Desire
Formed: 2009
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genre: Synth Wave
Years Active: 2009 -
Meaning of the Name:
Core Members: Megan Louise, Johnny Jewel
Way of Working: Led by Johnny Jewel
Associated: Chromatics, Glass Candy
Essential Releases
II (2009)
Debut album. Nocturnal ride through synth wave.
Desire contrast futuristic, synth-drenched disco with the nostalgia of valley girl vocal stylings to great effect. Their story, however, starts long before they formed in 2009 on the cobblestone streets of Montreal. It all began with an ambitious young musician called John Padgett, who would later rebrand himself as the dazzling Johnny Jewel: record producer, label supremo and a concurrent member of three separate bands — one of which was Desire.
The first, Chromatics, was a struggling, lo-fi art-punk outfit formed by Adam Miller in 2001. Jewel joined them late, after four years, but before long they were follwing his creative vision of cinematic synth wave that felt like inhabiting '80s sci-fi films such as Blade Runner.
Jewel wrote and produced the entirety of their 2007 album, the critically-acclaimed Night Drive himself, with the other members relegated to mere performers of his material. Ever busy, he also founded Italians Do It Better Records with his partner Mike Simonetti, who eventually surrendered control to Jewel when he left in 2014. Talking about the experience to Vehlinggo, Simonetti said
"The label name was my idea. I’m fucking Italian! It’s weird seeing a non-Italian running a label called ‘Italians Do It Better."
According to Simonetti, Jewel produced the vast majority of the labels music himself and even created the artwork for the album covers! By this time he was playing in Desire, a band formed with his then girlfriend Megan Louise. This was a Herculean amount of work for one man but he made a success of not only the label but the genre of synth wave itself, after the soundtrack for Drive (2011) exploded in popularity.Rate Your Music lists 88 synth wave releases for 2011 and 958 for 2014. An increase of 1144% in just three years. Other artists such as Kavinsky also played a significant role in the boom. The song 'Under Your Spell' by Desire featured on the soundtrack and amassed over 74 million views on Spotify alone, while Kavinsky's 'Nightcall', from the same record, has nearly half a billion.
As the fruits of his labour ripened however, Jewel's desire for control and idiosyncratic methods pushed his closest partners away. First Simonetti, and then Chromatics, who broke up in 2021 due to frustrations with Jewel, who destroyed 25,000 copies of their album Dear Tommy and refused to release it.
His painstaking perfectionism elevated his bands to success, and influenced mainstream artists such as The Weeknd and Dua Lipa to incorporate synths, but also led to the downfall of two of his projects. Class Candy have been inactive since 2008. Desire, however, remain standing tall, evolving their sound with film noir influences and complex synth-pop arrangements. Despite his flaws, Jewel will be remembered as an undeniably talented musician who refused to take no for an answer.
Skills
*This is a work in progress. Values are subjective.Emotional Impact
70
Mental Impact
60
Originality
65
Artistry
80
Authenticity
40
Live
60
Production
85
Musicianship
70
Singing
75
Songwriting
80
Danceability
70
Fun
70
Consistency
60
Range
45
Cool
60
Charisma
45
Commercial & Critical Success
Awards
Certifications
Charts
Critics
- Fact: II - Best Albums of 2019: #14
