Jordan LaFaver: From Humble Beginnings to Unexpected Collaborations
- Grace Angelique
- Apr 29, 2024
- 6 min read
In this in-depth interview, we delve into the multifaceted musical journey of Jordan LaFaver. From his humble beginnings tinkering with a grandmother's out-of-tune piano to his unconventional recording methods and unexpected collaborations, Jordan shares insights into his artistry, influences, and the pivotal moments that have shaped his career.
"I feel like it’s kind of cliche to say that I’ve been doing something related to music for as long as I can remember, but it’s also true," he shared. "My grandmother had this really terrible, out of tune piano that I started playing when I was 3, and playing by ear since probably 5 (not good, but you know, by ear). When I was younger I was terrified of singing but I loved songwriting, so I just prayed I would make it into an alternative rock band as a keyboardist who also coincidentally wrote the songs but never had to sing them. At that time one of my biggest inspirations was T-Pain, which prompted me to buy a license to Autotune when the software was still relatively newer. In hindsight I’m very glad I was forced to sing my own songs, and teach myself to sing in general. It’s probably the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.
There is absolutely a pivotal moment. Way back in the MySpace days, I was part of a very short-lived duo that only made two songs, but I received a message to our band’s Myspace page from a girl who said one of our songs had saved her life. At that time, I wasn’t at all open about my own struggles with mental illness, so this hit like a freight train. Music had saved my life, and I’ve always felt a sense of purpose to keep making it. I’ve sense tried to be as open and expressive as possible both in my music and my influence about mental health and it’s impacts."
When discussing themes and messages woven into his music, Jordan explained, "I like to portray a lot of different mental states in my music. I have a very serious branding problem in the sense that I’m not really sure who Jordan LaFaver is as a consistent product, if that makes sense. I don’t want to say that in some songs I’m “acting” because that sounds disingenuous, but I think my favorite thing about songwriting is the ability to step outside of yourself and just be a blank page. I write what I feel, and it’s truly something I’d do whether anyone listened or not. I’m a huge advocate for mental health awareness, and as someone who struggles with my own mental health it’s often mentioned in my music. I think it’s important to humanize that in music.
I also talk openly about my own marijuana and nicotine use. There’s something to be said about being real and upfront about those kinds of habits, especially because I think it resonates with not only people my age but creative types. Ever since I first fell in love with rap/hip-hop I’ve always had this fanatical level of respect for being raw in music, even at the detriment to commercial success. It’s also for that reason I’ve never really shied way from swearing in my music. There’s a reason people gravitate towards that sort of thing. For a lot of my career I was focused on love songs, then it was breakup songs, party songs - I’ve had a lot of phases is what I’m saying. I’ve been putting my feelings into words long before I was even a songwriter - and I know how horrifically lame that sounds but it’s simply a coping mechanism for me like anything else. I can listen to my older records and remember vividly what was going on in my life that inspired that, even if I’m speaking in metaphors. The fact that my method of coping with life can resonate and even help others is what I love most about making music."
Jordan has recently set up a recording studio in his car! We spoke about how the process works and how he was inspired to start working this way. "When I moved out of my parent’s house I lived with 4 other guys in this big house in northern Maine, and as you might expect being young men it was ridiculously loud most of the time. Recording in my room was essentially impossible because none of our work schedules aligned, but luckily I was recording all my music on a Macbook Pro and had a small enough recording setup that I could pop into my car and record whenever I wanted (of course with the caveat that a massive extension cord needs to run into the house to power said Macbook Pro).
This was a surprisingly workable setup whenever I needed it, but when I got married and my wife and I moved into a bigger apartment I was able to build myself a reliable place to record. I learned after we got two small dogs though, there is no such thing as a reliable place to record. There was absolutely no way I was going to be that guy who ran an extension cord from my second story apartment to my car just to record in it, so I eventually invested in a quiet, portable power station that I can keep in my car and power my recording setup whenever I need it outside of the house.
Over several moves across the US, I’ve destroyed my fair share of apartment walls with cheap Guitar Center 'soundproof' foam, proving I was never destined for a degree in Audio Engineering. l couldn’t tell you if my older records were helped in any way by the foam cave, but I’m thinking probably not. It wasn’t until an embarrassingly long time that I got a Kaotica Eyeball filter, which I can’t recommend enough. This will eliminate the need for sound treatment, and in my opinion it’s the easiest way to get clean recordings in your car. Between the power station and the Kaotica, pretty much anyone can have a decent studio in their vehicle. I’m laughing as I’m typing this thinking I’ll come off like a weirdo who exclusively records in my Tiguan - as fun as that would be I do still record in my apartment.
The reality of two poodles though is I can’t always guarantee silence in the house - and I think that’s true of many other artists as well. I always tell musicians to invest in the right gear, but I think to a lot of people just starting out, that looks like an extremely expensive and elaborate studio in their house. None of that hardware will benefit you any more than a Rode NT1A and some time to invest in yourself, in my opinion. At 31 I’ve never been a homeowner, so I’ve always recorded in relatively small spaces and learned to deal with the constraints - it’s all about your ability to record clean enough vocals to be able to send off a producer to work their magic with. "
We took a moment to reflect on the impactful experiences and interactions that have left a lasting impression on Jordan's career, and Jordan also gave insights into the significance of preserving older music and the serendipitous connections that can arise from it.
"One of the benefits of having ADHD is I get pretty frequent inspiration to start songs, I just usually struggle with finishing them. For that reason I’ve always had a ton of demos floating around, and I’d learned through the years to always keep acapellas of everything. A good friend of mine suggested I start uploading these acapellas to WAVS, a sample licensing platform, and to my amazement it actually started becoming a somewhat reliable stream of income.
I was surprised to find that a lot the demos I personally hated tended to perform well. That really showed me how harshly I criticize my own work, and the benefit of it being just an acapella is any producer can flip it into any genre. I’ve also met a lot of amazing producers who used my vocals, and reached out to me off-platform to collaborate further. One of those people ended up being Teddy Riley, member of Blackstreet and former producer for Michael Jackson. He sent me a song that used an acapella to a demo I recorded probably 4 years ago, and had long since trashed the project files for. Again, it really showed me that even if I feel something is “bad” at the time, I should at least be brave enough to put the vocals out there for someone else to make art from. One of the most rewarding and coolest parts of being a musician for me is hearing another artist create something new with my vocals, that will always be my favorite part of the job."