Earth To Jordi
Interview conducted on May 2, 2023
by Dan Locke
Jordiana is a gender expanding, multidimensional artist, facilitator, and guide, weaving healing energy into all of their practices. Their performance art work has been welcomed at the Getty Center and Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity expanding from her 20+ year background in Theatre and Entertainment Industries. Informed by her individual self healing practices, Jordi has been able to guide group care workshops centered around meditation, ritual, herbalogy, and decolonial organizing for the liberation of marginalized groups of people.
What is your upbringing?
My upbringing was very solitary. I was raised by a single mom with no other siblings and was the first grandchild so I had a lot of time to myself. This meant I had a lot of time to fill. I became deeply involved in entertaining myself and would do so with television/movies. A lot of times acting out and singing out different numbers that gave me permission to be theatrical.
How did you discover music?
I was enrolled in a conservatory program when I was 7. Prior to then I feel Disney movies introduced music to me. Musicals were a large part of how I understood music in the world and that only increased when every year at the conservatory program we would produce a musical at the end of each semester. So singing and dancing were both intertwined with my relationship with music
How did you start to write music?
I would always make up different songs since I was quite little. Because I didn’t play any instrument other than the clarinet if I didn’t record them they would just be lost to the ethers. I never wrote notes for any of them. After getting a smartphone I would record different voice memos with different sounds. The first song I ever made from one of my recorded ideas was Baby 1.0 on my Retrograde in the Basement EP. After that collaborating with other production engineers allowed me to create more songs that came through.
Describe your music.
My music is multi genre, multi dimensional, and sound bending. I have a natural affinity for operatic vocal styles which remind me of my theatrical roots. Coupled with a very sultry speaking voice I find myself weaving in incantations in this way as well. High falsetto tones mixed with low baritones, my music takes you on a journey. Truly depending on the producers I’m working with I’m able to explore a wide variety of sounds. I’ve been playing the harp a lot more and my latest self produced works have been more trance like and meditative.
What was your first performance like?
I was nervous. I was 7 and was given a solo to sing the “Little Drummer Boy” and kept my eyes closed the entire time
Royalties never appear like magic. Royalties are only sent to you through work undertaken by a PRO to ensure that their members are getting paid. If you’re not yet signed up to a Performing Right Organization like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, you may not be receiving all the royalties you deserve. Do you belong to any to songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP ?
Yes I do. And I also work with a company advocating for me to get radio plays and hopefully contracts where they use my music.
What makes a good songwriter?
There are so many -isms that are deeply connected with the business of song writing, song making that dictate what is successful and who is successful. Racism, Sexism, etc. It’s very hard to not be aware of this when the history of the business of song making is rooted in stealing, imbalanced payouts, with some of the most famous songs having some people connected to it not being able to eat. Mainly the marginalized vocalists that gave the song life to begin with. I truly don’t know what makes good song writing. My value of good is informed by capitalism and ones ability to pay rent and eat from the work they do musically. There are many who are rich from song making who I would argue are horrible songwriters. And others who I believe are genius who have no support at all. It’s a very complex question that I wish I had the social capital to even position myself to be heard and taken seriously in my answer of it.
What was the title of your first original song?
Did you record it? I think it would be Baby 1.0 which is now on Spotify.
What is the process of writing your music?
It looks different if I’m just making music by myself or collaborating. Usually it’s looked like me getting a sick track without vocals. Me, listening to it a couple times hearing the vocals in my head. I may record a little of me just vocalizing while listening. Then I go back and write lyrics to the sounds I recorded to put it in a bit more structure. Then I record a couple tracks with the written lyrics and another couple with me just improving over the track. And in a few days, weeks, or months might get a bomb song staring back at me
Tell me about Chiron?
Chiron is a mythological being in Greek mythology. The wisest of the centaurs, Chiron represents the wounded healer, and reflects these aspects in ourselves. Our oldest and deepest of wounds can very well be the source for our greatest medicines to not only heal ourselves, but others. Chiron embodies the duty we have to not turn away from our healing, but embrace it, no matter how scary or uncertain it may be.
How was it working on the video with Rachel Rambaldi as a director?
I love Rachel. We connected through a mutual friend years ago and created an art film together called Rebirth
We wouldn’t work on another film together until Chiron. Shooting this video was a very natural, spontaneous process that took us 8 hours or so to film. Walking through familiar streets, building the character, and diving into a visual ceremony of water and fire, isn’t a process just anyone can explore on camera. I can explore this way with Rachel, and the rest is magic.
Are you still doing voice sessions?
Yes I am. I actually have been getting more students virtually ever since the start of the Pandemic which I love. I start off with three lessons that invite those who work with me to deepen their relationship with their voice. It excites me that the people who choose to take sessions with me for a plethora of reasons all find new gems to continue on the path of what they want. This work traditionally attracts people who have been silenced, people transforming their relationship with communication completely, so to be a part of this process is such a great vantage point I’m thankful to have. You can learn more about my lessons on my website: earthtojordi.com
What are you feeling about streaming music?
It’s very unsettling. I’m thankful for how accessible it is. People can just listen to my music very quickly after I tell them about me, but the politics of playlists and the payouts being so low are absolutely ridiculous. It’s giving Eat the Rich!
The symbol # is known as the number sign, hash, pound sign and a sharp sign in music. The symbol has historically been used for a wide range of purposes Since 2007, widespread usage of the symbol to introduce metadata tags on social media platforms has led to such tags being known as “hashtags”, and from that, the symbol itself is sometimes called a hashtag. Are people forgetting that the # is a part of music?
Social media is growing. 2007 is worlds away in the realms of the internet. There is a whole generation of internet users who have no idea the use of the hashtags and rely solely on the algorithms to bring the content they want to them. Those who want more specific content may use search features that rely on hashtagged content to be organized in these ways, but for a lot of people they are consuming so quickly that the algorithm is the only way they experience content.
Digital vs. vinyl
Both. I love vinyl. It requires me to have stable housing to be able to participate with it as an art medium. I need to be where my record player is. I need space for my music. At the moment my vinyl is in storage and has been months. I miss it. I hear the songs playing in my head that i miss. Listening to them from my computer will not give me the same satisfaction and that is the magic of vinyl. Digital is more accessible. Digital I can take with me anywhere. I haven’t printed any of my music on vinyl. Vinyl has certain time boundaries that digital does not. I noticed that when thinking about what project I would even put on vinyl. A lot of my projects are too long for vinyl.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
Kelela’s song Onanon is playing in my head. The lyrics “it’s not a break-up, it’s just a breakdown, we’re spinning around” have been on repeat. I think it speaks to my spiraling life and also relationships with lovers coming to an end. Breaking down. It’s real.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means things like a playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
It definitely feels that way. Even thinking about time as money it checks out. The time it takes to not only create is a privilege. Then having to create more content on top of that to hopefully go viral or create visuals for your sonic project. So much time/money goes into that. Many people with so much time and resources end up breaking through because of the time they’re able to invest. Coupled with the funding they have to invest in paths of success.
The show Star Trek introduced people to the holodeck: an immersive, realistic 3D holographic projection of a complete environment that you could interact with. Today holograms are already being used in a variety of way, such as medical systems, education, art, security and defense Performers like Tupac, Michael Jackson, Roy Orbison, Frank Zappa, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, Buddy Holly, Ronnie James Dio, Marylin Monroe, and Whitney Houston have done it already. The band ABBA just announced that they will be doing a comeback together after nearly 40 years as holograms on their next tour. With ABBA it was with the help of George Lucas . If the cost was down to the point you could do it also, would you be willing to do Holographic concerts in our living room?
I have no desire to. I love live music so much. I love real humans. Seeing the potential of performance that only exists in that moment and cant be replicated is just what excites me. What draws me to sit and view the art in general. I have no desire to be programmed or invest my time and energy into a programmed performance. Especially when I have been blessed to witness amazing performers.
In the past if a musician stopped doing music they found a new career. For example David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants.. If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
My other passions would take precedent. Acting/performing, writing, medicine making/herbology, producing movies!
What is your happy place?
Out in nature. Naked in the sunlight. By myself around people I love. Yummy food. Comfy bed. Waking up with the sunlight. Dancing.
Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalog for $140 Million. In the past year a lot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million) , Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, John Legend, ZZ Top and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Neil Young song 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his 1,180 song catalogue to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited . Once you get to the age Earth to Jordi (@earthtojordi) • Instagram photos and videosabout 70. Publishing is far more lucrative then the mechanical royalties paid to artist based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial. The lump sums being offering by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning. On January 19, 2021 Hipgnosis Song Management acquired 80% of Kenny Chesney’s recorded music royalties, covering the country superstar’s discography from his 1994 debut In My Wildest Dreams through 2017’s Live in No Shoes Nation. Someone who was totally against selling his rights was David Crosby. He did not want to sell his publishing rights. In addition, it was not an easy thing for him to do. However, by making a deal with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, it took a big weight off his shoulders. He could pay off his house and cover other bills. Now he does not have to work for a living. It should be noted that David is battling tendinitis in his hands, which hurts his ability to play guitar. Do you think you would be willing to sale your back catalog if someone like Universal is will to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs?
Honestly, no. I assume that they would be interested in it because of the value. I would hope I would have enough capital to not need the finances they might promise me and just be able to keep my music/creation close to me
There are many platforms out there that allow artists to get their music heard. Artist Republik, DistroKid, Tunecore & plenty others offer distribution services. These services enable independent artists to put their music on some of the most popular streaming services globally, from Spotify to Apple Music & everything in between. If you’ve been in any part of the music industry in recent years, you probably know someone that has distributed a song. Spotify reports that in 2021 there are about 8 million artists on the platform. Of those 8 million artists, about 57,000 are raking in a whopping 90% of the total revenue from streams. That means that .71% of the artists on Spotify are making good money. In 2020, there was a total of around $5 billion paid out to artists on the Spotify platform alone. Therefore it’s reasonable to assume that, by the end of 2021, SPOT will be home to over 90 million tracks. And that in the early part of next year, it will surpass a catalog of 100 million for the first time. What do you think that could mean to independent artists?
Independent artists will continue to be buried under the folds of big company rosters that have support and funding to get works out. Furthering their reliance with social media to be able to rise above the fodder.
Over half a billion active users around the world share their favorite music on TikTok either with something like a dance challenge and lip-sync videos or creating a funny skit or candid camera moment. TikTok has become a great platform for music promotion, sharing songs, and finding new listeners. In which it has become a place for music artists to earn revenue when people use their music. In many cases the daily promotion on TikTok has led to huge boosts on other platforms like Spotify, Facebook and YouTube. TikTok does this algorithmically generating a feed of content for each user, which you see as the displaying of #. The more a user engages with content, the smarter TikTok gets at guessing what kind of videos the viewer wants to watch. Because a song can go viral because of this. Sony Music and Warner Music Group- , The ByteDance-owned video app revealed that it has struck an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group. Now that TikTok is now fully licensed by all three major record companies, will you start using TikTok more?
At the moment I am not engaging with any social media. I’m giving it a year. The extreme transphobia, femmephobia, and queerphobia I’ve experienced on all of the popular apps was very disconcerting as a content creator. The algorithms are notoriously racist, prioritizing men and white people. I don’t know what the future may hold. We’ll see
Breaking news: TikTok is launching TikTok Radio, a full-time SiriusXM music channel going live this summer.The station will be available in vehicles and as a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices.
Some of the on TikTok include Cassyette, YukoEXE, Ashinikko, Palaye Royale, Josh Dun (Twenty One Pilots), Yungblud, Morrissey, Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Gene Simmons, and Mick Jagger. The station will be part of a new TikTok collaboration with SiriusXM and its subsidiary,Pandora, to jointly promote emerging talent. Do you think this platform could became a force in the future of streaming music?
I think for sure the combination with one of the most popular social media platforms that has changed the game streaming wise in the music industry and music platforms coming together will have a great impact.
Anything you would like to say in closing.
Thank you so much for asking me to be a part of this publication. I enjoyed the questions you asked! Keep on the lookout for all of my projects coming out via earthtojordi.com
