Release: Jaguar Jonze - Antihero

Jaguar Jonze (the moniker for musician-artist Deena Lynch) will release her ANTIHERO EP on April 16, 2021 via Nettwerk Records. V2 Records

 There is nothing predictable about the remarkable rise of Brisbane, Australia native Jaguar Jonze.  Her success stems from hard work, passion, and drive, and Jaguar Jonze’s second EP is a testament to that.  In March 2020, Deena contracted COVID-19, and because of her industrious nature and love for making music, she continued to record the vocals for the entire EP while in hospital care.  Speaking with VOGUE Singapore, Deena says, “COVID-19 took away my health and my livelihood. I was bedridden for seven weeks and I had a fever for five of those weeks. I was under hospital care for 40 days—being bedridden for that long also meant my muscles degraded and I had muscle atrophy. I also had fatigue which lasted six months, shortness of breath and I wasn’t capable of singing. My mental health suffered after prolonged periods of isolation, confinement, quarantine, and the uncertainty of it all.  But, I’ve been through a lot in life and have always tried to see the silver lining and be positive.”  Determined to continue to do that, she completed the EP.

 With the EP announcement, Deena shares the official music video for her latest single, “ASTRONAUT,” the follow-up to two previously released videos for “DEADALIVE” and “MURDER”. Each of the five music videos for the forthcoming ANTIHERO EP will come together through bold-palette videos that transform into an antihero character “in a cyberpunk, anime, futuristic, graphic, almost sci-fi world,” says Deena. Deena adds, “as ‘ASTRONAUT’ delves into my anxiety, I wanted the film to reflect that in a simple way that helped portray how my anxiety can sometimes manifest - a contradiction between feeling lost in vast spaces and trapped in claustrophobic spaces. I had a specific idea in mind, which meant that I had to undergo stunt training with professionals and learn how to maneuver in a wire harness. Most of the video had to be shot in a single take because of the stunts' nature in safety preparation, time consumption, and impact on the body. I'm still recovering from the bruises, but it was all worth it, and the team was amazing in pulling it all together. I'm proud of this one as it is 3 minutes of my rawest vulnerability, visually interpreted. I'm also finally ready to share it.”
“ASTRONAUT” is the sound of Deena liberating herself from a lifelong battle with anxiety.  “It is a human trait. It’s how we survive in the wild,” she says.  “We’re all wired as humans to be quite anxious.  As females more so, because we’re more susceptible to danger.”  Survival seems hard-wired into Deena’s DNA.  This summer, Deena reimagined Britney Spears’ “Toxic” as a spacious, bewitching ballad delivered in solidarity with abused women after reigniting Australia’s #MeToo movement by calling out a well-known photographer.  To that end, she’s been featured in Reebok’s “Not Your Princess” campaign, to celebrate her positive impact on the music industry.  Much of ANTIHERO is driven by this resolve.  “TESSELLATIONS” is a cathartic, anthemic exploration of the freefall of being trapped in unhealthy patterns of behavior, the sweltering “CURLED IN” confronts the after-effects of abuse and the fear of letting someone in, while “MURDER” is a straight-up exorcism of malignant past relationships disguised as a mid-tempo pop song.

 Deena is a determined emotional multitasker.  She continues to nurture Jaguar Jonze’s adjacent projects, her narrative illustration project Spectator Jonze which is a conversation with the mind, and her male gaze-subverting photo-project Dusky Jonze, which is a conversation with the body.  Deena's meticulously realized work has earned her the sponsorship of brands like Obey and Stüssy, designing an Art Car for BMW Australiaand an abundance of press praising her commitment to confronting social ills and breaking stigmas.  Deena was also been commissioned to create artwork for Christian Louboutin’s FW20 Cube Collection, which includes a live art installation, visual artworks, a concept photoshoot, a film which she directs and fronts, as well as a French chansonette written and recorded during hotel quarantine. 

for more information and requests, please reach out to: brechtje.bergman@v2benelux.com