**Jason Daniello** is an Asheville-based singer-songwriter, photographer, producer, and audio engineer whose creative roots trace back to the lava-covered mesas of Grants, New Mexico. He picked up a camera in middle school through 4-H competitions and learned darkroom technique before his dad handed him a Nikon Coolpix at the turn of the century, launching a lifelong dual love of film and digital photography. Music arrived just as early — vocal and electronic music studies at the University of New Mexico, musical projects since eighth grade, and a performing life that hasn’t stopped since.

Jason is also a devoted field recordist, mentored over several years by legendary soundscape ecologist Bernie Krause — the man who pioneered the concept of biophony and has spent decades capturing the voices of the natural world. That practice lives on through **Wishcycle Music**, Jason’s project dedicated to weaving natural soundscapes into musical production — deepening the ear for the textures beyond music: wind through canyon walls, water over stone, the layered chorus of a living landscape.

In 1993, Jason formed **Naomi** with Ben Hathorne, starting as an acoustic duo before expanding with a full rhythm section. The band built a reputation opening for acts like Morphine, Gov’t Mule, Alejandro Escovedo, and The Silos. In 1998, Jason began recording his debut solo album at Thunderbird Studios in Sedillo, New Mexico — tracking onto 2-inch tape through Judas Priest’s old mixing board as part of their audio engineering program. That record, ***Re-Creation***, was released in 1999.

His second solo album, ***Everything Good!***, followed in 2004 — recorded and produced by longtime friend and bandmate Ryan Martino over the course of a couple of years. The album featured Liz LeBleu on “I Do,” Dan Spanogle on bass, Ryan Anthony (R.I.P.) on drums, and collaborators including Mikey Chavez out of Santa Fe. Jason toured the album as far as Cleveland, Ohio, where the band captured a live set released as ***Live at Wilbur’s***, available on Bandcamp.

After settling in Asheville, Jason and Liz LeBleu formed **The Broomstars**, building a devoted local following and touring the East Coast — a run that lasted until their son Gus was born. His musical world extends further through **Orgatroid**, his collaborative project with Jeffrey Richards — a partnership that traces back to 1995 when the two met in Albuquerque. Years later, Jeffrey inherited a house from his aunt just three miles from where Jason landed in Asheville, and the two have been making music together ever since. Jason also explores solo electronic terrain under the name **Cantina Acres**.

For fifteen years he served as Artist Relations Manager at a prominent synthesizer company, cultivating relationships with artists worldwide and helping establish Asheville as a creative hub for the brand. Today he brings that same ear and people-first instinct to his own work — writing, producing, engineering, and performing regularly across Western North Carolina’s stages. Behind the lens or behind the board, the throughline is the same: honest storytelling, rooted in place.