Miles Jenson takes a deep dive into the darkness of his own Sunshine Goldmine on his sinisterly beautiful single and visualizer — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The title track from the genre-blurring singer-songwriter’s upcoming debut EP, the sweetly menacing Sunshine Goldmine paints a cinematic portrait of escapism, isolation and illusion — delivered with no shortage of style and creativity. Over a tense staccato melody, a one-fingered keyboard and an understated (but still funky) bassline, Jenson’s smoky, soulful vocals and confessional lyrics describe his emotional and psychological descent to the dark center of his own being:
“I’m in a sunshine goldmine
Slipping in and going deep
I’m in a sunshine goldmine
Its a k hole, it’s an electric sleep
No you can’t tell me nothing
I’m a recluse, a spider perishing in my own web
And there is sensationalism
And I take it all, take it all straight to the head.”
Produced by Grammy winner King Garbage (Jon Batiste, The Weeknd, Leon Bridges), the single blends eerie orchestral strings with smooth R&B vocals, minimalist piano and an unsettling rhythmic pulse — drawing the listener into a haunting portrait of hedonism, denial and the search for fleeting inner peace.
“Sunshine Goldmine is inspired by the duality of chasing fleeting inner peace through external, manufactured chaos,” Jenson explains. “More specifically, it’s about when I went to a seedy party in my teenage years and thought I was doing cocaine but ended up taking ketamine. I fell into a state of out-of-body observation in an environment that was highly hedonistic, and it served as a metaphor for how people’s obsession with appearances can oftentimes motivate denial of harsher realities. I wrote the song in about 15 minutes and it came to me as a sinister melody that felt powerful and very specific.”
The single follows the release of Country Club, which introduced Jenson as a fearless and poetic new voice. That track paired whimsical grooves with a cutting critique of class and race in media narratives, inspired by coverage of Atlanta’s “Heroin Triangle.” The two songs provide a vivid glimpse into Sunshine Goldmine — a soulfully theatrical three-song EP that explores the personal, the political, and the personal that is political. “There is social commentary in these songs,” says Jenson, “but there is also a lot of inner dialogue. I speak candidly about my flaws because, when you’re honest, you invite in grace.”
Jenson’s path to this project has been anything but conventional. The son of a jazz musician, he began writing music by ear as a child, teaching himself to play piano by pounding keys until something resonated. After moving to Nashville as a teen, he became drawn to country’s storytelling tradition. Music remained a side pursuit until his early 20s, when a producer overheard him performing at a party and encouraged him to take it seriously. At the time, however, Jenson was struggling with active alcoholism.
He got sober and signed a deal in Atlanta — an experience that quickly grew frustrating. “I was making fear-based decisions to be what the label wanted me to be,” he says. “But I realized that the only way I could connect with others was through being myself.” Leaving the label behind, he moved to L.A. and began independently releasing a series of increasingly esoteric singles.
A cold call to King Garbage turned out to be a turning point. “He was the first person that understood what I was doing. He made me feel seen,” Jenson says. Their collaboration gave shape to Sunshine Goldmine, which Jenson describes as his first fully realized artistic statement. “This EP is my first true expression — it is me finally honoring myself.”
Watch the visualizer for Sunshine Goldmine above, pre-save the EP HERE, hear more from Miles Jenson below, and follow him on Instagram.
