Born and raised in the small rural town of Klamath Falls, Oregon, Jonah Hakanson oddly enough was exposed to electronic music at an early age. His father was involved in the nascent MIDI Lab at the then named Southern Oregon State College (now Southern Oregon University), and Jonah witnessed his father's early creations as a well trained musician on synthesizers and MIDI equipment. His father also introduced him to PC production software in the late 80s while Jonah was only in 3rd grade. His dad had a MIDI capable keyboard/synth and a Macintosh (which was also a fairly recent invention) at the house. Pictures exist of a young Jonah with earphones that dwarf his head sitting at the equipment, looking rather intent. He left this world of his father's music for a spell (its not like his dad was making techno anyway) to grow up, form a band with some friends, try college as a Business Major, and ultimately return to electronic music. Introduced to the music via a couple friends in Klamath Falls, Jonah ate it up, eventually performing and learning beatmixing at the local college radio station. It couldn't stop there. He, over the next several years invested in the software, equipment, and spent a lot of time working on the skill of production. Seeing the rave boom in the Northwest during the late 90s, Jonah began feeling a little bewildered when the tide of the scene rolled back into crevaces of the big cities where it started. Not ever being a serious DJ, per se, Jonah devoted a solid 7 years of his life to making dance music. After trying his ear at many styles, he ultimately found that the music he wanted to hear wasn't really out there. Recognizing the electronic dance music community's stagnation and genre saturation, Jonah turned his ears to his favorites like Sasha, and the new Bedrock platters. Feeling the need to take advantage of modern computing power, and digital prowess with the music like his influences, Jonah abandoned the notion of getting wrapped up in a mess of cables, decks, synths, and mixers; and instead opted for a MIDI based climate for performance and producing. As a caution to listeners of his music, Nero says that not everything can be anthems and floor-fillers, and artists that have any worth shouldn't try to make just that. Good, danceable electronic music gives DJs options, and people a good time listening as well as grooving."