Title: Play With You
Label: Self-release
Multi-talented artist JVNA returns with her new track “Play With You,” a female empowerment-themed gem that also serves as the leading single from her forthcoming studio album. Listeners familiar with her previous body of work – “Hope In Chaos” will immediately recognize a transformation in JVNA‘s sonic style. While the former was deeply emotional and vulnerable, “Play With You” single sends a message that JVNA is here to take over control. Featuring her sultry vocals – impressively ranging from spoken word rap to breathy singing – along with melodic basslines and heavy-hitting, serrating synths during the drop, the track positions JVNA nearer to a villain than the melancholic damsel of her past. After pairing the track with its accompanying music video, we’d venture to say the rest of the album will also have strong influences from alt-pop, J-pop, K-pop, anime, gaming, and trance to continue the villainess storyline.
“Visually, I pictured this song being about a cunning anime demon girl in a video game seducing her enemies and killing them at the end. But this song’s message is really about being in charge of your own fate and winning the game of life itself throughout its challenges. Sort of like you’re the game master behind everything pulling the strings. I often face a lot of issues, and I feel like it’s constantly a boys club. I talk about overthrowing the patriarchy in this song with the lyrics – ‘the boys think that I’m here for company, but I’m conducting all the symphonies. I’m the final boss that’s gonna tear them down‘” – JVNA about “Play With You” single
California-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist JVNA produces electronic music that plays at the dichotomy of light and dark, bass and melody, organic and synthetic. Raised by Taiwanese immigrants, JVNA studied classical piano from the age of 6 and started writing songs when she was 11. Her studies continued at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she learned to score films and video games. Initially, JVNA made fun edits and remixes of her favorite anime and video game soundtracks; her take on MapleStory‘s “Login Theme” caught fire on the internet, earning half a million views in 24 hours. Her 2018 song “I’m With You,” inspired by her father’s death two years earlier, dared to dive deep into an emotional world. JVNA self-directed the song’s music video. The Follow-up single “Catch Me,” released in 2019, took JVNA on a sold-out tour across the United States. Due to the pandemic, it was canceled, and JVNA returned to the studio to focus on the album’s production. She pushed herself to incorporate more live keys, piano, and organic textures. In 2021 JVNA released her debut studio album – “Hope In Chaos,” which is a diverse collection of styles featuring JVNA‘s voice like it’s never been heard before, opening up about so much more than the standard dance floor love songs.