Chatting with UK indie-rock musician Jordan Allen

By Desh Kapur, Rock At Night Manchester

Rock At Night recently featured a review of Jordan Allen’s event in Manchester and sat down to do a little Q & A with this talented musician. You can check out the interview below:

1. What’s your plans and objectives for 2016?

We want to announce ourselves on the scene. We’ve all worked incredibly hard to get to the stage we’re at now and were gonna savour every second of it. We want to become the band that people want to go and see.

2. You have a run of live dates coming up, tell us about that, how big is the tour, where are you playing?

We have a few dates coming up including Brighton Great Escape, Live at Leeds and a show in London, to get the taste for it, the plan once we get the record out is to then hit as many places as possible, we’re buzzing to get out to Liverpool, Nottingham and places like that we haven’t really been as a band before.

3. What release do you have out at the moment?

In 2014 I released a solo EP I Wanna Be Remembered so the new single “Helter Skelter” which is out in the next few weeks will be the first thing to follow it. Safe to say it’s been a long time coming, but we’re confident it’ll be worth the wait.

4. As you have said above you have a single out at the moment and a EP in the pipeline–where did you record that and did you produce it yourself? Are you releasing it yourself or are you releasing it through a label? When is it being released?

We’ve recorded 6 tracks down at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath it was produced by Steve Osborne who was responsible for the first Happy Mondays record and New Order’s stuff amongst others, So it’s been amazing to work with him. He really developed and helped craft our sound in a way, I think very few producers do today. The first record will be released through Brontone our management company, but I believe we’re on the radar for a few labels, so we’ve just got to keep working hard.

5. You have been described as “Manchester answer to Jake Bugg” and “half-way point between Alex Turner and Jake Bugg”. Do you think that represents your music? How would you describe yourself musically?

Not really, obviously they were influences early on especially the Monkeys, but as I’ve got older and my record collection has got bigger I think these are just the easy comparisons to make, there’s a lot of punk and Bowie, Iggy and Lou Reed in my music .

6. As always Manchester and surrounding areas are producing some kick ass bands and artist. Who’s on your radar right now?

The Tapestry are great, Bolton has a some great bands coming through too Our Fold, Jade Assembly, James Holt and some young lads called Cleargreen who I like as well.

7. Tell me one bizarre and interesting fact about yourselves

I actually discovered Danny (the lead guitarist) when I got him supporting me, at time he had a V-cut and he was doing Ed Sheeran covers in a TopMan V neck polo. The definition of diamond in the rough.

8. What are your musical roots? What bands did you listen to growing up and who are your influences?

My first memories of music are my dad playing Elevation by U2 and Heaven is a Halfpipe by OPM, I then learnt drums for a bit, but that wasn’t for me so I went and learned guitar when I was about 15 and I heard the first Courteeners record. Now I love pre 1965 rock’ n’ roll, punk, 90’s disco. I’m even partial to a bit of grime so I mean my influenes these days are relatively eclectic.

9. Since I play music, I’m always interested in knowing about gear. Do you favour any kind of guitars, amps, or effects?

Danny is the pedal man, he got a nice, shiny new BOSS ME Pedal board. I’ve got a Daphne Blue Stratocaster with a matching headstock and an overdrive pedal. That makes choruses sound pretty cool so I enjoy a good stomp on that occasionally, oh and I have a lovely Vox AC30 Amp, which is pretty mint.

10. Who is an artist you have always wanted to see in concert but never had the opportunity? Who would you like to tour with

Bowie 🙁

Iggy Pop man! Shame it’ll never happen now but his tours would be the best. Feet up, post gig Horlicks and that.

11. What is the best thing about being a musician? What is the worst thing?

The best thing by far is inspiring kids to get into music and write there own. I’ve been lucky enough to inspire a couple already. Lugging the gear about is a but of a nightmare though. They don’t tell you about that on School of Rock.

12. Is there anything you would want people out there to know about you or your music?

Yes! How it sounds, and just how real it is, these tunes are all based around real people and real stories that are important to me, I’d like to think that that matters to people.

13. Is this going to be the Year of Jordan Allen?

I don’t know Desh– it’s the year of the Monkey isn’t it? Don’t think I’m big enough in China yet to change their cultural heritage. Joking aside, I hope so, I feel like we’ve earnt it.

14. And just so we don’t finish on 13 questions. What is your ideal night out

Playing the Pyramid stage then going for a curry with Mike Skinner from the Streets, I’d enjoy that.

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