The Records That Made Me: I. JORDAN

With The Records That Made Me, VF uncovers the vinyl releases that have influenced and shaped our favourite musicians, DJs and artists.

One of the most exciting names in dance music at the moment, I. JORDAN’s productions and DJ sets have been gripping fans across the UK and further afield. Firmly placed in the world of high-energy bangers, Jordan pulls from different strains of club, trance, house and hardstyle to curate vigorous sets for the ravers.

Their latest release, I AM JORDAN, the long-awaited debut album from the Doncaster-born, London-based artist, is one of the year’s dance highlights–a nostalgic cross-genre blend of anthemic, euphoric club music engineered to get hearts racing and feet moving. It’s an exhilarating release from an artist who found their feet DJing vinyl sets across the country.

Like many others, Jordan’s first encounters with vinyl were courtesy of a parent’s collection. “My mum had a record player so a lot of my early memories are going up into our cupboard and being like, “What is this?”,” Jordan describes. “The records that remember the most are Eurythmics and Prince. Lots of ’80s and ’90s electronic but still rock”.

Years later, Jordan began a journey as a vinyl DJ during their college years. Under financial restraints, they found workarounds to feed this new pursuit. “There was a more narrow world of music that I would pull from. I kept up to date with the labels that I followed and bought them via promos on the white label. They were cheaper and I was a student and didn’t have much money”.

Now on their “fifth or sixth” vinyl release, Jordan is delighted to have a debut album on vinyl. “This one just felt more special. We put a lot of money into it and it looks great,” they say. “The artwork is very personal to me so seeing it in the flesh for the first time was like Christmas day”.

Read on to find out the records that made I. JORDAN.

Prince

Prince

(Warner Bros. Records)

This is part of my early formative experiences. Prince was one of the first early vinyl memories that I have. This record was what got me into Prince via my mum. He just looks amazing on the cover. It’s so important to me because it was one of my first vinyl moments.

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London Elektricity

Billion Dollar Gravy

(Breakbeat Science Recordings)

Billion Dollar Gravy was the first LP I bought intending to become a DJ. It features my favourite London Elektricity track, “The Great Drum and Bass Swindle” and holds so many memories of when I was 20 years old in 2010. I learned how to mix and listen to this record.

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DJ Rashad

Double Cup

(Teklife)

For many obvious reasons, DJ Rashad has had a huge impact on me as an artist. I bought the record when it came out and went to see Rashad play maybe four months before he passed. I was really into footwork, juke, and all the Chicago-inspired sounds anyway–I loved Teklife.

Those sounds massively inspired me as an artist and a lot of the music that I play today. When I played in Chicago for the first time, I was landing in Chicago and could see the scene from the artwork and it was just amazing recreating it

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Leon Vynhall

“Butterflies”

(Royal Oak)

This one’s just a single but it’s great. “Butterflies” is one of my all-time favourite tunes, and I listened to it on repeat.

I was obsessed with Leon Vynhall when I was first moving down to London, and I was coming up and down from Hull on trains to job interviews. That song reminds me of being on a train and the melody and the song kind of sound like a train as well.

I bought this on vinyl because it was such an important time in my life moving to London– an experience that really changed me and that was what I needed to do. London has always felt like home, so I always connected with that sound.

One of the tracks on my album, “Butterlick” with Sister Zo–we finished that track in Vynhall’s studio. I messaged him like, “It’s actually crazy to think that I’m sat in your studio and, you know, 10/11 years ago, you were really inspiring to me as an artist.” It’s a full-circle moment.

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Bonobo

The North Borders

(Ninja Tune)

They really went in on that album. It’s a box and in the box, there are three or four different posters that match the artwork of the different vinyl records. It’s a beautiful box that opens very nicely. “Sapphire”, from that record, basically changed my life. I actually have the artwork from the record tattooed on me.

When I first signed to Ninja Tune, I was like, “holy shit” because Bonobo has been a huge influence on me since I was about 16. I have all of his records, including a limited special edition “Cirrus” vinyl, where he created this incredible merry-go-round thing where you put a cardboard shape on it and it creates a horse when it plays–it’s Zoetrope. All of his records just have so much effort put into them.

I. JORDAN’s I AM JORDAN is out now.

Read more of The Records That Made Me series here.