Introducing Jordan Laser, who re-emerges with a new single, Battleship

Back in the first half of the last decade - some whole seven years ago now - Jordan Laser was someone quickly being associated with an exciting future for Australian pop music. Back then, she was an artist worth keeping an eye on; her debut EP Just Like Autumn - released back in 2013 - seeing her work alongside with Jim Moginie and Rob Hirst from Midnight Oil, while a single that came the following year - Prisoner of Pride - went further deeper into her sound and the multi-faceted creative mind of the musician, proving that her debut EP wasn't just a one time thing.

In the time since, however, Jordan Laser has been quiet musically. Life - as it naturally does - got in the way, and music sat on the back-burner for a little bit as Laser focused her crafts elsewhere. However, all during that same time, she was gradually refining her musical skillset too, slowly evolving and growing into a new artist reflective of an entirely new generation leading Australia's pop future, something she seems to easily slip back into with the release of her first song in a fair few years, Battleship.

Arriving last week, Battleship is a likely introduction for many people to Jordan Laser, and it's one hell of a way to introduce yourself. It's dark and brooding, centring itself around this more moodier alt-pop sound but thick with experimentation that sits it outside of the realm of similar comparatives, the end result being something more Massive Attack-like, rather than Billie Eilish. It's a brilliant return, one that really showcases a wide-ranging spread of inspirations and influences that in turn, give her work this creative push, marrying this pop sound with facets of jazz, soul and indie which give it this experimental twist.

"Battleship is about both disillusionment and acceptance," she says on the single, which arrives with an official video clip directed by Pete Majarich, that brilliantly transports the song into this somewhat nostalgic, black-and-white world. "On the one hand, the fantasy of who you wanted someone to be has caught up with the reality of who they really are and that’s an incredibly painful realisation. On the other hand, you’re accepting your fate…you’ve chosen this and so there’s some part of you that is coming into a state of grace about that.

"I was feeling pretty lost and lovelorn when I wrote it. You want a rescue squad, but then you realise that no one is coming. Or maybe the person who is coming isn’t a very good swimmer. Either way you’re on your own, falling back onto yourself."

It's a single - and video - that really re-introduce Jordan Laser a name just as brilliantly exciting as she was back then, and you can take a dive into the track below, while you re-introduce yourself to Laser before more material comes by the year's end.

Tell us about yourself?

I write songs and play piano and have been doing so since I was little. I started learning production four years ago so I think I can call myself a producer now, too, even though I’m still an apprentice.

What’s the ‘vibe’ music-wise?

Deep, dark pop. Dramatic but not melodramatic.

What are your production and writing processes usually like?

Slow, messy and meticulous. I find writing songs quite difficult, love having written them though! I do see production as part of the writing process, or an extension of it, and am not sure where one ends and the other begins most of the time. I think the soundscape is just as integral as the melody and words, so I’m usually jumping between the piano, logic pro and a notepad in no particular order.

Can you tell us about your new single, Battleship?

I wrote it back in 2015 during a time when I was feeling quite alone. I hadn’t written a song in a while and so when this one came along it kind of renewed my hope in things. It was then produced by myself and my ex-housemate/boyfriend (maybe don’t try this at home) and recorded between our living room and a studio above a pub in Sydney. I think this single is just my stepping stone into the next phase, whatever that entails.

What does 2020 have in store for you?

This year is obviously weird and nobody’s plans have gone to plan. I’d like to release more songs in a more normal world, whatever “normal” proves to be.

What do you want people to take away from the project?

It’s a pretty lonely time for a lot of people right now and songs make us feel less alone, so hopefully I can contribute a droplet to that well-of-comfort.

Where can we find more of your music?

I have an old EP lurking around the internet.

Follow Jordan Laser: FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM