awarded a research grant to implement an HIV awareness program in Ghana [8] and working for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to conduct nuclear magnetic resonance imaging studies, and molecular cloning on mutated HIV-1 cells in an attempt to find a cure for the disease. [9] She also debuted her first exhibition as a visual artist at Studio Art Center International (SACI) in Florence, Italy in 2007 and held her first solo exhibition as a painter in Manhattan. [ citation needed ]

Jones, after being accepted into medical school, changed her mind on a medical career and moved to Berlin to pursue a career in music. The Guardian wrote, "When faced with the decision between a career in science or music, she chose both". [10]

Career

2012–2015: First steps in the music industry

Jones took her first steps as a professional musician when she was asked to perform at a Diesel show for Berlin fashion week in 2012. [11] Jones was taken on as a protege by Peaches, who instilled artistic autonomy by encouraging her to engineer and produce recording sessions. [12] They collaborated on the song Free Pussy Riot as a political protest to the imprisonment of the Russian performance artists Pussy riot. [13]

In 2013 Jones was photographed for the cover of Missy Magazine. [14] That year she was accepted into the Red Bull Music Academy in New York City. [15] During this time she was invited to compose and perform as a soloist with the ORSO philharmonic orchestra and choir in Freiburg, Germany conducted by Wolfgang Rose. [16] Shortly after she scored and performed in the play Jedermann directed by Bastian Kraft together with Philipp Hochmair, premiering at the prestigious Salzburg Festival, also making her acting debut playing the character Death. [17] Jones performed her compositions in the play as a one-woman orchestra in China at Tianjin's Grand Theater, the Kurtheater Baden in Switzerland, the Theater Duisburg in Germany before the play moved to a residency at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg for the next 3 years. [18] In 2014, she was invited to open for American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars. [19]

Jones completed a six-month artist residency at Berlin's art collective Platoon Kunsthalle where she constructed motion activated, MIDI-controlled, LED paintings exploring topics in physics and cosmology. [20] She engineered them using open source computer controllers with her best friend, ArbitraryY, a software engineer in the aerospace industry. [21] At the time Jones was involved in DIY audio performing with self-built midi controllers, synthesizers, LED costumes and complex loop machines. [22] Jones also performs as a DJ, playing dark electronic music in nightclubs. [23]

2015–present: Soundhunters, Rub and Gravity

Jones explored music as a spiritual ritual in the Brazilian Amazon during an immersive indigenous experience in Jean Michel Jarre's documentary Soundhunters in 2015 with the Guaraní people. [24] She released the song "The Silver Cord" in an album curated by Jean Michel Jarre called Zoolook Revisited inspired by his 1984 Zoolook album. [25]

Jones has written and produced for other artists including the song "Vaginoplasty" with Peaches and Vice Cooler for her Rub album. [26] She makes a cameo in the music video. Jones produced the remix "Sick in the Head" for the Rub Remixed album. [27] Peaches also contributed a remix to Simonne's debut single as an exclusive premiere in Billboard magazine. [28]

Jones gave several lectures about how the integration of science and art inform her artwork including at the inaugural Blue Dot Festival at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Manchester and the Make Sound Festival in Leicester. [10]

In 2016, she used gravitational wave audio from the collision of black holes form LIGO and collaborated with CERN using representations of real time particle collision data from the large hadron collider in the song "Alchemy". [29] On May 27 of that year, Jones released the debut single and music video for "Gravity" worldwide via Universal/Capitol Records. [30]

In 2021, Jones performed as a vocalist on Sneaker Pimps' first album in nearly 20 years, Squaring the Circle . [31] [32]

Musical style and influences

Jones produces, records and writes most of her music and lyrics alone in her studio and describes her music style as dark pop. [33] Her music has experimented with elements of pop, sythpop, dream pop, punk, alternative, baroque pop, electronica and electro. [8] She uses Pro Tools, Logic, Ableton and various analog synthesizers to produce. [34]

Fusion described Jones' style, saying she "uses her background in scientific theory to write electro-pop songs that lyrically reference complex concepts like relativity and gravity while sounding both otherworldly and like a hymn you’ve always known." [4]

Lena Dunham's newsletter Lenny Letter described, "Jones, who is a lover of science and a former biomedical researcher, cites her interest in concepts like the theory of relativity and other natural phenomena in her music as being fueled by her fascination with the "unknown mysteries of the universe." [3]

Jones describes a production technique in Popular Science, "In Spooky Action I used sounds from a UK researcher who translates star pulses into audio waves to better understand them [...] I created a sound library where I can play the stars on a keyboard." [35]

The music production software company Native Instruments released a Simonne Jones drum kit in the virtual instrument plug-in called Battery of sounds specific to her production style. [36]

Her style has been compared to PJ Harvey, Nine Inch Nails, Florence and the Machine and Grimes. [37]

Discography

Singles

As a lead artist

TitleYearRecord LabelWriter(s)Length
Gravity [38] 2016Vertigo/Capitol (Universal) Thomas Edward Percy Hull, Simonne Jones3:21
Runaways [39] 2017Vertigo/Capitol (Universal)Simonne Jones, David Kosten3:47
Psycho Pretty Boy [40] 2019OMN Label ServicesSimonne Jones2:32
Abduction [41] 2021OMN Label ServicesSimonne Jones3:35
TitleYearRecord LabelWriter(s)Length
Vaginoplasty [42] 2016I U She Music/Indigo Peaches, Vice Cooler, Simonne Jones4:27
Free Pussy Riot [13] [43] 2012I U She Music/Indigo Peaches, Simonne Jones2:47
"Let's Be Lovers Tonight"2018Universal Music GroupSimonne Jones, Rea Garvey 3:41
"Water"2018Universal Music GroupSimonne Jones, Rea Garvey, Imran Abbas, Thomas Kessler 3:22
"Water" Neon Acoustic Session2018Universal Music GroupSimonne Jones, Rea Garvey, Imran Abbas, Thomas Kessler 3:21
"Let's Be Lovers Tonight" Neon Acoustic Session2018Universal Music GroupSimonne Jones, Rea Garvey 4:12
Halcyon 2018Jewel RecordsSimonne Jones, Ryan Sheridan 3:15
"Words"2019Universal Music Pte. Ltd.Simonne Jones, Jannine Weigel 3:45
"Fighter"2021UNFALLSimonne Jones, Sneaker Pimps 4:07
"Squaring The Circle"2021UNFALLSimonne Jones, Sneaker Pimps 3:24
"Love Me Stupid"2021UNFALLSimonne Jones, Sneaker Pimps 4:57
"No Show"2021UNFALLSimonne Jones, Sneaker Pimps 3:55
"Child In The Dark"2021UNFALLSimonne Jones, Sneaker Pimps 4:26
"Black Rain"2021UNFALLSimonne Jones, Sneaker Pimps 3:42
"Lifeline"2021UNFALLSimonne Jones, Sneaker Pimps 4:07
"Immaculate Hearts"2021UNFALLSimonne Jones, Sneaker Pimps 3:58
"So Far Gone"2021UNFALLSimonne Jones, Sneaker Pimps 5:21
"SOS"2021UNFALLSimonne Jones, Sneaker Pimps 4:28

As a producer

TitleYearRecord LabelProducerAlbumLength
Silver Cord [44] 2015SoundhuntersSimonne JonesZoolook Revisited3:35
Sick in the Head (Remix) [27] 2016I U She MusicSimonne JonesRub Remixed by Peaches 3:35
"Let's Be Lovers Tonight"2018Universal Music GroupSimonne JonesNeon3:41
"Water"2018Universal Music GroupSimonne Jones, Rea Garvey, Abaz  [ de ], X-Plosive  [ de ]Neon3:22
"SMS (Just Want to Be Loved)"2018Universal Music GroupSimonne Jones, Rea Garvey, Kiko MasbaumNeon3:14
"Turn Me Away"2018Universal Music GroupSimonne Jones, Rea Garvey, Abaz  [ de ], X-Plosive  [ de ]Neon3:05
"Darkness"2018Universal Music GroupSimonne Jones, Rea Garvey Neon3:03
"I'll Follow"2018Jewel RecordsSimonne JonesRyan Sheridan3:05
Stay Stay 2018Jewel RecordsSimonne Jones Ryan Sheridan 3:53
Back To Life 2018Jewel RecordsSimonne Jones Ryan Sheridan 3:20
Blew My Mind 2018Jewel RecordsSimonne Jones Ryan Sheridan 3:42
Halcyon 2018Jewel RecordsSimonne Jones Ryan Sheridan 3:15

Awards and honors

YearOrganizationAwardResult
2018 We Work Creator Award Berlin [45] Creator Award for Performing ArtsWon

Tours

Headlining

Supporting

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Michel Jarre</span> French composer, performer and record producer (born 1948)

Jean-Michel André Jarre is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompanied by vast laser displays, large projections and fireworks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norah Jones</span> American musician (born 1979)

Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and, as of 2023, had sold more than 50 million records worldwide. Billboard named her the top jazz artist of the 2000s decade. She has won nine Grammy Awards and was ranked 60th on Billboard magazine's artists of the 2000s decade chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peaches (musician)</span> Canadian electroclash musician

Merrill Nisker, better known by her stage name Peaches, is a Canadian electroclash musician and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace Jones</span> Jamaican singer, actress and model

Grace Beverly Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, songwriter, model and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves St. Laurent and Kenzo, and appearing on the covers of Elle and Vogue. She notably worked with photographers such as Jean-Paul Goude, Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and Hans Feurer, and became known for her distinctive androgynous appearance and bold features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Le Tigre</span> American electronic rock band

Le Tigre is an American art punk and riot grrrl band formed by Kathleen Hanna, Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning in 1998 in New York City. Benning left in 2000 and was replaced by JD Samson. They mixed punk's directness and politics with playful samples, eclectic pop, and lo-fi electronics. Like with many bands in and from the riot grrrl movement, many of the lyrics addressed feminist themes and ideas. The group also added multimedia and performance art elements to their live shows, which often featured support from like-minded acts such as the Need.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ana Gabriel</span> Mexican singer and songwriter

María Guadalupe Araujo Yong, known professionally as Ana Gabriel, is a Mexican singer and songwriter. With over 40 million records sold worldwide, Gabriel is the best-selling Mexican female artist, and one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. Dubbed as the "Diva de América" and the "Luna de América", during her long career, she has performed different genres of music.

<i>Zoolook</i> 1984 studio album by Jean-Michel Jarre

Zoolook is the seventh studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released in November 1984 by Disques Dreyfus. Much of the music is built up from samples of singing and speech in 25 different languages recorded and edited in the Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer. The album spawned two singles: the title track and "Zoolookologie".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JD Samson</span> American musician

Jocelyn Rachel Samson, known professionally as JD Samson, is an American musician, producer, songwriter and DJ best known as a member of the bands Le Tigre and MEN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anushka Manchanda</span> Indian musical artist (born 1984)

Anushka Manchanda aka Kiss Nuka is a singer, music producer, composer, creative entrepreneur, actor, activist, and former VJ of Indian origin. She came to prominence as a member of the Indipop girl group Viva!. Manchanda and the winner of Khatron ke khiladi 2 and one of the lead actors of the international award-winning film Angry Indian Goddesses. She announced she has adopted the artistic name Kiss Nuka – which stands for Natures Universal Kinectic Attention, with a new vision for a better world She is the music head of Ranveer Singh and Navzar Eranee’s music label IncInk Records along with her younger brother Shikhar Yuvraj Manchanda aka Rākhis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Nash</span> English singer-songwriter

Kate Marie Nash is an English singer-songwriter and actress.

<i>I Feel Cream</i> 2009 studio album by Peaches

I Feel Cream is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer Peaches, released on May 1, 2009 by XL Recordings. The album was produced by Simian Mobile Disco, as well as Soulwax, Digitalism, Shapemod and Drums of Death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peaches discography</span> List of Peaches albums and singles

Canadian singer Peaches has released six studio albums, one remix album, one extended play, 30 singles, four promotional singles, and 44 music videos. Before she gained fame as Peaches, Merrill Nisker released her debut studio album, Fancypants Hoodlum, under her own name in 1995. In 2000, Peaches released The Teaches of Peaches, her first album to break away from her avant-garde jazz and folk background.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pussy Riot</span> Russian punk-rock collective based in Moscow

Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in the fall of 2011 by 22 year old Nadya Tolokonnikova, it has had a membership of approximately 11 women. The group staged unauthorized, provocative guerrilla gigs in public places. These performances were filmed as music videos and posted on the internet. The group's lyrical themes included feminism, LGBT rights, opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his policies, and Putin's links to the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savages (band)</span> English rock band

Savages are an English rock band that formed in 2011 in London. Their debut album, Silence Yourself was released on 6 May 2013 via Matador Records. It reached number 19 in the UK Albums Chart in May 2013, and was critically acclaimed. It peaked at number 5 on the Irish and the UK Independent Albums Chart, and at number 13 on the US Billboard Independent Albums chart. The band's second album Adore Life, was released on 22 January 2016. Both albums were nominated for the Mercury Prize, in 2013 and 2016 respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MØ</span> Danish singer (born 1988)

Karen Marie Aagaard Ørsted Andersen, known professionally as MØ, is a Danish singer and songwriter. She began her career in the mid-2000s as a member of the punk duo MOR and releasing a handful of side projects. After MOR disbanded in 2012, MØ signed a recording contract with Sony Music Entertainment, releasing her debut extended play, Bikini Daze (2013), and her debut studio album, No Mythologies to Follow (2014).

<i>Rub</i> (album) 2015 studio album by Peaches

Rub is the sixth studio album by Canadian electronic musician Peaches. It was released on September 25, 2015 by I U She Music.

<i>Sexorcism</i> (Brooke Candy album) 2019 studio album by Brooke Candy

Sexorcism is the debut studio album by American rapper Brooke Candy. It was released on October 25, 2019 by NUXXE. The album features guest appearances from Charli XCX, Iggy Azalea, Violet Chachki, Aquaria, Erika Jayne, Rico Nasty, Ashnikko and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soundhunters</span>

Soundhunters is a transmedia musical project created by Nicolas Blies and Stéphane Hueber-Blies, Marion Guth, and François Le Gall. It was broadcast on the Franco-German channel Arte in 2015 and deployed internationally via Native Instruments and the music streaming platform SoundCloud.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philipp Hochmair</span> Austrian actor

Philipp Hochmair ; born 16 October 1973) is an Austrian theater, film and television actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purge the Poison</span> 2021 single by Marina

"Purge the Poison" is a song written and recorded by Welsh singer-songwriter Marina for her fifth studio album, Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land (2021). It was released as the project's second single on 14 April 2021, through Atlantic Records, alongside the album's announcement. The song was produced by Jennifer Decilveo and previously teased by Marina in 2020. It was promoted through the creation of a news alert website called AllMyFriendsAreWitches.com. The song is a guitar-heavy pop, electropop, and power pop anthem, sung from the point-of-view of Mother Nature. Its lyrics preach about a better society, that is free of capitalism, climate change, and patriarchy.

References

  1. 1 2 "Biografie von Simonne Jones".
  2. 1 2 "The artist making physics and a conspiracy theory into music". May 27, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Music Monday: The Science and Magic of Simonne Jones". April 19, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "How Simonne Jones Went From Scientist to Rising Electropop Star".
  5. ↑ "University of Maryland". UMBC, Baltimore County . October 31, 2022. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  6. ↑ "SIMONNE JONES".
  7. ↑ Ryan, Jenn (July 20, 2016). "Introducing : Simonne Jones".
  8. 1 2 "Simonne Jones – Bridging The Gap". February 3, 2013.
  9. ↑ Lu, Kun; Heng, Xiao; Garyu, Lianko; Monti, Sarah; Garcia, Eric L.; Kharytonchyk, Siarhei; Dorjsuren, Bilguujin; Kulandaivel, Gowry; Jones, Simonne; Hiremath, Atheeth; Divakaruni, Sai Sachin; Lacotti, Courtney; Barton, Shawn; Tummillo, Daniel; Hosic, Azra; Edme, Kedy; Albrecht, Sara; Telesnitsky, Alice; Summers, Michael F. (August 23, 2016). "Supporting Online Material". Science. 334 (6053): 242–245. doi:10.1126/science.1210460. PMC   3335204 . PMID   21998393.
  10. 1 2 Buchan, Kit (July 10, 2016). "Bluedot: exploring the festival frontier". The Observer– via The Guardian.
  11. ↑ "Simonne Jones: Der schönste Alien der Musikwelt". September 25, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Simonne Jones: Kann auch Pop". June 9, 2016.
  13. 1 2 Sayej, Nadja (August 9, 2012). "Quiet Rioters – A Colorful Show of Support in Berlin".
  14. ↑ "Ab 18. Februar: Die neue Missy!". February 12, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Red Bull Music Academy".
  16. ↑ "Simonne Jones im Interview: Wenn musikalische Welten auf das Universum treffen! – Burning Music". October 14, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Salzburger Festspiele: Jedermann" als Pop und Trash im YDP". August 7, 2013.
  18. ↑ Jandl, Paul (August 9, 2013). "Philipp Hochmair – der etwas andere Hamburger Jedermann".
  19. ↑ "Vidéo-clip Simonne Jones AND JARED LETO – @PIAZZOLA SUL BRENTA (PD) 14/07/13".
  20. ↑ "BERLIN · SIMONNE JONES – THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE". 2014.
  21. ↑ "Go Behind the Scenes of Installing an Interactive LED Art Exhibit – Make". March 3, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Hier kommt US-Newcomerin Simonne Jones mit "Gravity"". April 20, 2016.
  23. ↑ Elektron (April 4, 2016). "Night of Machines @ Arena Club, Berlin" – via YouTube.
  24. ↑ "Soundhunters (3/4) – Sound of Leaves". ARTE (in French). Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  25. ↑ SOUNDHUNTERS (June 22, 2015). "CONCOURS ALBUM "ZOOLOOK REVISITED"" – via YouTube.
  26. ↑ "Vaginoplasty – Peaches – Song Info – AllMusic". AllMusic .
  27. 1 2 "Peaches Announces Rub Remix Album – Pitchfork". Pitchfork . March 23, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Peaches Reawakens Simonne Jones' 'Gravity' With Out-Of-This-World Verse: Exclusive". Billboard . May 6, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Exclusive: Listen To 'Alchemy,' Simonne Jones' Song Made From Physics Data | Make | Australian Popular Science". www.popsci.com.au. Archived from the original on September 25, 2016.
  30. ↑ simonnejonesVEVO (April 18, 2016). "Simonne Jones – Gravity" – via YouTube.
  31. ↑ "5 Albums I Can't Live Without: Liam Howe Of Sneaker Pimps". Spin. October 5, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  32. ↑ Woods, Cat (September 23, 2021). "The ghost of trip hop is back to haunt your turntable". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  33. ↑ "Flaunt Magazine – Music: What's In Yr Fridge, Simonne Jones?".
  34. ↑ "Simonne Jones – neuH Magazine". April 16, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Singer Simonne Jones Fuses Pop Music and Quantum Physics". March 18, 2019.
  36. ↑ "SOUNDHUNTERS".
  37. ↑ Obkircher, Florian. "Simonne Jones: The renaissance woman". Red Bull .
  38. ↑ "Gravity Music video".
  39. ↑ "runaways". AllMusic .
  40. ↑ "Premiere: Simonne Jones – "Psycho Pretty Boy" | Wonderland Magazine". November 2019.
  41. ↑ "Simonne Jones". www.simonnejones.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  42. ↑ "Peaches on Her New Album and Her Big Dreams: "I Will Ride a Hot Dog Through the Air One Day"". September 29, 2015.
  43. ↑ "Canadian artist Peaches to release 'Free Pussy Riot' video".
  44. ↑ "The Silver Cord (Original Mix) by Simonne Jones on Beatport". Beatport .
  45. ↑ "Berlin Creator Awards: WeWork vergibt 643.000 Euro an sieben Gewinner". November 16, 2018.
  46. ↑ "Simonne Jones".
  47. ↑ "Simonne Jones". Discogs .
  48. ↑ "Musica e solidarietà, parte oggi il Tangram Festival". August 8, 2016.
  49. ↑ Reifegerste, Olaf (February 6, 2015). "Duisburg: Das Leben ist live, der Tod aber auch".
  50. ↑ s.r.l., Rockol.com. "√ 14 luglio 2013 – Hydrogen Festival – Anfiteatro Camerini – Piazzola sul Brenta (Pd) – Simonne Jones in concerto – Rockol".
  51. ↑ Schultz, Maike (December 9, 2015). "Peaches live in Berlin: Rubbeln bis die Schamlippen brennen".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.