Basking in the HIGH GLOW of JES by Brooke Betts
Research shows that music affects sections of the brain like no other stimuli can. We relate to music on a deep, emotional level, and it intrinsically has the power to inspire us, make us dance, and move our hearts and souls. Music can take us back and allow us to reach levels of thought we never could have attained otherwise. We can also dramatically improve our moods. Rare is the album that can provoke such a variety of sensations in one fell swoop. High Glow by Jes is one such album.
Available in stores worldwide, High Glow contains beats so infectious that they will leave you with no choice but to move your body. Atop those pulsating rhythms lies a buttery smooth voice that drops pure poetry; a voice that sings about love themes so universal, anyone who’s ever felt strong emotions for another human will relate.
In High Glow, Rocktronica creator Jes’ second album, she sings about the thrill of meeting someone new, about the peacefulness of an established relationship, and finally, finding the courage to dare to love again after a breakup. She seamlessly moves across topics like love to self-awareness to positively transforming our lives—with a blink of an eye. Jes sings the songs of our collective souls. She understands what we go through. She gets it.
Jes’ expression of her energy and life force in High Glow radiates from each track, and listeners almost immediately move into a high-vibration state. You can practically feel your positive energy expanding and connecting with hers on each song. High Glow can confuse you a bit; you don’t know whether to dance or to sit still and really absorb the lyrics.
Deeply satisfying on many different levels, High Glow takes us to another world. We become Greek gods and goddesses calling in our power from a cliff in Santorini; priests and priestesses expressing love from the mountaintops of Machu Picchu, or men and women falling in love with each other (and themselves) all over again.
Well-known for her mesmerizing live shows, New York native Jes pioneered the combination of rock and electronica to form the musical genre Rocktronica in 2006. Disconnect, Jes’ first solo album, catapulted her into superstardom as it wove rock and electronica together so naturally, one might think they had always been combined.
Disconnect produced three major hits, and Imagination reached #1 on Billboard’s Dance Airplay chart in 2009 and #46 on its Decade 2000-2010 chart. Jes has collaborated with the best in the business, from the Guardians of the Earth and Paul Oakenfold to BT, Armin Van Buuren, Gabriel & Dresden and DJ Tiësto.
Spreading her message of love, Jes performed a series of concerts at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and she has toured the globe. Her award-winning As the Rush Comes by Motorcycle reached #1 in various countries and won the International Dance Music Award at the World Music Conference in 2004.
While making her music, Jes doesn’t adhere to any set rules. “When you let yourself be free and don’t judge yourself, you can come up with so much more,” she explains. On High Glow, Jes says she “felt more confident about breaking the rules and trusting that what I wanted to express would come through. All my songs come from inspiration and excitement, as well as my struggles, and ongoing feelings of hope and love. High Glow allows me to reinvent and develop.”
In Jes’ interpretation of Lovesong by The Cure, she brings a new upbeat take to the 80s classic while still maintaining the integrity of the lyrics. Lead singer of The Cure, Robert Smith said that he, “loved it [Jes’ version]…had my hands in the air!” With a natural beauty and smoothness, the title track on High Glow’s simple piano intro enraptures you and immediately pulls you in. All Night, a beautiful love song, has violins gracing the background. Do You Love Me takes more of a rocker approach that makes you want to headbang and thrash about. Just a little.
“Expressing a feeling and really connecting, that’s the ultimate goal of an artist,” Jes explains. And High Glow certainly does connect, not only uniting various musical genres to form a unified sound, but bonding all people around common love and life experiences. She reminds us that love and the universal energy that permeates every one of us is always present. As the strongest force out there, love’s transformational power shines throughout High Glow. The result? Music that encourages us to be free, to wake up and live, to dance, and to keep an open heart. “I am thrilled to spread new feelings and sound around,” Jes said. “But most importantly, to connect with fans at a basic level. That’s what drives music in the first place.”
Be warned, High Glow might just leave with you an afterglow that’ll last for quite some time.
www.planetjes.com, www.facebook.com/jespage, www.twitter.com/official_jes, www.myspace.com/planetjes. Record is on sale at all major outlets, like Best Buy, Barnes & Noble or online @ iTunes, Amazon and Zune. It can be purchased from www.ultrarecords.com and www.blackholerecordings.com