Emerging Indie Artist Jordan Dean on the Release of His Latest Single “Walk Me Home”
Photo by Conor Cunningham
Cleveland-raised, Nashville based indie artist Jordan Dean is the latest addition to your radar. Dean’s sound transforms the feeling of 70’s gritty rock into a riveting indie staple in modernity. Released on February 24th, his latest single “Walk Me Home” hones in on his lyrical abilities to soundtrack the mundane stories of our lives with resonating storytelling. With a guitar progression that is practically cathartic, the song ties together an ending with the simple remark that “it is what it was.” The song reconciles with our individual emotional experiences, highlighting the curiosity, confusion, and charm found in day to day life and our relationships with one another.
Last August, Jordan also released his latest EP Feeling Strange. The four piece project is another example of Jordan’s inherent talent. Jordan tells us that his music is “not like anything else coming out right now,” which can be felt through his latest projects. Capturing indie rock and pop sensibilities in a new light, Jordan anticipates exciting projects on the horizon. In a conversation with Unpublished Magazine, he discussed living in Nashville, his recent influences, and his latest single.
Photo by Conor Cunningham
[UNPUBLISHED]: Thank you for sitting down with Unpublished today! Can you introduce yourself and give us a little background on how you got into music?
[JORDAN]: I'm Jordan Dean. I'm originally from Cleveland, Ohio. I live in Nashville, Tennessee now. I have been making music for a while now. I'm having some stuff out that I'm really pumped on. I got my start playing around Cleveland and then moved down to Nashville a couple of years ago. And it's been growing. It's been fun.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Do you think living in Nashville has influenced you as an artist?
[JORDAN]: I think it has in a weird way. Not necessarily that I'm making music like my peers. But, I do feel that it's definitely disillusioned a lot of things about the music industry for me. So, I do think that it's influenced my take on lyrics, my take on music, on how to make it and where it comes from and where it goes. So yeah, I think it's been a very formative experience so far and hopefully, it'll continue to be so.
[UNPUBLISHED]: For someone who hasn’t listened to your music before, how would you describe your sound?
[JORDAN]: I would say it's like if somebody was a new artist, writing new style songs, writing contemporary songs for right now; but, went back in time and made a record in like the 70s or something. Kind of a classic feel, but also very fresh at the same time. I think I'm influenced by such a wide range of things and a lot of older recordings. There's a roughness to older recordings and a more genuine feeling in them that I really admire. I strive for it and I feel like we've lost a lot of that in pop music now in 2023. That's the main goal of what I do because music is such a personal experience. I think it's important that it stays imperfect to an extent.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You released an EP back in August of last year titled Feeling Strange. Now that it’s been out for about six months, how does it feel? Strange?
[JORDAN]: It definitely feels strange. It feels really good. I'm still so so proud of what we did on that. I think this next stuff perfectly ties in with all those songs but it also expands upon it and it becomes better. But Feeling Strange, that was the first time I felt like I had stuff out that I was like, "Wow, I'm actually really proud of this. I want people to listen to this."
[UNPUBLISHED]: What does your creative process look like when approaching music?
[JORDAN]: I approach writing in a lot of different ways. Some songs are just me sitting on the acoustic guitar. But, more recently and more often, I usually sit down with a garage band session open and my two channel interface. I just come up with ideas, program some drums, and then make an instrumental track and then write melodies and lyrics over that. Then once I have a rough idea of the song, I take it. Then me and my friend, Sam, who produced the Feeling Strange stuff and the new stuff, we just sit in the studio and build it out from there and make sure that it's the best it can be. That's the important part.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What can you tell us about your newest single, “Walk Me Home?” What should we know?
[JORDAN]: I think it's my strongest song lyrically and musically that I've put out thus far. So I'm really excited. The song itself is a coherent story throughout. Even with that, with the music, it builds to a point where it compliments what's happening lyrically really well. I think it's just an awesome journey. I encourage people, I hope they will stick around and listen to the whole thing. Other than that, I wrote this a while ago. The idea was about a year old and when I knew I was gonna get in and do another record, I really wanted to do this one because I really thought it was a cool idea. The influences on it are my usuals. I love The Strokes, I love a lot of the kitchen sink dramas. Just songs that are about mundane, about real life things. I feel like that's where life is, it isn't the crazy, overly dramatic stuff. But, the stuff you look back on in retrospect and you get a little bit of a sour feeling of that.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Do you have a favorite lyric or instrumental part of the song?
[JORDAN]: I'd say the last thirty or so seconds are pretty awesome to me. It's very drivey, it wraps up the story. I feel like the lyrics touch a heart string. At the end, I say "it is what it was." Going back to that mundane point about that part of life, it's like, "okay, all this stuff happened, but at the end of it, life hasn't really changed on some unmeasurable level." But, it has at the same time. That's kind of what the message of the song is overall. These things can happen but at the end of the day, you're kind of right back where you started, you just have this emotional experience that really no one's privy to other than you.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Did you take any new creative approaches with this song?
[JORDAN]: I definitely got a lot out of my voice. I practiced a lot to make sure that I sang this really effectively. Production wise, nothing crazy. But, I do think it's just a meshing of everything that I've always wanted to be as an artist. That's the most defining part about this. I feel like it connects all the old songs I've written, it'll connect all the new songs, I think it's just a very nice tie together to my catalog.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Do you feel that this single marks a venture into a new era of music for you?
[JORDAN]: I think so. I definitely am not abandoning what we did on Feeling Strange at all. I feel like it's still in the same vein lyrically and musically. So, I wouldn't necessarily say I'm ending that era and starting this one, but I think this is the beginning of the end of that era. I won't have to stop until this era is over and I think that's within sight with this song coming out. I'm definitely living in and I'm enjoying it and I like where I'm at right now.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Who have you been listening to lately? Who’s been inspiring you?
[JORDAN]: One of my friends turned me on to this Swedish band called Dina Ogon. It's just vibe music, it's all in Swedish. I've been listening to a lot of The Strokes. I never leave them out of my listening. I feel like there's still so much to learn from those recordings and those songs. I'm digging The Clash right now. So where I'm from in Cleveland, there's a town called Akron a little bit South of that and that's where the Black Keys are from and some other bigger artists. But, there's this compilation of this late 70s, weird new wave punk thing like Devo and The Waitresses. And there's this Punk 45 thing that's only on Spotify, it's not even on Apple Music. But, I've been listening to that a lot. I think it's really interesting. I think it's like a time capsule. It's cool.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What are some of your key takeaways or highlights from 2022?
[JORDAN]: I felt like I grew a lot in terms of people that are clued in, on the people that are supporting me. I got to do a little tour run for a few dates with BabyJake and that was fun. Played a lot of shows, grew a lot as a performer, grew a lot as a singer. I feel like it was a huge improvement year. Where I was when I started 2022 as a musician and where I ended 2022, I feel was probably the most growth that I've ever had in one year. So, I was really stoked about everything that turned out.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Do you have a favorite place that you performed at while on tour?
[JORDAN]: I really liked The Basement in Columbus, Ohio. That was close enough to home for some people to come and I have some friends that live in Columbus. It was packed, it's not a huge room. It holds a lot of people. But when you're standing on stage, it looks very intimate, which is really nice. We played really well and it was just fun. I felt like I was letting go of everything on stage. So it was Columbus, Ohio, The Basement. That was my favorite.
[UNPUBLISHED]: For those who want to experience your music live, can we expect more shows in the future?
[JORDAN]: Once we get some of these singles out, I do really want to hop on a tour and just play as much as I can. If I'm not recording, the only thing I want to be doing is performing. Nothing in the books yet. But, hopefully that is something I can do in the summer and in the fall.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Outside of music, what have you been up to?
[JORDAN]: I'm still working. I still got my day job. So, that takes up a lot of my time. Beyond that, I like going to some vintage stores and secondhand stores to get clothes. That's a fun pastime. I've been going out a lot, I guess. Trying to drum up some excitement for the single with some friends. I've been watching a lot of Seinfeld, actually. I'm a big Seinfeld fan.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What can we expect for the future?
[JORDAN]: I would really like to put a full length project out this year sometime and that's the number one priority. That and just touring a lot and playing and I would really like to just see the country, see wherever I go to play. The great thing about tour is you wake up and all you have to worry about that day is just playing a show. So, that's the lifestyle I'd like to live.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Is there anything else you would like readers to know about you?
[JORDAN]: The music's here, the music's good. You know, you might as well listen to it. I truly think that it's not like anything else coming out right now. So if that alone peaks your interest, I think it's a must listen.
