Within EDM only a handful of artistes can be named as DJs, Producers and technical magicians. Many perfect and hone their talents to an extraordinary standard in one wing of Dance Music but to become known for your live performances, to hit the top spots with your productions and to become renowned for breathtaking skills when unleashed on all manner of equipment is a very rare entity – Jordan Suckley is a member of that elite.
Having gained a residency on the internationally revered station BBC Radio 1, as part of the In New DJs We Trust rotation, further cemented Jordan’s inauguration among the Superstar realms. He’s received high praise from the likes of Eddie Halliwell, John O’Callaghan, Simon Patterson and with both Mixmag and Beatport tipping him as ‘One To Watch’ no one can ignore his success and promised potential.
When it comes to his diary it reads like a ‘Most Wanted’ list – Global Gathering, Creamfields, Cream Ibiza, Full On Ferry Ibiza, Godskitchen,Goodgreef, The Gallery, Slinky, The Arches, Lush, tours in the USA, Australia & India with further shows in Holland, Argentina, Bali, Poland, Hungary, Spain, South Korea and many more. Promoters are buzzing around to book Jordan Suckley because they know when they do, there’s never a disappointment and only ever exceptional experiences.
Output from the studio continues to strike gold. April 2013 saw Jordan collaborate with Simon Patterson to present their creation ‘Vanilla’, released on Spinnin’s Reset Records it has amassed support from all of the industry’s leaders and rocketed up in the top 5 of Beatport & Trackitdown charts. Jordan’s remixed for John O’Callaghan on Armada, for Gareth Emery on Garuda and Simon Patterson on Night Vision. Solo work in 2013 will see him release on Perfecto Fluoro, Subculture, Mental Asylum, Spinnin and follow up his collaboration with Simon Patterson later in the year.
2012 was one of the best years of Jordan Suckley’s career to date, 2013 is already on course to eclipse that… get your sunglasses handy as this one’s going to be bright!
I’m so glad that I had the chance to interview Jordan Suckley and get to know in much more detail and depth one of the hottest and most upcoming names in the EDM scene. He rocks and he is proud of it, so enjoy it!
Dimitri: Your remix on Bryan Kearney’s ‘Mexican Rave’ is going exceptionally well on Beatport at the moment. Did you expect the success of this remix and is it possible to tell us the production process for this remix?
Jordan Suckley: Thanks very much, I tried to approach the track with a fresh Psy Tech Trance vibe, so it’s great to see it do so well in the charts reaching No. 6 on Beatport. I just tried to keep the original feel of the breakdown, but put my stamp on it with a fat bass line, acid & techy drop.
Dimitri: Was ‘Mexican Rave’ difficult or easy task to remix it and why?
Jordan Suckley: I think it was easy for me to remix because the melody is amazing in the original. Some times it can be tough working on a remix if there isn't anything great about the track, but that wasn't the case with this one as I loved the original.
Dimitri: You have produced many remixes for other artists, is it possible to tell us which one was the easiest and quickest to produce and which one was the most difficult and took you the longest to finish?
Jordan Suckley: I was asked to remix Armin van Buuren’s ‘Who's afraid of 138? track’. They gave me two weeks to get the remix done, but the problem was I was just about to leave for a tour of Australia, so I had to get that nailed in about 2 days which was very tough, but I was happy with the outcome and it has done great in the charts.
I think the toughest remix was of John O'Callaghan ft Josie ‘Out of Nowhere’, this was because I kept on changing my mind with the direction I wanted to take it, but it got great DJ support and done well for me in the end thankfully.
Dimitri: Let’s go back in time for the next question. At the age of 18 you won a DJ talent competition. Do you have any memories of this competition and do you suggest to young DJs to take part in DJ competitions?
Jordan Suckley: I was so nervous for this competition and was thinking maybe DJing isn't for me because the nerves were getting the better of me. Thankfully, I got over this and won the competition and learned a lot from it.
I approached the competition by making sure I played tracks which are my style rather than playing anything obvious. I have done plenty of scratching & FX, but not so much that it sounded annoying. It’s best to take your time & practice practice practice!
Dimitri: You shared the DJ booth with many well known stars in the EDM industry such as Armin van Buuren, Eddie Halliwell, Ferry Corsten, Sander Van Doorn, Markus Schulz and Paul Oakenfold to name a few! Which one of them was the most easy going and down to earth and do you have any story to recall from well known DJ who was arrogant towards you at the beginning of your career?
Jordan Suckley: I have never met any arrogant DJ's thankfully, but I must say that Armin van Buuren was a really nice guy when I met him, but saying that so are all of the others as well because I think all DJ's are thankful to be doing their hobby as a full time career.
Dimitri: You have been associated with the Club Goodgreef. Would you like to tell us how your collaboration with the club started and to share with us you’re most unforgettable Goodgreef moment of your career.
Jordan Suckley: I had played at a few Goodgreef events which went great for me, and then they decided to make me resident. I think my favorite moment was playing in the Goodgreef Arena at Creamfields UK one time. I love festivals!
Dimitri: You are also producing the Goodgreef Radio Show. How long it takes you to choose and put together the show and do you have a favorite episode of your radio show?
Jordan Suckley: It takes quite a long time to download promos & source the music, but perhaps only a day to get everything finalized. I always thank the last show I have done and is my favorite as it has my favorite current tracks!
Dimitri: On the production side now, did you learn how to produce in a college or are you 100% self taught? What is your opinion about formal training is it worth it to attend?
Jordan Suckley: I have watched hours & hours of YouTube tutorials, also worked with friends when I started out to pick up any tricks. Also, I have loads of the music production magazines which I always buy at the airport. It has been a few years of trial and error. It was frustrating at first when I couldn't get the sound I was after, but things have fallen in to place for me in the last two years.
I think formal training is great, but if I was going to do any training, I would prefer one-on-one training, so you can ask more questions and learn to produce a track rather than covering a text book.
Dimitri: From your back catalogue of original productions can you choose for us your Top 3 and give us a short comment about each one of them?
Jordan Suckley:
1. Jordan Suckley- Do or Die (Original Mix) Perfecto Fluoro
This was my first release in my "newer" sound and got signed to my favourite label Perfecto Fluoro.
2. Simon Patterson & Jordan Suckley- Vanilla (Original Mix) Reset/Spinnin Records
I have become great friends with Mr. Patterson following a tour I have done with him in Australia, so doing a collaboration with him was a huge honor, and I learned so much after working on this track for months at his studio.
3. Armin van Buuren- Who's afraid of 138 (Jordan Suckley Remix) WAO138/ Armada
I couldn't believe it when Armin’s management asked me to remix one of Armin’s album tracks, so this one has been great accomplishment, especially getting it done in such a tight time frame.
Dimitri: The majority of artists in their interviews talk about the moments that their mind goes totally blank and they don’t have any inspiration. How did you manage to overcome those moments? Do you have any tricks to offer to other producers?
Jordan Suckley: I just listen to a lot of Podcasts/ Radio shows for inspiration or spend time looking up new music to help get the creative juices flowing.
Dimitri: Do you create your own samples and sounds or you mainly use sound library samples?
Jordan Suckley: I tend to make my own sample bank every few weeks/months consisting of stabs & percussion etc. Also, over the last two years, I have spent quite a bit of time learning sound design, so I can make my own patches & fx in Synths such as the Virus TI2, Massive & Sylenth.
Dimitri: Do you have in your tracks any characteristic Jordan Suckley sample that people associate with your tracks?
Jordan Suckley: I think the dark acid sounds & Psy Trance style FX.
Dimitri: Do you spend a lot of time to communicate with your fans through social networks or do you have public relations company to handle them for you?
Jordan Suckley: Yeah, I always like to post up pictures of my travels and new music I have coming up. I prefer to run everything myself and keep people up to date.
Dimitri: Can you recall the most unforgettable comment on Facebook or Twitter that you got from a fan?
Jordan Suckley: I made a DJ video using a Software called Traktor Scratch pro, just for fun really and someone on Facebook was telling me I wasn't a real DJ etc haha.. Even though I DJ the same as everyone else on Pioneer equipment, this was just a video for fun, but I don't mind what people say. I have a thick skin! :)
Also one time, someone asked me on Facebook if I would teach them how to produce in return for them fitting a new bathroom in my house ha! :)
Dimitri: Which track or remix are you going to release next and we should keep an eye and ear for it?
Jordan Suckley:
- Eddie Bitar- Captain Charlie (Jordan Suckley Remix) Mental Asylum - Dec 2, 2013
- Faruk Sabanci- Nevada (Jordan Suckley Remix) Arisa Audio – Dec 2, 2013
- Greg Downey- Vivid Intent (Jordan Suckley Remix) Global Code – Late December
Dimitri: Which track is the biggest tune for 2013 and which new artist for 2013 is the next newcomer & big thing in the scene?
Jordan Suckley:
- Biggest track from myself this year would be "Do or Die" which was out on Perfecto
- Biggest track by someone else would be, Simon Patterson- The One (Original Mix)
- New artist I would say either Harmonic Rush or Angry Man.
Dimitri: Thousands of young boys and girls aspire to reach your level of success as a DJ & EDM producer. Can you please give them your piece of advice from your experience on how they should try to achieve it?
Jordan Suckley: You need to release music on the bigger labels to get noticed and have radio plays by the other DJ's for exposure.
Don't let other people tell you what style of music to produce, you need to have your own identity, so following trends or making what you think is the best if not the way to go.
When you start purchasing music production software, there is no magic formula, you don't need a certain software to make music they all do the same thing just in a slightly different way. Try Ableton, Cubase, FL Studio or Logic. I use Logic as well, because I have a Mac.
Don't take things too seriously, if you are not enjoying it, then maybe becoming a DJ or Producer is not for you. It’s extremely time consuming and you really have to put in the hours which isn't everyones cup of tea!
And finally, be nice to everyone! :)
Thanks very much to Jordan Suckley for finding the time to reply in this interview with so much depth and detail.
Thanks very much to Linda Nuanlaoong @ CIRCUIT-8 for her support to organize this interview
Thanks very much to Paul Aldridge at 1mix radio for publishing this interview
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