India Jordan - Watch Out!

May 7, 2021 - Ninja Tune

India Jordan slams past Go, collects the 200 money units, rounds free parking and kicks their bicycle into high gear. The Doncaster-born, London-based artist is carrying a cure for Summer Seasonal Depression, and the timing is perfect. Watch Out! is an ode to motion, in all its forms and fashions: physical, emotional, societal, conceptual, personal. It also serves as a reminder of the power that lies in doing. The power that lies in trying. The power that lies in believing.

The project kicks off with ‘Only Said Enough,’ a pump-up anthem that hits like the first incline on a 6AM hang-over bike commute. The high energy percussion and belting vocals are interrupted by a foreboding chord progression towards the tail end that takes the morning commute down a wrong turn, straight up a craggy mountain path to a cartoon castle complete with cracks of lightning and cawing crows. The title track is waiting on the other side of the castle, with echo-y dog barks and rave alarms blaring. ‘Watch Out!’ is able to coast on the effort built up by the opener, gliding past with hope-filled chords, bright percussion, and heavenly synthetic wind chimes. There’s a pleasant looseness present here, a recurring theme throughout the project, that pits seemingly disparate concepts against each other and watches as they become close, best friends amongst the flow.

True sentiment and mouthful-ly titled ‘You Can’t Expect The Cars To Stop If You Haven’t Pressed The Button’ throws most everything—save some artfully sampled traffic-crossing samples—out the window in favor of a more aggressive, barebones approach. Insect-like clicks and scrapes claw their way into a frantic rhythm alongside the aforementioned crosswalk laser sweeps. It’s peak energy, whether on the bike saddle or the dance floor. 

Another true sentiment awaits in ‘Feierabend,’ the German word for the joyous end of the working day. Jordan expresses this concept beautifully in musical form, pushing the bounds of the energy from “still working” to “finished working” without adjusting the BPM. Sunny melodic samples paint a fleeting but wonderful image of completeness, the moment when you can look back at your day and say with confidence, “no more jobs.” This feeling is more complex than a “work = bad, not work = good” switch. Jordan, who works a day job as an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Consultant at King’s College, London, finds great value in their work, seeing their musical practice interlinked with the workweek. That in and of itself is an aspiration for most working artists (definitely this one). I also find that Jordan’s experience highlights a common misconception both within and outside the art world, one that perpetuates the highest goal as being able to only focus on the art process itself, not that there can be a healthy and productive relationship between other forms of work and the artistic practice. 

As a proverbial follow-up to the personification of a Friday at 5pm, ‘And Groove’ lays down a softer, more laidback evening roller. Focusing around a sensual vocal sample, the main draw is an infectious and deliciously bouncy bassline. Jordan threads the bass around night sky chords and twinkling sample cuts, opening the roof above the party to take in the crisp night air. 

As a fellow cyclist, Jordan has created an amazing soundtrack for morning commutes, evening workouts, night bar hops, and everything in between. The high-intensity grooves and hopeful production don’t leave room for worry. Instead, Jordan has created the antithesis to the Summer Slump, filling the project with confidence, joy, positive anticipation, and excitement. I’m thankful for the music. It came at just the right time. 🍍