JONO Shares Exquisite Artistry and Environmental Awareness on “North” Video (premiere)

Justly earning comparisons to acts like Explosions in the Sky, Plini, Animals as Leaders, and An Endless Sporadic, JONO is the instrumental prog/post-rock solo project of Californian Jonathan Bareford. His latest single, “North”, arrived in December 2018 and offered the best glimpse yet into what makes JONO stand out amidst his stylistic peers. Now, Bareford is releasing a gorgeously shot and thematically rich music video to accompany the track—as well as spearhead a more altruistic purpose—and it’s just as entrancing as the sounds it represents.

Shot by Bareford (in conjunction with Brian Hartley and Dario Garcia) across several gorgeous locations—including “the redwoods in Northern California, waterfalls in Oregon, coastlines of Washington, and suspension bridges in Vancouver, BC”—the video for “North” complements his electric yet organic blend of breezy guitar strums, entwined riffs, and rustic percussion with an equally dazzling array of picturesque photography. Specifically, it finds Bareford and drummer/producer Allen Casillas (Hail the Sun) performing in the woods in-between cryptic visual storytelling regarding Bareford’s quest to share the scenery with a woman. Just as the tune itself proves mesmerizingly chameleonic, so too do the exquisitely cinematic framing and editing of his day/evening/night search for reconciliation and romance.

Unsurprisingly, Bareford finds this union of sounds and sights to be overwhelmingly meaningful. He remarks, “experiencing the visual aspect to music is an indescribable feeling. To me, it’s what it means to feel alive. Where imagination meets reality. I’m lucky to be able to write music about places I dream about but then bring my instrument and play that very song at that exact location for what can be described as a life-changing adventure. It pushes me as a musician more than anything else and has expanded my love for film, the environment, and preservation.”

In fact, he’s ensuring that all proceeds from the sales of the “North” are donated to Conversation Northwest, in support of their Pacific Northwest wildlife and wildland preservation efforts. Bareford specifies, “over 13% of old growth forests in the Pacific Northwest were lost to deforestation in just over a decade, about half the size of Rhode Island. Human impact on the environment is having disastrous effects across the Pacific Northwest. Wildfires, deforestation, air/water pollution, and climate change are all large factors to the dangers this environment faces.”