Jordan Peak Interview

He's one of the stars of 2011... Jordan Peak has released a number of killer tech house cuts on One Records, Area Remote, Klass Recordings and more, whislt at the same time has played all over the UK and further afield after having been named one to watch by Pete TOng on Radio 1 late last year alongside Rob James. We checked in with the man ahead of his gig forCable at Connected in London, on November 26th, with Huxley, Russ Yallop, Anthea and more…

 

Hi Jordan for those that don’t know you, how would you describe your productions and the music you play out whilst Djing?

Just like it says in my biog, low slung house music full of swing and swagger

 

How did you first get into underground house music?

Through my dad, he wasn't a dj but he loved dance music. He collected all the early US house & garage records, stuff like Todd Terry, Armand Van Helden, Masters At Work and DJ Sneak for example. Its through listening to those records that I caught the bug, those sounds have stuck with me to this day

 

Who do you count amongst your musical influences?

I get inspired by many artists for different reasons, I could write a whole feature alone on the people that inspire me theres that many! If I really have to narrow it down then special mentions have to go to Adam Shelton, Phil Weeks, Kerri Chandler, Craig Richards, Agnes and my very good friend Peter Glasspool who is without a doubt one of the most talented dj's i've ever seen

 

How do you organise your sets do you do them on the fly or do you pre prepare them

When I first started getting gigs at 15 i'd plan everything, from the tracks that i'd play right down to when i'd mix in and out of songs. Nowadays I just pick stuff out on the fly depending on how I feel the night is going and where I want to take the crowd

 

How do you create your music in the studio, do you have a set process

Well I don't use any hardware, I make all my tracks on my Macbook. I use Ableton and i've created a personal template so that every time I open the program the vsts that I most frequently use are open and ready to go, x amount of audio channels are pre loaded the same with midi channels and sends/returns. Then its just a case of messing about and having fun chopping drums and hits from tracks, playing around with loops and jamming with

basslines and melodies until I feel theres a decent groove going. First I make a 2 bar loop, then i extend that to a 4 bar loop, then onto 8 bars, then 16 with fillers and effects which help to make it sound not so repetitive and then I've got the basic foundations of a track. I normally spend a day working my way up to that 16 bar loop stage then il call it quits and do the arrangement the next day and then mix it down the day after

 

Do you have any advice for up and coming producers

Practice, practice, practice and practice some more! The more you practice the better you get. It took me about 4 years of messing around with sounds before I finally made something I was really happy with and ready to send out. Also don't get caught up in fads and always be true to yourself. Make the music you really want to make, don't worry about what the "in thing" is because trends change so quickly, just like fashion music runs in cycles so whats hot this year might not be in next year

 

How did being named as one of Radio 1’s “one to watch” come about?

The producer of Pete Tong's show got in contact with me explaining that this year for BBC introducing they were going to include dj's/producers for the first time as well as bands and singers that they normally involve which helps promote and give exposure to under the radar acts as they describe it. It was a real honor to be chosen and very surreal! As part of the feature I had a live interview with Pete on his radio show, it was insane to think that after growing up listening to his show and hearing his distinctive voice I found myself having a full on one to one with him. Thats the most nervous i've ever been in my life and probably ever will be, I just really wanted to explain in the interview what i'm all about and the passion that I have for making and playing music without sounding like a complete tit, hopefully it sounded ok to the people that tuned in

 

What do you get up to when you’re not DJing or Producing

Looking for new records, partying, my whole life pretty much revolves around music. I love movies so when I have a spare couple of hours i'l watch a film and when i'm not feeling too lazy i'l somehow find my way to the gym

 

One of your next gigs is in London is Connected – The London Underground, what do you think of the current scene in London?

London is one of if not the best cities in the world for electronic music. Theres a very healthy scene and it never stops evolving. I've played for Connected a couple of times before and they have always been really fun gigs, the line up for this party in particular is incredible and it will be exciting to hook up with Anthea, Huxley and Russ again. Absolutely buzzing to get on the 1's and 2's for you guys