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Steamboat Magazine

Miss Jaedha at Sonic Bloom: Music for the Heart

06/06/2015 05:26PM ● By Grant Johnson

Miss Jaedha is a Colorado-based electronic music artist on the line-up of the quickly approaching Sonic Bloom festival, taking place June 18-21 in Rye, CO. As we sip drinks in the dappled sunlight of a spring afternoon, she tells me about her latest musical projects, her roots with Sonic Bloom, and the journey that brought her to where she is today.

“I came to Colorado to go to college, and when I went to Red Rocks to see Sound Tribe Sector 9 perform, something awoke in my soul and I knew that I needed to create music.” As one half of the Acidophiles, Jaedha helped to usher in Colorado’s rapidly expanding bass music scene in its formative years. Now embarked on a solo project, her sound has taken on a new dimension.

“Working on your own is a different creative cycle. It always comes straight from the heart, but in this case my heart starts a universe away.”

Jaedha knows a few things about creating from the heart. Taking on a more a more somber tone, she tells me about the passing of her brother and the T-bone car accident that left her with a debilitating concussion. Having been unable to write music or even go about her daily life in a normal way for months on end, her enthusiasm upon returning to musicianship is infectious. “Death makes you think about if you're OK with the direction you're going in life. I want to have my music in my life forever because then I'll have my brother in my life forever. As I've gotten away from the person society wanted me to be, I've had to slow down and get to know the person I am on day to day basis, and that's definitely something that comes out in my music.”

When asked about what motivates her to compose, Jaedha tells me, “I don't care how many people hear it as long as someone does, and it awakens that appreciation for life a little more. My music is for your heart. The bass line is to open your soul and the melody is for your brain. The hope is to shake something loose inside you.”

Miss Jaedha’s music has an earthy, rooted flavor to it, an influence gained from her childhood growing up on the islands of Hawaii. Combining deep bass movements with melodic phrases, Jaedha captures moments of heavenly bliss that break down into chaotic, yet coordinated patterns. “I also like to use some tradtional instrumentation – like saxophone and other wind instruments – to add an organic layer to my sound,” she says.

Hear these sounds on Miss Jaedha's first album, Synchronizing Chaos, to be released this month as a free digital download for a limited time or available on CD at Sonic Bloom. Visit http://www.Missjaedha.bandcamp.com to find the digital version.

A long-time participant in Sonic Bloom, Jaedha is eagerly looking forward to performing her new material at this summer’s festival. “2010 was my first Sonic Bloom. The thing I appreciate about it is that its core value has stayed the same: to have this shared experience. Everyone involved is so connected together in different branches of it. It’s a very human experience. Keeping that as the main focus is what makes them different from other festivals.”

Needless to say, talking with Miss Jaedha has created even more anticipation within me for Sonic Bloom, and you can be sure to find me at her set in a couple of weeks. Check out the Sonic Bloom website for more information, and look below to stream her latest releases.