Last week, JVNA released her sophomore album Play With You, ushering in a new era for the American-Taiwanese multi-talented artist. In the 11 track album, JVNA throws listeners into a bewitching and captivating sonic universe, one in which is about self empowerment and breaking free from the conventions that life throws at you. JVNA is no stranger in crafting heart pounding, emotional, and melodic music as she’s become a major artist in the scene with her unique ability to produce, sing, and write all of her music. Besides bass driven production, the album features many experimental elements and sounds as she steps outside of her comfort zone as an artist to declare her boss babe persona. JVNA recently performed at Electric Zoo 2023 and we had the time to sit down with her backstage to talk about her latest album and what she has in store for the rest of the year.
Last month you released your lead single ‘Play With You’ from your upcoming album which also came with a music video in which it stars yourself as an anime demon girl making your own decisions to overcome your challenges, can you tell us more about the track?
‘Play With You’ is the lead single and sets the tone and symbolizes the theme for my upcoming album Play With You. The album is thematically about a video game character who breaks free from the prison and embarks into the world while overcoming her challenges. It’s very representative of how I feel as a female DJ in the industry. I wanted to make a melodic based album that was more feral, feminist, and edgy. And I’m very proud of this new era.
Just listening to your lead single, the sound is very different from tracks that you have in your previous album, Open Chaos. Can we expect the other tracks in your upcoming album to sound the same as ‘Play With You’ or have other different twists in elements?
Yes, I have some ballad songs that aren’t all feral and more out there. There are also other songs that aren’t just picture bass. Thematically and sonically, the songs have that ambience as a driving force.
It seems like you’ve definitely took on a more experimental approach with the album in terms of your sound and style, was there a certain track that was more difficult than others to produce?
Not really, there were some mixed down difficulties for sure because I was trying different things. I wasn’t so used to using the same cookie cutter format that I do for my other songs. My song ‘The World Is Mine’ was very difficult to mix because I am literally screaming the drop and I was like, how am I going to make this work? It was very experimental and I learned a lot from it too, and I’ve grown a lot stepping outside my comfort zone as an artist.
I’m sure your fans will be very excited for this new era of JVNA. While you were creating the album, what type of music were you listening to that may have helped you gain inspiration for how you produced it?
I referenced music from a Japanese group called Egoist. Their music is from an anime I love called Guilty Crown and, the entire album aesthetic is inspired from that anime. I was also listening to a lot of kpop, a lot of BLACKPINK, and progressive trance.
While we’re on the topic of anime, do you have a favorite anime girl character that you relate to?
Going back to Guilty Crown, I love Inori and her outfits, and the fact that she was singing in the anime too. I also Love Mikasa from Attack on Titan. I like the edgy and mysterious girl characters.
Are there any artists that you’d like to collaborate with next?
BLACKPINK for sure.
What can your fans look forward to leading towards the end of 2023 and into 2024?
Besides the album’s release, there will be an album tour to look forward to it so stay tuned for more info when it’s announced.
Outside of the studio and streaming, do you have a certain skill or hobby that you have that not a lot of people know about?
I’m very good at renovating. I’m like an IKEA furniture builder and a lot of my home setup is from them.
One more fun question to wrap up the interview, are there any types of Asian dessert you like to eat?
I love mochi, there are so many Taiwanese desserts I like to eat so there’s a lot.
