After carving out a successful career as a producer for artists all over the UK, including Cattle & Cane, Young Rebel Set, Eve Conway and Jodie Nicholson, UK-based alt-country/blues artist Patrick Jordan progressed a solo career as a musician gaining attraction from BBC Introducing & extraordinary praise from numerous magazines & blogs alike.
Not long ago, this gifted artist has unveiled the brand new single “Got The Best Of Me”, the first single from the upcoming album ‘Silver Linings’.
Patrick has kindly taken the time to speak to Fierce & Fabulous Revolution regarding his latest single & upcoming album. You can check out what Patrick has to say below.
Hey Patrick, thank you for this interview. Can you start by telling the readers a little bit about yourself?
Patrick: Thanks for having me. I’ve been a musician and producer for many years now. I started out fronting a pop-punk band called Whalter, before moving into the Indie Rock genre with Young Rebel Set. After many years of touring with YRS, I left the band to concentrate on producing music for other artists and bands, such as Cattle and Cane (Middlesbrough, UK), Linen Ray (Nashville, US) and Ian Britt (Sheffield, UK) among countless other amazing people. During my time producing I started writing again and decided I wanted to put my own music out as a solo artist that would draw on the genres of alt-country, blues and indie-rock. My first three EPs very much leaned into the acoustic alt-country thing, my first album pushed the blues element and my second album made good on the indie-rock and big riffs thing.
When did you first discover your passion for music?
Patrick: I started playing the keyboard when I was 4 years old. From there I progressed to playing the organ. Organists need to be able to use both hands and both feet at once which meant I not only developed my musical ear but also developed the independent co-ordination needed for other instruments like drums. I started playing the guitar when I was about 13 or 14 and was in love with Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits and Graham Coxon from Blur. Both are very different guitarists but amazing in their own right. When I got to college there was a drum kit in the music room and sat at it and just picked it up straight away. Every instrument I’ve learned since has usually just been from seeing one sitting in a corner and being curious about how to play it. The beauty of being able to play lots of instruments means I’m then not bound by anyone instrument in particular when writing songs and you can hear that across all the music I’ve released.
Have you always known that you wanted to pursue a career within the music industry?
Patrick: Yes, I think this was apparent to me from being about 15. And I didn’t have that ‘I want to be on stage and play music’ thing that a lot of musicians have – I was pretty certain I wanted to work in a recording studio and be the person helping people make music instead (I’m quite socially anxious so the comfort of a studio has always appealed). In particular, one song always got me very curious about Music Production; Owner Of A Lonely Heart by Yes. It sounded otherworldly and inventive and schizophrenic all at the same time. I went to university and studied Music Production and then was fortunate enough to secure a job at the world famous Sarm West Studios in Basing Street, London. I didn’t know when I applied for the job that it was actually the studio that Trevor Horn (producer of Owner of a Lonely Heart) worked at. So for a number of years, Trevor Horn and Robert Orton were my bosses and I worked as their assistant engineer for a number of years – learning from both of these super talented engineers and producers was a great experience.
How would you describe your musical style to someone unfamiliar with your music?
Patrick: My songs are always drawing from three genres; alt-country, blues and indie-rock. You will hear elements from all three genres across everything I have produced. Instrumentally, the songs generally feature guitars, drums, bass, vocals and may then have acoustic guitar, piano, harmonica or banjo in them. The main thread is that these are songs that are meant to be played live by a band (which I am now fortunate enough to be able to do now live music has opened up again). Melody and lyrics are the most important element to me when listening to songs and that is also true when I am writing songs or producing songs for other people. The guitar riff can be absolutely amazing, but if the melody and the lyrics aren’t working then it’s a no go.
You recently released the brand new single “Got The Best Of Me”. How did the idea for this song come together?
Patrick: Some song ideas come from things you overhear, some song ideas come from melodic ideas and others from different instruments. This track is actually a combination of all of those things. I picked up an electric guitar one day and started playing an arpeggiated riff which I really liked (you can hear it from the beginning of the track) and I knew I wanted to make a song from this. At the same time, I had just bought a new guitar pedal (a Line 6 OttoFilter) and it made a great pulsing sound. I realised combining the arpeggiated riff on one side of the stereo image and the pulsing sound on the other, there was a really great rhythmic playoff between the two. This formed the back bone of the song. From there, it was a case of getting a really good melody to flow across this. My favourite thing about this song is that it has so many different sections to it (it isn’t your typical linear song structure of verse, chorus, verse, chorus). This gave me lots of opportunities to introduce new vocal melodies and ideas through the song.
Did you always plan to release this song as a single?
Patrick: As the album started to come together, it became clear that this was one of the standout tracks. I think about halfway through writing and recording the album, it was pretty obvious that this was going to be one of the singles. It is a little bit different to things I’ve put out before, but at the same time, very obviously me. It seemed a good way to announce what this third album was going to be about.
What does this song personally mean to you?
Patrick: In the same way that the song structure is non-linear, the lyrical structure is a story of discovery and self-reflection. The protagonist starts off blaming someone and being very critical of everything that has gone wrong in the relationship (I got the worst of you, but you got the best of me), but by the final section, they are questioning what they originally thought (Maybe I was wrong? Maybe I’m a clown? Or maybe I set my self right up so you could tear me down?). I had really good fun with this track and it was amazing to get my good friends Linen Ray to contribute those fantastic backing vocals in the final section. When the album is released, you will get to hear the full-length version of this song (which is an extra 2 mins long) which really gives more opportunity for the instruments to tell their story, too.
If listeners could take something away from this song, what would you like it to be?
Patrick: From a lyrical point of view, the point of this song is that there are always two sides to every argument or relationship. It is so easy to only see your own point of view and that can lead people down a path where ultimately the outcome is a split. If you can learn to empathise and see the other side of the story, then you can begin to understand what led you both to that point in the first place.
This song is the first release from your upcoming album ‘Silver Lingings’. What are some of the things we can expect from the album itself?
Patrick: I am so excited about this album. My second album, ‘Louder’, was big blues riffs and a much more rock-orientated style. Album one, ‘A Woman Like You’, was more laid back and drew heavily on alt-country and blues/soul. This album focuses much more on storytelling and certainly features my most personal songwriting. ‘Nothing Like I Used To Be’ is about growing older and dealing with everything that comes with that (including the sad loss of my former Young Rebel Set bandmate, Matt Chipchase). ‘Couldn’t Ask For More’ is simply a song written for my wife, Shelley, about the strength of our relationship. ‘Darling’ features one of my friends from Sarm West, Chris Demetriou, playing strings and adding real emotional heft to this album.
There are lots of great moments throughout, it is hard to pick just one. I just can’t wait for everyone to hear it.
Finally, is there a message that you would like to share with the readers of Fierce & Fabulous Revolution?
Patrick: The pandemic seems to have kicked everyone really hard. Hopefully as we start to come out of things, we can learn to be a bit more patient with each other and a little bit kinder. The role that the creative industry played in keeping people sane during lockdowns needs to be remembered – we need to support all artists to ensure they keep generating these great things that keep the soul alive.
You can check out “Got The Best Of Me” on Spotify below or purchase on other platforms here.
Patrick Jordan: Twitter / Instagram.
Fierce & Fabulous Revolution 