Jes Brieden (born May 10, 1974), known simply as Jes (stylized as JES), is an American singer, songwriter, producer, composer, and DJ[1] from New York. She is a co-founder of the US dance band
Motorcycle, who released the song "
As the Rush Comes" in 2003.[2][3]
Early life
Jes Brieden, born and raised in New York City,[4] studied art and singing in an art school. She first began experimenting with music production at her friends' studios. By age 16 she made her first vocal recordings as a reference vocalist, and was also working as a backup singer for several major recording labels.[5] After Jes answered an ad in the newspaper called The Village Voice when she was still a teenager, she recorded her first song. At the time, she sang in various bands.[6]
Career
2002: Guardians of the Earth
In 2001, while she was working at a recording studio in LA, Jes met Mike Olson, and the two formed Guardians of the Earth. Songs they produced include "Star Children" and "One Moon Circling". "Star Children" was included on
Paul van Dyk's 2001
Ministry of Sound compilation The Politics of Dancing. Inspired by this new voice of herself, she began working with more DJs and producers and went on to form Motorcycle with
Gabriel & Dresden and performed the vocals on the instant club hit and Billboard No. 1 song "As the Rush Comes" (2004).
2003–2005: Motorcycle
Jes Brieden's most well known works were created with
Josh Gabriel and
Dave Dresden, known as
Gabriel & Dresden. They formed the group Motorcycle, and its 2003 hit "
As the Rush Comes" was a number one single on Billboard'sHot Dance Airplay chart in 2004, where it also became the first year-end number one Dance Airplay track of the same year. "As the Rush Comes" gave Jes international exposure, which then allowed her to perform in larger venues and festivals such as the Bacardi Festival (Lebanon), Fresh (Malta),
World Electronic Music Festival (Toronto), Escape in the Park (United Kingdom),
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, and
Red Rocks Amphitheatre (Denver). Jes had performed on the United Kingdom's "Top of The Pops" TV show alongside
Beyoncé and
Maroon 5.[7]
Motorcycle released a new song called Deep Breath Love. A mash-up by
Dave Dresden with Sedna by 16 Bit Lolita's was included on
Sharam's prestigious Global Underground 029: Dubai.
2006–present: Solo career
Since meeting
Tiësto, Jes signed with his record label,
Black Hole Recordings, and released her first solo album Disconnect. She also was featured on
Tiësto’s artist album Elements of Life with the song "Everything" and continued to perform as the opening artist for the Tiësto Worldwide Tour of Elements of Life. Jes has also collaborated with DJs like
D:Fuse,
Deepsky, and
Solarstone, producing tracks like "Living the Dream", "Ghost", and "Like a Waterfall". The last appears on the internationally acclaimed DJ Tiësto's In Search of Sunrise 4; her song "People Will Go" appears on In Search of Sunrise 5, "Imagination" and "High Glow" (the latter credited as TaxiGirl) on In Search of Sunrise 6, and an acoustic version of "Imagination" on Gabriel & Dresden's album Bloom.
Jes wrote and released a remix album, Into the Dawn (The Hits Disconnected), with Black Hole Recordings in January 2008, followed by an album called High Glow, supported by performances on
Tiësto's
Elements of Life World Tour.[8] The album High Glow was released in Germany on March 12, 2010 and internationally on March 16, 2010. Her songs "One Moon Circling" and "Talk Like a Stranger" were covered by
Mark Norman on his album Colours.
In 2012,[9] Jes launched "Unleash The Beat", a weekly 1-hour radio show featuring her own tracks and
mashups, and new
EDM songs from other artists. The weekly show has been produced continuously for over 12 years.