Geo Jordan on Music, Tour Life, and Creative Freedom

It was a Tuesday, raining as it always seems to be nowadays in Cardiff, and I’d just got off the phone with my Mum. I’d called her for some moral support as I was about to embark on my first-ever face-to-face interview. Anyway, enough about me. 

Geo Jordan is a well-known face if, like me, you love Jungle and have been fortunate enough to see them play live. Playing bass in the band, this last year or so has seen him embark on a tour with the well-known London duo. Between being on tour, he has found the time to create music that speaks to the soul and, as he says, “feels like a warm hug”. 

I got the chance to catch up with Geo over an oat hot chocolate in our nearly matching leather jackets, ahead of him playing that evening on the only tour stop Jungle had in Cardiff. I’d been listening to his newest release, ‘Open Your Mind’, for the last couple of days, bopping my way through my daily life, and I was so excited to sit down and chat with him. 

We talked about everything from how to find inspiration from busy city noises to how to keep your well-being in check while being on the road, as well as being let into a couple of secrets (that, unfortunately, I can’t tell you about yet … but I promise you’ll find out soon. Think: side project with a heavier nature! Wink, wink). 

Here is how the conversation went!

Meg: So, first of all, I wanted to ask you how you are. You’ve had a really busy year so far!

Geo: Yeah, I’m good! I’m happy to be in Cardiff; I haven’t been in Cardiff for a while. I don’t think we managed to do it in the last round, and I haven’t done any shows here personally. It’s good to be back! My first ever time coming here [Cardiff], I was at Uni still, so I was quite young, and I was playing with this really random drum and bass band. My memories are kind of solidified … I think we played in the Masonic Hall. A steampunk party or something was happening upstairs .. it was nuts! Then, there was a Freemason thing happening in the basement, and that was my first experience of Cardiff. Whenever I come here, I always think of that weird gig I did with this random band. 

Meg: What are some of the things you do on the road to manage your well-being?

Geo: For me, it’s trying to establish or find a tiny routine because so much of it is frantic, but there are parts where it’s quite consistent. If you’re travelling on a tour bus or whatever, then you kind of have your regular bedtime, roughly, on a headline tour where you’re paying around the same time every day. You kind of get into a bit of a flow of your thing. When you get up in the morning, you do your morning routine, whether that’s working out or having a cup of tea or coffee and then settle yourself into the day. But, then, when you’re doing festivals and other bits, it can be quite frantic because flights are at whatever time, different slots that you’re playing at each festival, different locations and time zones. It can be a bit harder to keep yourself right. [It’s about] just trying to prioritise sleep and minimise things that don’t work very well for my well-being, even if they are enjoyable. 

Sleep is kind of hard on the road for me. I don’t sleep very well on the tour bus or in places, but I just try to get as much sleep as I can when I can, drink lots of water and eat decent food. It’s just about being around people or involved in projects, or having people on your team, as an artist, that are conducive or have the same kind of mindset towards wellbeing. For all of the artists that I play for or all of the people that are involved in my team, it’s about people being on the same kind of wavelength and who you can be open and feel supported by and that they can feel the same from you, so you can just keep an eye out for each other. 

Meg: I can imagine off days must be so weird for you, especially if you’ve been travelling for so long and then you’re almost like “Oh my god, what do I do with myself?” Do you tend to sleep during those days or is it more “I’ve got to get out and make the most of what’s happening”?

Geo: It’s a little bit tough because it depends on how long you have in a place, because sometimes if you’re there for a couple of days, you can kind of afford to have a day off to yourself just to recuperate, or get out into nature and explore the city that you’re in. On other days, because I do so much work outside of touring, I have to sit at my laptop all day in the bunk, on the bus or in a hotel room. That can be a little taxing, only because you don’t really get the days off that you need. Sometimes, we had a little run recently where it was a bunch of cancelled or delayed flights, so that kind of ate up all of our free time. For me, I kind of run off of kinetic energy, so I need to be doing things, whether that’s exploring a new place or making something, to keep myself going. 

Meg: I’m the same. I always have to have, or at least know, that I’ve got things going on because then I’m like, “Okay, at least I know I’ve got something to look forward to” Otherwise, I get so bored How do you navigate your personal projects while on tour? Is that something you do, or is it more you do the tour, come back and then sit down and think about what you want to make or what you want to do next? 

Geo: I kind of do both simultaneously. I always travel with something that I can make projects out of. Usually, it’s just a laptop or a couple of other little gadgets, and on the days when I feel inspired or have the time or am in the headspace to do it, I’ll sit and create something. I’ve been putting together quite a big project recently myself, and when I get back home, I can collate it into something a bit more solidified and tangible. I think it’s really important not to lose your identity when you’re working so much for another band or another artist; it’s so fun, and you’re a part of that. It’s also important not to lose your sense of self because you are also an artist, and you have that creative side because you can become the gig in a way. So it’s about trying to make sure that everything remains balanced. 

Meg: What did your first initial encounter with music look like and can you describe that first moment?

Geo: As far back as I can remember, there was always music in my life. I officially started piano lessons at four, and I started learning classical piano. I had the most amazing teacher, who lived right around the corner from my grandmother’s house. I just really enjoyed it, and it was something that I naturally fell in love with, and when it got to the sort of later years, like picking a secondary school, I was like, I need to go and do music somehow. My first primary school teacher was a jazz trumpet player, and I came from quite a musical family as well, so it was always around. It was kind of just a natural progression, and then as I got older, it was like, “Yeah, this is it. This is what I want to do”. 

Meg: How did you start creating your music or collaborating with people? 

Geo: Beyond the initial encounter with the piano, when I got to 8 or 9, I started to produce music at my Dad’s house. I’d see people using technology with computers or keyboards and plugging it into computers and think: what’s that? Finding out that these are music production tools and getting into it kind of satisfied my nerdy side. I already played an instrument so I could get my ideas down onto something, and then it just snowballed from there. At the time, my secondary school was called Pimlico School; it’s now called Pimlico Academy, and that’s where I studied music quite intensely. It was this huge glass brutalist building, quite liberal-minded and music-driven. They had this amazing course that was like an accelerated learning course for music that you could audition for. I auditioned and then got a place on it. 

In terms of collaborating, it came from there. I was in all of these bands and ensembles; it taught me the importance of playing with your friends and how fun it is. Then, I ended up joining a band with some school friends, and we went on to have some success. I then left that and continued the ethos and just continued to try and make music. Although, I did go through a bit of a phase after I left that band where I needed to go into myself and discover my own artistry. 

My own project hasn’t been that collaborative. On the stuff that I’m working on now, I’m starting to introduce people back into the process again. It’s just fun! Just because I have all of the skills doesn’t mean I should do it all. I’m in a bit of a stage in my life where I’m learning to delegate and include other people in my personal projects. 

Meg: Did you find that quite hard? I can imagine because it’s so personal and it’s almost like: “This is my thing and I don’t want anyone to touch it.” You know?

Geo: It was that, and it was important for me to have time to do that. A part of it was a reaction to being in a band for so long and having to delegate, and then that not quite going the way we’d anticipated as well. Coming off the back of that, getting over that grief and moving into myself, I realised I had all of these skills as a multi-instrumentalist and a producer, so I didn’t have to call on anyone to do anything. The point is that the process still wasn’t that fun. It was a good expression, but it’s actually just fun to sit in a room, even with one other person, and for them to hold space, it’s nice to have that energy go with you. I guess it was just appreciating that more, and then that led to more collaboration. In terms of me working on other people’s records, a lot of that has come from all of the live work I’ve done because, more often than not, the people that I play live or work live with, we’ve had such a bond or a synergy that it’s just sort of naturally, then go into the studio or that sort of context. So that’s really nice. 

Meg: I’d love to talk about your newest release and how that came to be.

Geo: I was on the tour bus, I think we were somewhere in Europe. It was a rainy day, and usually, with the Jungle set, we play kind of late, normally after six at least. I was going through my computer, and I felt inspired to make something, so I opened my laptop, pulled in some samples and instruments and then started jamming. I came up with this idea pretty quickly. We got back to the UK, and it was a couple of days later that I went into the studio to add all of the synths and everything else that was put onto the track. Usually, there’s quite a long process to get it mixed and mastered, but I thought, ‘sod it’, I’ll just do it myself. It’s just such a vibe! 

Meg: No, really. It’s so infectious! I loved it; I was bopping to it on the train over here! 

Geo: Thank you. It was just one of those really vibey tunes that kind of wrote itself, and it felt like I didn’t need to do much to make it appear and happen. I then emailed my distributor and said I wanted to put this out immediately. They were so supportive! It was very impromptu, not very planned at all and just very much a vibey summery tune.

Meg: That’s how the song feels! I guess that makes sense for the way it came into the world.

Geo: It was nice because it’s such a contrast from where I’m at with the rest of my project, which is very meticulous. It’s a bigger body of work, you know? It’s nice to throw a few feel-good ones out there. I’m trying to do the same with a couple of other ones right now … keep up that same mentality of just committing to decisions and putting it out for vibes. 

Meg: And not necessarily anything deeper, right?

Geo: Yeah, just a good feeling. That’s kind of how its been this year, really, with the releases I’ve done. 

Meg: I was going to ask about your EP. So was it the same kind of process? Or do you think it was a bit more deeper in feeling? How was that, in terms of getting the EP out into the world?

Geo: So initially, that EP was going to be out under a different alias because I felt, at the time I made it, I felt that it was kind of a bit too separate from the stuff I’d already released under my sort of Geo Jordan name.  But then, after a bit of reflection, I thought, why don’t I just put it out under my regular name? I’ve always been a multi-faceted artist; I shouldn’t necessarily have to divide myself into different worlds. We live in a very genreless age right now. The idea behind that was to literally put out a record that sounded like what I actually predominantly listen to. I listen to so much instrumental music, and I wanted to do something that was a little more visual. In terms of when you’re limited to a singer/songwriter pop song format, I find it a little bit limiting because all of your songs are three minutes or less these days. I just wanted something that was a bit more sonically explorative. I have that side to me, and I feel like now I want to be able to do that and make anything I want under my alias. For the record, I’m working on it at the moment; it really does explore the ends of the spectrum. There are tracks on there that are like hooks and fun, and then there’s other stuff which is a bit weird and instrumental and strange. I’m just trying to show the spectrum of creativity. 

Meg: It must feel so freeing to not feel like you are being boxed in — or even not feeling as though you’re boxing yourself in. We’ve touched on genres, but is there any genre that you haven’t done yet that you would like to explore more? 

Geo: For myself, as an artist, I’d love to make a soul or a hip-hop record, Proper old school dusty drums vibe. A big chunk of my inspiration is rock music. There is a side project brewing that is of a heavier nature. You’ve got the tea on that, but I don’t know if the world should have the tea on that just yet. 

Meg:  In terms of your creative process with your own music, how does that usually go? I know we’ve touched on your new release, but it is that you’ll hear something, and you’ll think that sounds amazing, or does it start with lyrics? I’d love to know! 

Geo: Usually, my process starts with something I produce. My phone is filled with voice notes, just random sounds. I might be humming into my phone while walking down the street or something like that. The start of songs will often be in there. Sometimes, I just write … I’ve got a notepad of lyrics or one-liners that I’ll use as inspiration for a song. But usually, I’ll reach for that once there’s a bed of music. I’ll start something with whatever facility I have at the time if I have an idea or any inspiration, and I’ll probably make a majority of the production, bearing in mind I have a vocal to put on it or something, and then I start the writing process once a fair amount of the production is done. Then I sort of marry the two worlds of it, and normally, that’s it. More recently, like I was saying about collaboration earlier, I’ve had a few friends drop into some of these sessions, and some of them have literally just come to the studio, held space, or just listened to some stuff and have been vibing. My friend Pat, who is a wicked producer, helped me out on a couple of bits that I’m writing at the moment. I’d make most of the production and get to a point where I feel like it needs something else, but I’m not sure, then I’d take it to Pat, and he would just sit with me, and we’d go through the whole track together and get it really vibey, then I’d take it away, vocal it and do the final touches. The process, I guess, varies a little bit, but I try to make it all as original as possible in terms of the sounds, the sonics and the things I’m putting into the music. Honestly, my iPhone is just the main mic …. I record shakers and spoons and silly stuff into my phone, then airdrop it to my computer, process it and make things out of that.

Meg: I think you can pull inspiration from anywhere if you tube in enough, you know? We’re changing gears for a second, if your music could transport listeners to a place, where would you want it to take them?

Geo: Oh gosh, space. It’s hard to know because each project you make is kind of different. You might make a project that is for people to feel that kind of spacey, otherworldly feeling. Then, other projects you make, you want it to feel really intimate and like you’re at home and safe, you know? It really just depends on the song and the project. Also, the artist … if I’m working for someone else, it’s more the artist’s intention of what they’re trying to create, you know? I think you can find that often, that stuff is defined by the types of sounds and sonics you have in the song. But I feel like you can do that now with anything. People tend to associate electronic music with nighttime and dancing … that’s the general assumption, but actually having electronic records that feel like a warm hug or a cup of hot chocolate in front of a fire, you know? It’s just about figuring out how you can push the envelope to make records sound like that as well in a completely different context. 

Meg: I guess we should end this because I feel like they are closing up the cafe! What do you hope for the rest of 2024? I know we have touched on your secret side project that we won’t talk about! But is there anything that you hope is going to happen? 

Geo: Not to write the year off at all, by any means, but so much has already happened this year. It’s obviously been amazing to be a part of the Jungle project. The boys and Lydia [Kitto] are absolutely incredible, and it’s been a real whirlwind seeing the world with my friends, which I’ve loved and am so grateful for. Within the gaps, there are records for other people; there are records for myself that I’ve been chipping away at. I’m actually really looking forward to being able to bed into that world a bit more before the end of the year. Also, just rest! So I can be refreshed for next year. Not to say that my year is done, but my real sights are towards 2025, where it’s really about releasing all this stuff that I’ve been working away at behind the scenes. Just taking a lot of gratitude that I can from experience [touring with Jungle] and also to have consistent work as a creative, you know, a queer creative even in this world is something I’m incredibly grateful for. 

There’s that, and then there’s being recognised as an artist in my own right. There was Jack Garrett, you know, we had two amazing shows this year for his live album, and he’s been a long-time friend. Being a part of that this year was just wicked. I’m tied to all of these amazing artists, so regardless of whether my own stuff pops off or whatever I get to do, I think 2025 will be a huge year. I need to make sure that physically and mentally, I’m in shape, music’s in shape and ready to go for all of the projects that I’m involved with. Just assimilating this year because it has been intense. I had some very big life experiences in the middle of it. 

Meg: I think it’s also allowing yourself to sit with all of these amazing things that you’ve accomplished, you know? And thinking: “I did that!” and “That was really cool that I did that!” 

Geo: It’s easy to forget because you’re just constantly thinking about the next thing. It’s about taking that time to reflect on and be grateful for the things that you have achieved, and I’ll be doing all of that and probably cooking lots of pasta! 

Read more Music articles from KLATMAG

Written by Meg Ivy Brunning