He’s full of energy, talent and charisma, and can’t get enough of the studio right now… yes, Jordan Peak is making a comeback after a 7 year hiatus, and boy are we pleased to see him! He’s releasing some killer tracks on his own Peak Trax imprint, Kneaded Pains, Moxy Musik, and with Edible EPs and Rawthentic releases coming soon, it’s all go. We caught up with Jordan around the release of ‘Party Vibe’ (Peak Trax) and Nymphomaniac (Kneaded Pains), to hear all about the music, the comeback and what’s coming next…
Hey Jordan, thanks for speaking with us! How’re you doing today, where are we catching you?
Hey Partae people, nice to meet you. Thanks for asking me to do this interview, the pleasure is all mine. I’m currently relaxing at home with my dog Margo asleep on my left leg while I reply to these questions.
You’ve just released your EP ‘Party Vibe’ with three new cuts. We’re loving the sound of these! When do you imagine each track sounding the best in a set?
Why thank you kindly, I’m glad you like them. Well, that would all depend on the set you’re playing and the event. ‘All In The Name Of What?” Is probably the least tough out of the 3 and groovier so you could play that earlier where the other two are more driving and better to be played when the party is in full swing later on.
Which track did you find came together the easiest out of the three?
Honestly I’m making music super quick at the moment, I’ve been doing music for a very, very long time (I started DJing when I was 13 and producing when I was 18) so despite being relatively young in human terms I’m quite experienced with the whole process.
With ‘Party Vibe’ the vocal hook came to me while driving, I recorded it into my phone as a voice note to remember it then asked a few people if they knew anyone who would sound good doing it and that’s when I got put in contact with the incredible Jodie Paige. Once I got the vocal back I already knew the kind of track I wanted to make. The same goes for the other two on the release, once I found the main hook / feature of the song all the supporting elements came together very quickly.
You’ve got Jodie Paige doing the vocals on the title track. How did that link up come about?
I kind of answered that a bit in the previous question but I’ll go more in depth here. So, I came up with the idea for a vocal hook and I knew how I wanted it to sound, I was thinking of Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” chorus as a reference. I asked a few people if they knew anyone who would sound good doing it and that’s when I was put in contact with Jodie. I checked her music out and was straight away like “She’s perfect!”.
The original delivery we recorded was closer to the Gwen Stefani song and we tried that out first but it just didn’t suit the track and the direction I wanted to take. I asked her to do it more ‘reserved and spoken word style’ and it was perfect. The vocals are actually taken from a WhatsApp voice note she sent me!
They’re out on your own Peak Trax imprint – what’s the overall aim with your new label?
The label was created so I can put my music out there without having to chase up and send demos out to other labels. The whole signing process can be stressful and take a long time, so I just wanted to cut that out and have full creative control on the house & techno sounds I put out. The label is only for me to release on, so I don’t have to search for other artists for music which in itself is a big effort and takes up a lot of time. There will be remix packages for it when we get to milestone releases like every 5th or 10th, I haven’t decided yet and that’s when I will get producers and DJs I love onboard to remix the tracks I’ve put out previously on the label.
You’ve also just dropped a single ‘Nymphomaniac’ on Kneaded Pains. It’s mega catchy! How did the connection with Dense & Pika develop? And the vocals are you right? We’ve heard you do a lot of the vocals/vocal samples on your own tracks.
Why thank you! That means a lot. I’ve known Chris (Dense) and Pika (Alex) for a while just through doing music and being in that scene. I actually used a sample from Chris’s sample pack he put out as his Glimpse alias years ago on a track I did for Robsoul, I told him that when I first met him! Once I had a bunch of tracks under my belt I knew I wanted to get signed (there’s so much music I’m sitting on that’s not out yet, coming soon though…). I sent him some stuff and he got back to me a while later saying, we want some of these!
Yes, that’s me on song writing and vocal duties! Sorry mum. It’s something I’ve only been doing since starting music again after having to take a break for a few years due to health reasons. I have a big variety of stuff I’ve written from rap hook, one shot samples and traditional verse / chorus type song writing. It all depends on the type of song I want to make, whether it’s just a club roller or one that could potentially crossover to the mainstream which 9 times out of 10 needs a full verse / chorus / bridge arrangement.
There are so, so, so many DJs and producers around it’s inevitable that you’re going to use the same samples as other people at times. The only way to be truly original and unique is to write your own material. Even if you’re inspired or influenced by someone else’s work that’s ok, we all get that, but to truly be one of a kind you need to make your own music whether it’s beats or vocals. Plus, it’s fun.
Can you give us a sneak peek into what else you’ve got coming up this year?
Don’t you mean a sneak PEAK 😉 Lots and lots of new music coming your way! There’s original releases coming on Edible (2 EPs), Moxy Muzik, Dark Side Of The Sun, Rawthentic and more Peak Trax releases, plus lots of remixes too for the likes of Santé and Alexis Raphael! I’ve been a very busy boy in the studio plus some DJ gigs as well. See you on the dancefloor…
Thanks!
No thank you! Hope you have a great day.
Jordan Peak ‘Party Vibe’ EP featuring Jodie Paige is out now on Peak Trax. Get it here on Beatport or stream it on Spotify. Also check out ‘Nymphomaniac’ on Kneaded Pains, out now.
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