Jordan King Discusses His Upcoming EP "The Night Shift"
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Jordan King is a UK based RnB/Soul sensation who will soon be dropping his highly anticipated EP "The Night Shift" on October 16th. Jordan's five track EP features the song 'P.W.I' which has already appeared on DOPECAUSEWESAID.com and we have had the pleasure of listening to the release and we assure you that you are all in for a treat. We'll be publishing a full review of the "The Night Shift" when it is released on the 16th.
In regards to this exclusive interview with Jordan King, we connected with him to delve a little deeper into how he became interested in music, learn more about his creative process, find out which artists and producers he is checking for and much more.
How did you get interested in music? Was there a specific artist or song that made you want to start singing and producing?
I think my biggest inspiration is very cliche, when I was a kid Michael Jackson was such a big influence, I use to go downstairs in the morning and dance to my Mum and Dad's MJ records and I think that's where my love for music and performing stemmed from.
There were so many others that started to bring me into my love of music as well like, James Brown, Bobby Caldwell, Whitney Houston and Usher to name a few, but It was in secondary school when I really began to love music from a creating point of view.
I never really fitted into a group at school; so I kind of just floated between the cool kids and nerds but soon found that I felt most myself in the studio. Eventually I was bunking class to be in the studio a lot, (sorry to my English teacher by the way). After a while I became 'the music kid', I'd found my place and from there on I was always producing. Originally I was listening to people like UK grime producer Terror Danger and some others but then I started to make RnB music, to be fair I always loved and was heavily influenced by it. I realized I wasn't really around anybody who into singing, so I started writing and laying vocal own beats. After that singing and writing came as naturally to me as producing did.
Tell us about your creative process. How do you get started on a new song and how do you know when its done?
I guess my creative process varies, sometimes i write while I drive. For example there was a point when I wasn't home a lot because I was working, which involved a lot of driving and I would write in my head and play the music over and over until I nailed the lyrics. Sometimes, ideas come to me in the most random of places from the shower to Sunday dinner at mums house; I'm sitting there voice noting melodies with a chicken leg in the other hand lol.
Somedays I'll be producing and the lyrics will just come to me there and then pulling it all together. Like the track 'Right Now' off the EP. It was produced with a completely different theme in mind to the final product, once the lyrics were added it was like a completely different track, but i guess you just can't fight the song.
What can we expect from your upcoming EP "The Night Shift" ? How many songs will be included and who are you working with on it, in terms of collaborations and production?
'The Night Shift' comprises of 5 tracks. In terms of whats to be expected, first and foremost i'd say you can expect a consistent vibe from beginning to end. Its sexy and cheeky, everything I am on steroids basically.
When creating the EP I sat in studio with my friends who are producers and it just came about from us making music we felt and liked.
Sound wise, Its fuses RnB with a host of genres like pop, trap, dubstep, classical but ultimately it's a new school take on an old school vibe. To me, this one is definitely for the Queens. 'The Night Shift' itself refers to a time when you get intimate but also for me it was about when I was working on the project, I was always working on it at night, so when someone called and asked what I was doing, I'd always say 'I'm on the night shift'.
Collaboration wise, I was mainly working with the homies, R7 music, who's a crazy UK female producer, my boy SM (producer) and P12INCE pronounced Prince (producer) and between all of us we came out with 'The Night Shift'. Theres only one feature which is UK artist Jords. I chose to work with him because on the track 'Be The Man', I felt like I needed a 'UK LL Cool J', and I just knew Jords was the man for the job.
What other artists or producers are you checking for right now?
I'd say Tiana Major9 is deffo one, I love the jazz/soul vibes I get from her music. Also Kojey Radical, Lil Simz and Jay Prince to name a few, they are also super talented British Artists.
States side, I'd obviously love to work with Ty Dollar Sign, I just feel like he's mad versatile, I mean he's about way more than just trap and turn up tracks. Also there's Joyce Wrice, she's an amazing RnB singer that I was lucky enough to meet when out in LA and I think watching her perform live mad me love her even more, also there's Elhae, who I just think is an awesome RnB artist.
We're big fans of your new track 'P.W.I'; who produced it and how did the track come together? Also, what's it like hearing your music on the radio?
I had known of R7 for a while, but it was only when we actually made the effort to meet up one time and just chilled in the in the studio at which point she pulled up the 'P.W.I' beat, and I just started reeling off flows and free styling and I thought to myself yeah I can mess with this. After that I'll admit I had it sitting at home for a while, but one day I was sitting with the boys playing around and we started recording and it just came to me. Literally just caught a vibe and it was high flying from there.
Hearing my stuff on the radio still till this day, no matter how long I'm in music or how many times it plays will always be an amazing feeling for me. I'm always happy to hear people are loving and supporting the music. I get gassed every time. Having said that I just want to thank you for your support with the track, I'm so glad I've got supporters out in the States, and North Carolina to be specific.
What are your thoughts about the state of the RnB/Soul scene in the UK?
It's very subjective as to whether there is a scene or not, I believe there are a multitude of talented RnB/soul artists floating around. But I don't believe there is a platform, nor is there enough support to call it a scene in the UK. Saying that, I do believe the problem has been identified and people are now working together to build the foundations needed to create a RnB/Soul scene in the UK.