About
Rena Jones
Jones, a Texas native, embarked on her musical journey with classical violin at the age of 12, later delving into composing music and ultimately embracing electronic compositions during her teenage years. Fascinated by the freedom and adaptability of electronic music, she pursued studies in sound engineering at Ex'pression College for Digital Arts in Emeryville, California, gaining a degree in the early 2000s.
Transitioning seamlessly between roles as an audio engineer and studio musician in the vibrant San Francisco music scene, Jones left an indelible mark on numerous groundbreaking albums. Additionally, she contributed to the development of Pro Tools audio software at Avid before moving to Portland, Oregon, in 2006.
A multi-instrumentalist, Jones showcases her talents on cello, violin, percussion, electronic music production, and synthesizers, melding the organic warmth of acoustic strings with electronic beats in her distinctive musical style. Her compositions, deeply rooted in themes of nature and philosophy, have garnered acclaim across six solo albums, each exploring profound concepts ranging from reincarnation to the interconnectedness of reality.
Beyond her musical pursuits, Jones is passionate about culinary arts, nature, and sustainability. Finding inspiration in the muse of the natural world, and history, and expressing her creativity through music, cooking, and writing, her endeavors express her unwavering dedication to her crafts.
Musical Bio
Rena Jones
“Rena Jones is a polymath. She plays violin, cello and synthesizers and immerses her music in the imagery of nature and philosophy.” ~ John Diliberto Echoes Radio PRX
Rena’s extensive background in music and sound engineering covers a colorful spectrum. As a freelancer, she composed music for the award-winning video game Dance Dance Revolution and contracted composition work from Adobe software. In addition to composition, she designed sound patches for Twisted Tools and Keith McMillen Instruments, and she also worked in engineering test services for Avid, supporting the development of Pro-Tools audio software.
Best known for her unique ambient-electronic music, Rena has released original compositions on groundbreaking labels such as LOCI Records, Disco Geko, Iboga, Spun Records, Aleph Zero, 1320 Records, Addictech, Ultimae, and Schematic Records, while also running her label Cartesian Binary Recordings.
In her vast audio catalog, three of Rena’s solo studio albums were chosen amongst the top 30 albums of the year on Echoes Radio PRX in 2006, 2009, and 2021, as well as her recent collaborative release with Emancipator and Flowerpulse for 2021 and her recent collaboration with KiloWatts, “Force Multiplier” in 2022. With over three decades of experience as a seasoned studio musician, Rena's highly sought-after string playing has landed her on albums with Emancipator, STS9, edIT (Glitch Mob), Funckarma, Beats Antique, Sophie Barker (Zero 7), and Grammy-nominated artist J. Viewz.
As an audio engineer, Rena has mixed studio mixes for Beats Antique, co-produced, engineered, and mixed Lynx’s album “On the Horizon”, engineered in Sylvia Massy’s legendary RadioStar studio, Recombinant Media Labs in San Francisco, and Brighton U.K.’s Metway Studios. Similarly, she’s collaborated on projects as an engineer in her home State of Oregon at Wildwood Studios, Cloud City Sound, and her private studio.
Multiple tours around North America and Europe have led Rena to perform at some of the world's most established cutting-edge electronic music festivals; Glade Festival (UK), The Secret Garden Festival (UK), Decibel Festival, Burning Man Shambhala Music Festival (Canada), Symbiosis, Lightning in a Bottle as well as tour support for Plaid and opener for Ladytron, Wax Tailor and Trentemoller. Passionate about musician’s rights and the state of the industry, she also serves as a voting member at the Recording Academy in the Producer and Engineers wing and is currently serving as a District Advocate at the Recording Academy.