Jordan was enrolled in the Professional EMP Program. Learn more here.
1. Tell us about your latest EP and some of your inspirations behind the project?
The EP is called Robot Funk, which is also the title track for the EP. It is definitely my favorite track on the project. It took a good, solid 8 months to fine tune and polish everything to sound the way I wanted. Initially, there were only 3 or 4 tracks scheduled for the project, but the last 2 months before the scheduled release, I don’t know, I must have been having a good week because I just started banging ‘em out. Robot Funk was actually the second to last track that I produced. There actually wasn’t even a title for the EP and I was looking for a title track to really stand out and that one was it. I listen to a lot of Funk, and even the word Funk has always been one that sticks in my mind. So I thought to myself, what if I made some Robot Funk, and the track was basically born from there. I had a lot of fun making that track.
As far as influences, definitely Koven, who is a dub-step duo from the UK. It is a male and female duo where he produces and she sings on all of his tracks. I just love the way he produces in a “big room dub-step” kind of way. It isn’t produced in a way as where most dub-step is based off of the initial bass line. It is about the entirety of the track and the emotion behind it. It has been a huge inspiration for me to put that same emotion into my production. At the end of the day though, I portray my inspirations in different ways, which makes a clear difference between what I listen to vs. what I create. Most people are fine with a heavy bass line driving the track, and I definitely listen to heavy bass music, but for me, I have to have some sort of melodic element in my music. I just feel that people can connect more with tracks that have some sort of melodic sense, and it is important for me to keep them engaged.
2. Are you currently signed to any label?
I am signed to Gawa Recordings out of France, who have given me a ton of support in everything from social media to digital distribution artist profiles on Beatport to pushing me as an artist on their website. We actually linked up through Soundcloud, where they heard my track, “On Blast,” and hit me up to start working on an EP.
I had actually been trying to contact them for a while because of some of their release credits and fan base support, so when they hit me up I was pretty stoked. They basically heard “On Blast” and said, “Yo, if can you produce two more tracks like this for us we can release an EP?” So that is basically how my first EP, “On Blast,” was created.
3. How would you describe your workflow when you sit down to produce a track?
It is all about feel for me. I usually will start with a basic piano sound and feel out a chord progression rather than thinking about the theory behind it and what I should technically be doing. Don’t get me wrong, theory is a great way for me to get ideas out quickly, but when I go off of pure feelings, for me my creativity is at its highest level. I will usually work out an 8 bar loop, put a basic drum track behind it and build from there. That is how most of this EP was made, purely by feel. That is the thing I love about Electronic Music. When I’m not thinking about chords and what I should be playing, I feel like I can be much more creative.
4. So Jattik is the name you are producing under. Who is Jattik the producer?
As far as coming up with the name, I was always looking for something dope that would stand out. It finally hit me when I was working for a clothing company called Attic, as a sales rep. They sent me a huge box of promotional coupons and stickers, and at the time I was putting the letter “J” in front of all sorts of words trying to come up with a name for myself. So when I saw the sticker, I immediately came up with Jattik and knew right away when I said it, that was it.
As a producer, I am who I am because I love making music. I just want people to hear it and enjoy it, whether it’s on a dance floor or sitting at home. I think Jattik is simply a representation of my creative side. I have always had an expectation to be on a one directional path of going to school, playing hockey, getting a god job, basically doing what I’m “supposed” to do. Most people are ok with working a 9-5 job and that’s ok, but I have to follow my passion. I have to make music. Jattik is the exciting and creative side of me that allows me to show the world what I can do.
5. How do you feel Pyramind has helped you to become the artist you are today?
The instructors have definitely inspired me to constantly one-up myself every time. That has always been my goal is to make every track I make better than the last, and different in some kind of way. I have definitely been enjoying the journey, and Pyramind has helped me to understand that this is not a race to be producing as many tracks as possible as fast as I can.
You can’t do things nearly as well if your always worrying about racing to the top as fast as you can, rather than understanding that you should be trying to do things to your highest potential. After each class, I am consistently re-inspired. When I leave for the day, I am just ready to go and try to be better than I was when I came in. I take the things I learn every day and use them to keep me from having dry spells, so I am always engaged.
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