Desire x Johnny Jewel

Johnny Jewel is an American composer, visual artist and multi-instrumentalist who works exclusively with analog equipment. Since the mid-1990s he has been active as a film composer and musician. He runs his own record label Italians Do It Better and is a member of several bands on the label, including Desire.

Desire is a Canadian/American electronic band currently based in Palm Springs. Their synthpop connects film, fashion and fantasy with the dancefloor: vocalist Megan Louise sings in French and English, while Jewel handles the Italo, disco noir and synthwave sounds. They gained worldwide recognition with 'Under Your Spell', heard in the neo-noir film Drive (2011) and on catwalks for Dior and Chanel.

Their new album 'Escape', released in mid-October, is inspired by 1970s giallo films and recorded with instruments including the Minikorg, Jupiter 8, 909, Mellotron, Simmons Rhythm Modules, String Machine, D-50 and Fender Rhodes.

On Friday 20 November, Desire and Johnny Jewel perform at Simplon in Groningen as part of their autumn 2026 tour.