Jona Byron

Jona Byron (The Boats / Glass Mountain) is an Australian singer songwriter, composer, music producer, and instrumentalist; hailing from Melbourne Australia. After fronting The Dirty Royals for several years - with drummer Adam Dempsey and guitarist Joel Bloom - Byron released his independent solo EP, Song from the Blue Parade, in 2002 - a release that garnered industry praise and attention; and yet Byron turned down a major label deal, fearing it would change his music for the worse. Instead, he continued playing shows in Melbourne - with drummer Dale Thomas - honing his own sound, and recording material sporadically over the next few years. In 2009, Byron finally released his debut album, Extinct Hearts through Popboomerang Records. “You can expect Byron to be a reliable, sensitive and honest narrator. His sensitivity has clearly taken a beating and risen stronger and more perceptive because of it; Joan of Arc and Arm Yourself especially present him as a man ready to take on a world that he has sucked the marrow from.” wrote Andy Hazel / Inpress Magazine. 

In July 2010, Byron embarked on a new recording project titled Skálá; while touring in Iceland with celebrated Icelandic folk artist, Svavar Knútur. Most of the album was recorded in the Knútur family’s holiday cabin, in the remote Northwest of Iceland. In an interview by photo journalist Tina Bauer, Jona spoke about making an album in the Icelandic countryside… “The country is often like a painting come to life with it’s foreboding rock mountains, ancient lava fields and low clouds…it’s an amazing place to experience and document. It also means that these songs are forced to shape organically”. After returning from Iceland Byron toured throughout Europe as part of ‘The International Troubadour Conspiracy’ network; playing festivals in Hamburg, Berlin, Aarhus (Denmark) and the Netherlands. In November 2011 he released a retrospective album Life in Reverb; a massive collection of home recordings and early demos, spanning from 1998 - 2005, and a month later (Christmas 2011, Hamburg) he independently released Red Tide; an EP featuring tracks from the Icelandic project, Skálá. 

Whilst residing in Berlin, Germany (2010 - 2012), Byron toured extensively throughout Europe, worked as a primary school teacher, and collaborated in projects, such as French artist - Fabien Thomas’s band, Douglas First, whilealso producing several German artists, such as Our Blanket Skies and The Major Pins. After a final tour of The Netherlands in July 2012, Byron visited Hanoi, Vietnam - where he was interviewed by a Hanoi television network, and played his final (sold out) concert at The Hanoi Social Club in September 2012. 

After Byron returned to Melbourne in late 2012, he worked on several film projects, and yet did not actively pursue any music composing or performing for two years; the longest hiatus since beginning his career. However, in early 2015, Jona embarked on a new ambient project with friend and musician Ben Coggins, composed a soundtrack for indie film Solipsism, and finished mixing the long-awaited second Boats album, Segundo.

In March 2015 - to break out of the routine of Melbourne and rediscover his passion for songwriting, Jona decided to embark on a journey through New Zealand. Byron was recently offered a music fellowship with NZ Pacific Studio, at their beautiful artist residency in the Wairarapa region - just out of Wellington - where he will spend two weeks writing for his new (yet untitled) recording project. NZ Pacific Studio is a retreat that provides focused and dedicated creative practitioners with much-needed space and time to work, along with the opportunity to connect with others locally, nationally and internationally. This couldn’t have come at a better time for the artist, as he continues his creative journey in New Zealand, while also making the final touches to his next retrospective release, ’Bright Eyed Son’.