Johnny Jewel is an American musician, record producer, composer, and visual artist. He is a multi-instrumentalist who is known for using all-analog equipment. Jewel has been recording and releasing material since the mid-1990s.
Born in Houston, Jewel mainly began recording music in Portland, Oregon in 1996 after forming the band Glass Candy with vocalist Ida No. Initially boasting a no wave-influenced sound, the band evolved into an electronic-based duo featuring elements of Italo disco. In 2006, Jewel founded the independent Portland-based record label Italians Do It Better, which features an array of artists and groups that produce similar disco, electronic, and synth-based music. Among the label's artists are Glass Candy, Chromatics and Desire, all of whom Jewel wrote, recorded, and performed with.
With Jewel's involvement, Chromatics achieved considerable commercial success with the album Night Drive, and their music was later featured in Nicolas Winding Refn's film Drive. In addition to Drive, Jewel also scored Refn's film Bronson, as well as Ryan Gosling's directorial debut, Lost River.