ADVERTISE
CONTACT US
SUBMISSIONS
  • News
    Adama Janlo

    Adama Janlo releases powerful debut single / Hurt

    Malu

    MALU delivers an uplifting summer anthem / Comfort Zone

    Jaya May

    Jaya May delivers soul power / Yours

    Zikai

    Zikai returns with smooth summer single / Super 8

    Susanne Ørum

    [WATCH] Susanne Ørum brings the sun out / Be Mine 254 W

    Jonny Benavidez vinyl

    Chicano Soul Brother Jonny Benavidez announces debut album

    MENSAHIGHLIFE releases a soulful tribute / GULLI

    Fieh

    [WATCH] Fieh release official video / Judy Law

  • Reviews
    • All
    • Album Review
    • Live Review
    • Single / EP Reviews
    Steph album cover

    Love Seasons (Pt 1) – STEPH

    Susanne Ørum Get Real

    Get Real – Susanne Ørum

    Be Free Ebba Åsman

    Be Free – Ebba Åsman

    Nocturnal - Venus Anon

    Nocturnal – Venus Anon

  • Features
    • All
    • Interviews
    • Scandinavian Soul Sessions
    • Soul Talk
    Stylish black girl in shades

    [INTERVIEW] Behind the video with RÜ

    Black & white soul singer

    Soul music – the sound of societal change

    Johan Nilsson

    [INTERVIEW] Behind the groove with Band of Pockets

    Aureola

    I wanted it to sound like the feeling of running your hand over silk – Aureola

    Naomi Vaughn

    ‘We just broke out laughing and kept laughing’ – Interview with Naomi Vaughn

  • Events
    • Scandinavian Soul Music Awards
    • Scandinavian Soul Festival 2013
  • Artists / Bands
  • Videos
    • Playlists
  • Shop
    • SOUL SHOP
      • STYLE
      • MERCHANDISE
      • VINYL
      • BOOKS
      • SALE
No Result
View All Result
0

No products in the basket.

  • News
    Adama Janlo

    Adama Janlo releases powerful debut single / Hurt

    Malu

    MALU delivers an uplifting summer anthem / Comfort Zone

    Jaya May

    Jaya May delivers soul power / Yours

    Zikai

    Zikai returns with smooth summer single / Super 8

    Susanne Ørum

    [WATCH] Susanne Ørum brings the sun out / Be Mine 254 W

    Jonny Benavidez vinyl

    Chicano Soul Brother Jonny Benavidez announces debut album

    MENSAHIGHLIFE releases a soulful tribute / GULLI

    Fieh

    [WATCH] Fieh release official video / Judy Law

  • Reviews
    • All
    • Album Review
    • Live Review
    • Single / EP Reviews
    Steph album cover

    Love Seasons (Pt 1) – STEPH

    Susanne Ørum Get Real

    Get Real – Susanne Ørum

    Be Free Ebba Åsman

    Be Free – Ebba Åsman

    Nocturnal - Venus Anon

    Nocturnal – Venus Anon

  • Features
    • All
    • Interviews
    • Scandinavian Soul Sessions
    • Soul Talk
    Stylish black girl in shades

    [INTERVIEW] Behind the video with RÜ

    Black & white soul singer

    Soul music – the sound of societal change

    Johan Nilsson

    [INTERVIEW] Behind the groove with Band of Pockets

    Aureola

    I wanted it to sound like the feeling of running your hand over silk – Aureola

    Naomi Vaughn

    ‘We just broke out laughing and kept laughing’ – Interview with Naomi Vaughn

  • Events
    • Scandinavian Soul Music Awards
    • Scandinavian Soul Festival 2013
  • Artists / Bands
  • Videos
    • Playlists
  • Shop
    • SOUL SHOP
      • STYLE
      • MERCHANDISE
      • VINYL
      • BOOKS
      • SALE
No Result
View All Result
0

No products in the basket.

No Result
View All Result
Record cover

Misha releases refined R&B single / Roadblock feat. Danny polo 

Trial Day hears the soulful return of Klara Zangerl

JEONA – JEONA EP

Modern R&B / Pop / Soulful

Dave Franklin by Dave Franklin
19/02/2021
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Pinterest

JEONA revels in a sound where the likes of soul and jazz reach a futuristic sonic border and start turning into something else altogether, something new, different and as yet undefined. To say that this isn’t soul music would to be to let tribal lines and sonic demarkations blur your vision. To say that it isn’t jazz-infused, or at least full of jazz sensibilities, would be to overlook the ornateness and deftness from which it is crafted. Perhaps just as a prophet isn’t recognised in their own land, a sonic visionary is likewise not appreciated in their own genre.

JEONA EP goes beyond the usual tenets of such genres, playing with synthy ambience, pop-like immediacy and understated, indie cool as well as the more expected soulful and R&B grooves and off-beat complexities. But going beyond what already exists is just another name for evolution, and all music has to evolve.

Highs and Lows is perhaps the song which acts as a bridge between chilled soul past and the sound of the future being written. Sultry and smooth yet forged from cool energy there’s a slight clinical detachment which comes from working with digital forms. Superficial is built of confident pop-beats and wandering dynamics. Taking in dancefloor groove and chillout room minimalism and CUFN (Change Us For Nothing) is the sort of late-night mood-setter that sounds perfect coming through the radio or nightclub speaker alike.

L + Y round things off in a strange and beguiling blend of the nineties pop groove and vocal treatments which have been warped together with a computerised gospel choir, making it simultaneously slightly nostalgic and forward-thinking, intimate yet otherworldly.

JEONA EP is the sound of the future, and I don’t say that lightly. It is less someone mining past soul sounds into a new era, more someone already in the future building a bridge backwards to make the connection. And this bridge is soft and, oddly enough for its reliance on digital building blocks, drifting and ambient, with JEONA’s voice falling into a perfect, gender-neutral middle ground.

The purists will probably deny that this is the sound of R&B and soul meeting its future self but something other, which is sort of the point. And protesting too much is always a sign that in their hearts, they know the truth. The future may be unwritten, but at least it has a soundtrack.

SEE THE EP VIDEO SAMPLER BELOW

JEONA (Official EP Video)
Prev 1 of 1 Next
  • JEONA (Official EP Video)

    JEONA (Official EP Video)

Prev 1 of 1 Next

The Review

JEONA - JEONA EP

3.5 Score

JEONA EP is the sound of the future, and I don't say that lightly.

Review Breakdown

  • 3.5
Tags: EP ReviewJeonaR&B
Retro Soul Playlist Retro Soul Playlist Retro Soul Playlist
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

Zikai
Latest News

Zikai returns with smooth summer single / Super 8

by Andy Collins
22/05/2023
Susanne Ørum
Latest News

[WATCH] Susanne Ørum brings the sun out / Be Mine 254 W

by Andy Collins
18/05/2023
Steph album cover
Reviews

Love Seasons (Pt 1) – STEPH

09/05/2023
Susanne Ørum Get Real
Album Review

Get Real – Susanne Ørum

02/05/2023
Load More

Discover more

Adama Janlo
Latest News

Adama Janlo releases powerful debut single / Hurt

26/05/2023
Malu
Latest News

MALU delivers an uplifting summer anthem / Comfort Zone

24/05/2023
Jaya May
Latest News

Jaya May delivers soul power / Yours

22/05/2023
Prev Next
tigeradvert

Archives

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM

    Little extra details…

    • Our services
    • My account
    • Customer Service
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Behind the scenes

    • ABOUT US
    • EVERYTHING SCANDINAVIAN SOUL IS AND ISN’T
    • JOIN OUR TEAM

    stripe

    © 2023 scandinaviansoul.com. Design by 68-design.

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • News
    • Reviews
      • Single / EP Reviews
      • Album Review
      • Live Review
    • Features
      • Interviews
      • Soul Talk
    • Events
      • Scandinavian Soul Festival 2013
    • Videos
    • Playlists
    • Artists / Bands
    • SOUL SHOP
    • Cart
    • Advertise
    • Contact us
    • About us
    Close