Artist Spotlight: Geo Jordan
Shot by @lynn_hayleigh
Multi-faceted musician Geo Jordan has many talents. An adept instrumentalist, producer and songwriter, Geo seems to succeed in each area of expertise that he sets out to accomplish.
Geo has just released a diverse and compelling project, the EP ‘Technicolour’. Across the five tracks, Geo expertly combines sensibilities from a range of genres and sounds, with soul, jazz, R&B, hip hop and electronica merged into one entertaining concoction of personal tales and bustling cadence.
I caught up with Geo to discuss the new EP, his exponential rise, and how he finds inspiration through collaboration.
How’s the fallout from the release of the EP been?
Yeah really good man, it’s been a busy time between that and some other work going on at the moment. It seems to have been well received, and the video for ‘Hide’ is doing really well - it’s just about to hit 30k in a few days.
How has the pandemic been for you musically?
It’s been quite good for me because I tend to do a lot of touring with other artists, so to have that wiped off the agenda gave me some time to really focus on creating. I made as much music as I could, whether it was just getting a quick idea down or making a whole tune. Most of the EP was made in lockdown, so yeah it was good to have time to experiment, finesse and refine. I had time to try loads of stuff which was nice, most weeks outside of the pandemic I’d be gigging or doing other stuff and I’d have to prioritise time, so no complaints from me.
Did you miss gigging?
Yeah I did. I’ve just started doing a couple of acoustic shows of my own and I’m trying to sort out a headline show before the end of the year. I’m also playing for Jungle at the moment which is getting quite busy, I’m heading to America in October. I’m going to do the tour with them in October and then stay in America and try and do some writing out there for a couple of weeks and explore some new territory.
What instrument are you playing for Jungle?
Guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and singing as well. Just pretty much swapping instruments between songs.
It’s so impressive that you can pretty much play everything in a band!
It was just born out of convenience. At school I just took as much information in as possible and got one-to-one tuition on everything and didn’t stop when I got to uni.
Who are you listening to right now?
All my friends! I’m blessed, all my friends are amazing artists. Ruby Francis, Laura Roy, Piers James, Machinedrum, ALYSS… there’s loads!
Your sound is a blend of genres and styles. Where do you define it within the wider UK scene?
It’s definitely got roots in R&B, soul and jazz, like the harmony. Hip hop as well rhythmically, although they are presented in a more modern format. It’s a bit ethereal and showgazey in places. I think it’s alternative, lefty, a bit psychedelic in places, and topped with smooth, soulful vocals. I guess it’s the more alternative side of pop.
In terms of genre, do you think that it is still relevant in modern music? Do you think it needs to be defined in the way it used to be?
I personally don’t think it does. Obviously it came from that old school thing when you go to HMV and go to the different genre sections. I think music was much more cookie-cutter then, without all the technology being involved - not to say that it wasn’t still genre bending back then but nowadays it’s just a mishmash of culture and everything. To an extent, everything needs to be put into a box to be understood, but with music there’s so many artists that are hard to define.
I agree, I think it’s more about mood than style.
Yeah, how does it make you feel when you listen to it. I am noticing more DSP’s are encouraging people to put moods in their music instead of genres. Which is a better way to categorise music for me.
How important is showcasing your own authentic self in your music?
It’s vital. I feel like there should never be a disconnect in the representation of you in the music, in the visual, the socials, you as a person. For me it’s all encompassing. Especially as a solo artist who also produce their own music. I just want everything to feel genuine, whether that’s experiencing something I’ve made or connecting with me at a gig.
I know you’ve worked with some crazy names. Oscar Jerome, Lianne La Havas. What’s it like to work with such accomplished household names, and how have they influenced your own musicianship?
It’s amazing to work with these people and be able to call them friends. I met Oscar before he is what he is now. It’s just pure inspiration. All these sick people, they’re just deep down music nerds. They just love it and are passionate about it, and that for me is inspiring. I just like music nerds. Lianne just loves good music, there’s no pretence, no facade. What you see is what you get. I’m very blessed to work with some many amazing people. I don’t have many stories of anyone that isn’t like that. I guess I just kind of resonant with people who I see familiar things in, I eat, sleep and breathe music so I naturally gravitate to similar people, regardless of what stage they’re in in their career.
That’s so refreshing to hear that there is that going on. It’s not just a scene full of image and falseness that appears to be the case in more commercial music.
I float around in the jazz/soul world so I guess if I moved more commercial, I’d bump into more people like that.
You’ve got a writing credit on the new Doja Cat album. How did that come about?
I was working with Lyndon Jay who is a wicked producer and artist, and we were basically making beats and loops at my house everything week with Laura Roy. One night we made a bunch of ideas and sent them to friends within our network, and it so happened that a friend of Lyndon’s, Yeti Beats, was working on a lot of Doja’s album and they were like yeah this is a vibe, and then it miraculously ended up on the album. It’s like the top selling album in the US now and it’s nuts.
Really enjoyed the EP! Every track offered something different stylistically. How did you manage to produce such a cohesive product, whilst having such wide ranging styles?
I think my influences come from all over the shop and I think there are few main staples that hold my sound together - my voice, distinctive harmony, minor 7th chords and electronic drum sounds. I opt for crunchy, warm and distorted. It’s taken me so long to get to a point of finding things in your sound that I love. I did 2 EP’s under my old name Geo, and there was not the same level of cohesiveness that there is on this. It’s just been me plugging the drum machine into an album, cranking it and seeing what’s a vibe. Just messing around until I found the things that really resonated and thankfully they made an appearance on each song sonically. Another thing I’d say is the lyrical content. They are usually the last thing to come to me. I usually build up the tune, produce it and then add the vocals on top. These sensibilities are going to change for the new record though, I’ve gotta put myself in a different headspace now.
What I took away from the EP was a representation of the ability to look struggles and anguish in the eye and come out the other side stronger. I’d love to get some background on the themes and lyrical ideas behind it.
I think the human experience is very multi-faceted. For me personally, there’s been times where I’ve been rock bottom. Haven’t had any money, shit’s just hit the fan. I had a year and a half of being homeless and couch surfing. I left my band at the time, moved to West Norwood for a bit, the gigs shut down and was in a bad mental place. The only way I could get through that was to really look inside and think about the things that where holding me back. It took me deep - mediating every day, running. I also cut a few chords with some seriously toxic people in my life. I just felt that the only way to get through stuff was to look it in the eye and deal with it rather than deal with it later because it’ll just keep coming back. The key is to just deal with stuff head on. I took that approach in different areas of my own life, my own situations. As I’ve applied that more and more, I’ve just watched my life completely change. Also in myself, being a trans artist, I’ve been through so much over the last 2/3 years, and I feel like that element of transformation is continuous, but there are little bits where you have chapters like in a book. It’s just been amazing, this year. Since March I can watch my life magically changing before my eyes. I’ve been able to translate that into the EP, I think it’s a bit of a journey in itself - ending on ‘Let Go’ is like surrendering to all the good stuff after the crazy journey beforehand.
If you are introducing someone to you as an artist for the first time, what track are you playing them?
I’d probably play ‘Figure It Out’ or maybe ‘Hide’ or ‘Let Go’…. I’m just trying to think of the tracks with the most information in them! I think probably ‘Let Go’.
What’s next for you? What’s the plan?
I’m doing my own artist stuff, so there’s lots more solo music to come, I’m doing a collaborative record which I don’t know whether it’s an EP or album yet but I’ve got some tracks in the works. I’m opening up my process a lot more to other artists now, because so far it’s just me in a room writing all this stuff. Features as well, working on stuff as solely an artist and a writer and producing as well. A massive live show at some point as well, and will get on the festival circuit next year.
Wow… living the life!
Haha mate, it’s been a grind to get here.
Enjoy! Thanks for taking the time out Geo!
Thanks for having me!
Stream ‘Technicolour’ below