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Jeni Magaña
Musical artist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Jeni Magaña is a Mexican-American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, experimental musician, and photographer[1][2][3] based in Los Angeles, USA.[4][5][6] She releases solo music as Magana,[7] and is one-half of the pen pin duo with Emily Moore.[8][9][10] Magaña also currently performs and records with Mitski,[11][12] and has previously worked with Lady Lamb[13] and Laura Cortese & The Dance Cards.[14]
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Early life
Jeni Magaña was born in Bakersfield, California.[15][16] She relocated to Boston, Massachusetts to study music at Berklee College.[17][18]
Career
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Multi-Instrumentalist (2007–present)
As a multi-instrumentalist, Magaña has recorded and toured with a range of artists. While earning her degree at Berklee,[19] she contributed double bass to The Meanest of Times, a 2007 studio album by Dropkick Murphys.[20][21][22]
She has written, recorded, and toured with artists including Laura Cortese and The Dance Cards,[14][23][24] Annie and The Beekeepers,[25][26] Pigeon Club,[27][28] and has also toured with Lady Lamb,[29][30] for whom she played bass on the November 2019 Paste studio session.[13][31]
Magaña is currently part of Mitski's touring lineup, where she has contributed bass, keyboards, and backing vocals.[32][33][34] Her performances have included a 2018 The Current studio session,[35] as well as in appearances at Boston Calling Music Festival 2019,[36] Glastonbury Festival 2022,[37] and on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! television show.[38][39][40]
Whilst touring with Mitski, Magaña has also worked as a photographer, shooting for the 2022 L'Officiel campaign,[1][41] and the behind-the-scenes video for the ‘’Stay Soft’’ music video.[2]
In addition to touring as part of the band, Magana has also recorded with Mitski, most recently contributing double bass to “Buffalo Replaced / Coyote, My Little Brother“ for the Spotify Singles series.[42][43][44]
Solo works as Magana (2016–present)
After relocating to Brooklyn, New York, Magaña began working on solo work under the name Magana. She signed with the Audio Antihero independent record label, and she released her debut solo single ‘’Get It Right’’ on September 26, 2016.[45] The song was featured by Impose,[46] and was played by Roddy Hart on BBC Radio Scotland[47] and Robert Rotifer on FM4.[48][49]
Her Golden Tongue EP followed on October 28, 2016,[50][7] and received press support from The Line of Best Fit, London in Stereo, The Digital Fix,[51][52][53] and further FM4 airplay.[54][55] She supported the EP with a radio session for Dandelion Radio,[56] and a photo-essay for Gold Flake Paint.[57] She followed her debut EP with the standalone ‘’Pages’’ single on January 20, 2017,[58][59] which received BBC 6 Music and BBC Music Introducing radio support from Tom Robinson.[60][61]
In July 2017, after relocating to Los Angeles, California, Magaña collaborated with director Lauren Finerman on a music video for ‘’Inches Apart,’’ a song from the Golden Tongue EP.[62][63] To accompany the video, "Inches Apart" was re-released as a single with new remixes from Frog and Benjamin Shaw.[64][65] The single received additional BBC support from Roddy Hart and Gideon Coe.[66][67][68]
On September 1, 2017, Magana covered ‘’Oceans’’ by Audio Antihero label-mate CHUCK,[69] and the recording was made available as a free download via the Magnet publication.[70] She then contributed an unreleased song to the Unpresidented Jams benefit compilation for Southern Poverty Law Center and The National Immigration Law Center.[71][72]
She also contributed a cover of "Tastes Bad" to The Desperation Club, a tribute compilation for Cloud, a musical project by writer/director Tyler Taormina.[73][74]
The Magana project then went quiet until 2020, when she began issuing further singles, and the ambient music release Breathing.[15] She followed this by self-releasing her You Are Not a Morning Person debut long-player on October 2, 2020, which was then re-released with bonus tracks by the UK-based Beanie Tapes label the following year.[18][75] Elsewhere in 2021, Magana contributed "Say My Name" to From the River to the Sea: The Horrible Truth About Palestine - a Fundraiser for the United Palestinian Appeal.[76]
Magana returned on March 25, 2024 with the Teeth album; the date was chosen to coincide with the peak illumination of the worm moon.[77][78] The album was co-released through Audio Antihero and her own Colored Pencils imprint. Teeth found press support from outlets like Grimy Goods, The Post, and KRUI-FM,[15][79][6] as well as radio support from Tom Ravenscroft and Deb Grant of The New Music Fix,[80][81] Jill O'Sullivan,[82] WKDU,[83] WMBR,[84] and Roddy Hart,[85][86] who then featured Teeth as the week's “Record of Note” on April 2, 2024.[87][88][89] Teeth became the first installment in what Magaña called "the Teeth trilogy."[90][91][92]
On October 4, 2024, Magana released the trilogy's second part, DREAMS, a multimedia ambient music dream diary and photography book, via the UK-based Hand Drawn Hand record label.[93][94] The release received airplay on KEXP-FM's Pacific Notions,[95][96] and Louder than War Radio's Loud Women.[97] Additionally, DREAMS was featured by Muso's Guide[98] and other independent press outlets.[99][100][101]
On January 24, 2025, Magana issued the trilogy's final installment, the Bad News EP.[90][102] Material from the EP was first premiered by The Alternative and God Is in the TV.[103][104] Further press support came from Beats Per Minute,[105] Mindies,[106] Spill Magazine,[107] Jenesaispop[108] Rockdelux,[109][110] and others.[111][112][113] Songs from the EP also received airplay from stations like BBC Radio Scotland,[114] WSUM,[115] WMSE[116][117] CFRU,[118] CIUT[119][120] and KXLU.[121]
After the release of Bad News, Magana reached No.1 in the Hype Machine "Most Posted Artists" chart on January 26,[122] as well as the No.1 spot in the "Popular Now" chart on January 31 with "Half to Death".[123]
pen pin (2022–present)
In 2022, Magaña formed the pen pin duo with Emily Moore,[124][8] who she had met whilst touring with Mitski.[125][126][127] pen pin released their debut single ‘’Spooky Love’’ on October 26, 2022, which they followed with ‘’Office Party’’ on December 14.[128][129]
They returned in 2023 with two more singles, ‘’The Fringe’’ on August 23,[9][10] and ‘’The Boredom’’ on September 29.[130]
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Solo discography
Albums and EPs
- Golden Tongue EP (Audio Antihero, 2016)
- Breathing (Self-Released, 2020)
- You Are Not a Morning Person (Self-Released, 2020 / Beanie Tapes, 2021)
- To Sleep To Dream EP (Self-Released, 2022)
- Teeth (Audio Antihero / Colored Pencils, 2024)
- DREAMS (Hand Drawn Hand, 2024)
- Bad News EP (2025)
Singles
- "Get It Right" (Audio Antihero, 2016)
- "Pages" (Audio Antihero, 2017)
- "Oceans" (Audio Antihero, 2017)
- "Inches Apart" (Audio Antihero, 2017)
- "No More Friends" [Solo] (Self-Released, 2020)
- "Jenny Don't Leave" (Self-Released, 2020)
- "Coney Island Kids" - Van Bellman (Self-released, 2022)
- "Girl in Chains" (Colored Pencils, 2023)
- "Afraid of Everybody" (Colored Pencils, 2023)
- "Beside You" (Colored Pencils, 2023)
- "Paul" (Audio Antihero / Colored Pencils, 2024)
- "Break Free" (Audio Antihero / Colored Pencils, 2024)
Compilation appearances
- Audio Antihero Presents: "Unpresidented Jams" for SPLC & NILC - (Audio Antihero, 2017) - contributes "Be the Same"
- The Desperation Club - A Cloud Tribute Compilation - (Audio Antihero, 2018) - contributes "Tastes Bad"
- The Creamery Mixtape 2.0 (The Creamery Studio, 2018) - contributes "Trouble And I"
- Elder Statesman: Nine Long Years of Audio Antihero Records (Audio Antihero, 2019) - contributes "Inches Apart"
- From the River to the Sea: The Horrible Truth About Palestine - a Fundraiser for the United Palestinian Appeal (Audio Antihero, 2021) - contributes "Say My Name"
References
External links
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