Jordan Rakei Is A 21st Century Schizoid Man: 13th Floor Interview
Jordan Rakei is in New Zealand to perform at the Electric Avenue Festival in Christchurch tonight with his 7-piece band.
The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda caught up with Jordan a day earlier at Roundhead Studio in Auckland where Jordan was about to perform an intimate solo show for invited guests and lucky radio winners. Listen in to the chat recorded in the Roundhead Green Room just before the show.
Or, read a transcription of the interview here:
Marty: Welcome to New Zealand, A little homecoming for you. Is it?
Jordan: Yeah, I feel like that. Yeah, it does. I was born here. Every time I come back, just I feel connected to the country.
Marty: You’ve only just been here for a day or two.
Jordan: Yeah, just a day.
Marty: Is there anything that strikes you as different or the same, or what hits you first when you arrive?
Jordan: I think it’s the Kiwi chilledness, the hospitality is like, what I always feel like is always the same. But no, I haven’t actually been to Auckland many times. So it’s, it’s a new it’s always something new in Auckland, just walking around, right? Yeah, cruising the city.
Marty: And how is it back in London, has it changed a lot?
Jordan: Yeah, it changed actually, so much that I actually moved slightly out of London to get away from the chaos. Oh, but it’s, it’s such a good music scene. I feel like I’m just going to be there for the foreseeable future,
Marty: So how far outside of London are you?
Jordan: Just about half an hour by fast train. So that’s fast in London terms. But where I grew up, in Brisbane, that’s like an age away.
Marty: So, all right, so, so now you’re here. You’re doing this show, Electric Avenue thing in Christchurch. What are we going to get from you at that thing?
Jordan: Yeah, first time playing with my band down in South Island. Can’t wait just a big show, first festival in New Zealand as well. And it’s just going to be bringing all my band from the UK, and it’s like seven of us up on stage, and it’s going to be chaos for an hour, and then hopefully people like us.
Marty: Seven people, that’s a big production, seven people coming from the UK.
Jordan: Yeah, it is, because then we move on to Australia and do another tour. I always feel like, now that I’ve got so many band members wherever I go, I want to show people the full show because I can scale the show…for example, tonight I’m doing a showcase just by myself. Other nights I do trio, like jazz style, but I want people to see at least with my latest album, it’s very, like, big sounding, so I want people to hear all the layers, because we don’t play with tracks in our live show. So that’s different, because it means I have to bring more musicians, though, but, um, it’s a good thing. Cost me more money!
Marty: As a person who goes to a lot of shows, I mean, it used to be kind of a thing. People playing with backing tracks…but now it’s accepted, yeah, so it’s nice to get away from that.
Jordan: Yeah, I remember I saw Stevie Wonder when I was 12, and he had like three percussionist, two guitarists, five singers. And I was like, that’s what I want, just like 20 people on stage since the showcase of music.
Marty: And from what I understand, mentioning Stevie Wonder, he’s kind of an influence, along with 70s guys like Curtis Mayfield. How did you get exposed to that?
Jordan: My parents, specifically, my mom’s taste, would have Stevie in the house all the time. Marvin Gaye, Prince, Curtis Mayfield, just like basically American soul music from the 60s, 70s. And then as I progressed in my taste, it was sort of always the foundation, like even reggae that I got into was like soulful reggae, or like hip hop was like the more soulful stuff. So it’s now like, I wouldn’t say I sound like Stevie, but you can hear his choices. My choices are like, led by his his influence.
Marty: Interesting, because it’s quite a step for somebody here in New Zealand or in Australia and Brisbane to Detroit and Memphis.
Jordan: Yeah, it is. That’s how that’s how good he was. He just made it to the corners of the world.
Marty: Any of you ever met any of those folks in your travels? Some of them are still around.
Jordan: I played a festival with Stevie Wonder, like, six years ago and there was a massive shared backstage, and I just, I was the most. I was geeking out so much because he was my favorite artist, and all the artists wanted to picture, but I was too shy, so I hid in the distance.
Marty: And it’s quite a lineup tomorrow in Christchurch, Troy Kingi is there and Tash Sultana and L.A.B and folks like that. So do you know many of the other folks on the bill?
Jordan: No, I know Tash Saltana. I actually don’t know Troy Kingi personally, but I’m a massive fan. He’s so good. His voice is amazing. And he was sort of, he was, like, an influence for me earlier on as well, like a lot of Kiwi singers, like also Che Fu and him and Six60 when I was younger, and like, it’s just crazy, like being on a similar bill with those guys now, it’s like, I’m in like, I’ve been saying this to my friends, but I’m from New Zealand, but because I moved to Australia when I was young, and now live in London, it’s like, I feel so connected to New Zealand, but even, like, telling that story that I’m a Kiwi, like, is, it’s, it’s sort of new to me, because I’m, like, reminding myself, yeah, I’m a Kiwi, you know, I lived here, so, yeah, being on like, a big Kiwi festival like this, as a local artist, in a way, yeah, it’s pretty cool.
Marty: So now there’s a expanded version of the album coming out as well.
Jordan: Yeah, I’ve got a deluxe coming out. Um, it’s got some new tracks on it, like three new tracks that I took to the studio originally for the original album, but they needed a few more time, extra work, and also some live recordings from my show at Royal Albert Hall in London, which had even more than seven people. There was an orchestra and horns. It was like a massive Stevie Wonder inspired ensemble and yeah, lots of a couple of those songs on the album as well, just giving the album some more life.
Marty: And are you thinking about the next album?
Jordan: Yeah, I always am. Even when I was writing the last album, a new sort of style was like a new song came about, and I was like, well, that doesn’t fit with this body of work, but I like this direction, and I always think something, yeah, it’s weird. I’m able to compartmentalize and, like, think about projects more sound worlds, rather than, like, the first 15 songs I write will be my next album. It’s more like, this is a dance music song, this is a ballad, this is a jazz trio thing like, and then I see later what fits on one project. So, yeah, I’ve already been selling my stuff stashed away. There’s so many demos that I’ll never see the light of day.
Marty: But it must make you feel good that you have stuff to draw.
Jordan: Yeah exactly. They’re always like launch pads for new ideas, even if I just take the chorus from that bit, and…
Marty: Do you pay much attention…like, did you watch the Grammys? Do you follow current trends and pop trends?
Jordan: No, I don’t. I’m so out of the loop with what’s cool and trending right now. I’m always just trusting my gut. Like, I’ve been listening to Prog, for example, in the last 10 years, sorry, like two months lots of like, Prog rock, like King Crimson.
Marty: So King Crimson, I think, has suddenly gotten very cool with a lot of people.
Jordan: I know because I saw a doc…I saw a documentary where they’re like, the original, yeah, before Pink Floyd, and even, like, before Radiohead, and Talk Talk they were like this left field progressive band that did electronic, you know, as you know, like punk, and I love the fearlessness of, like, every release is different. I’ve been listening to them for a very different music, but just more like inspiration for out of the box thinking,
Marty: Yeah, you’re right because they started in like 69. I have that first album was a…
Jordan: big yeah, crazy face, yeah, with Epitaph.
Marty: Every album is the different than the other… you can’t…you wouldn’t know what you were getting.
Jordan: That whole movement of prog…I mean, they sort of created it…but that whole movement’s amazing. Like, Yes as well, even, like, early Genesis stuff, I really like, I love the two, Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel like the two styles of singing. It’s just like, yeah, it’s different again, because I grew up on disco, Motown stuff, so I’m trying to just get new colors in my ear.
Marty: With stuff like that, like King Crimson, how do you How did your brain make that work into what you do?
Jordan: t’s like, I firstly, I think they blend genres a lot, and I’m a multi genre sort of guy, like, so I was like, Okay, I listened to this album of theirs. It’s electronic. I forgot the name of it, sorry, Discipline. I think it’s called. And it’s got like electronic beats with like pads and then a guitar, but the guitars are affected with, like, 80s-esque, chorus, or whatever. I’m like, Oh, cool. I love that guitar sound. But I’ll do it with, I want to try and do a sound like that with acoustic drums and like, it sort of kick starts me because, because soul music is, like, actually, generally speaking, quite similar sounding. It’s like, beautiful. It’s got, it’s warm, it’s got, like, Rhodes or piano, like bass and, you know, it’s like natural sounding, but like, Prog Rock has got weird, crazy synths, and then sometimes it’s heavy guitars.
Marty: Back in the day, they were eons apart from each other. Nobody put soul and Prog in the same basket at all. It sounds exciting. Is that kind of what keeps you going?
Jordan: What I really love, and what I’ve learned about prog rock and even, um, Hendrix’s stuff as well, is they’re quite similar patterns. It’s just all the harmony stuff. So like, guitars, bass, keyboards, those sound different, but like, the grooves are quite similar. So like, it’s made me realize there are similarities with like groove. There’s like, a chugging song, but the singing is way different. And they might chant instead of, like, sweet, singing sweetly, like Stevie. So I’m pushing myself because, otherwise I’ll just be another I’ll make another album that sounds like another nice, soft soul record. So yep, I want to, like, push myself, to show a new side of myself that I don’t even know yet, but I’m hoping it will inform… It is, yeah, every album I want to do something new, yeah. Like the last album…two albums ago…it was very like, in the box and lots of like, flip flop stuff with, like, modular synths. And then I wanted to make a really acoustic album. And now I want to make a really heavy out, have something like with a bit of grit. It just helps me do something new and gets me out of my comfort zone. I think that’s where I make my best creative decisions when I’m like a bit…’Oh, is this good idea?’ and that sort of vibe.
Marty: Alright, so folks can watch out for little snippets of 21st Century Schizoid Man in your sets?
Jordan: 21st century!! (laughs) Its crazy
Marty: All right, it sounds like fun. Sounds like you’re having a good time.
Jordan: Yeah, I’m in a good place.
Marty: And of course, you probably won’t see much of the country, because you’re gonna be in and out, right?
Jordan: No. Yeah, we go to Christchurch tomorrow, and then we leave straight away to Melbourne. So I wish I had more time, but I’ll come back next time for a holiday, not just Yeah,
Marty: That’s what you got to do, all righty, well, thank you very much. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Good luck with everything. Thank you. Bye.
