It's not unusual for students to take a gap year, so why not a musician? That's what Jordan Merrick did to record his debut album 'Night Music'.
Jordan's first full-length album follows the release of two EPs back in 2017, 'In Colour' and 'Songs From House Arrest', after which he took some time to reflect before starting 'Night Music'.
“Last year was a really good year to hit refresh and soak it all in, get back to writing, put more time into working out what direction I wanted to go in and get a bit more life experience, as they say,” Jordan explains.
“It was a good gap year in a way to get that prepped, do some more writing and get back to the root of music, which is the creative side.”
On 'Night Music', Jordan has written a collection of songs pertaining to the theme of 'night time' and what that means for different people, with a key source of inspiration being Mozart's 'Eine kleine Nachtmusik'.
“The new album is definitely more story-driven as opposed to really personal stories – it's more fictional than factual – and it explores a lot of different elements,” he says.
“I was thinking about how classical music can really convey messages and stories without using lyrics. It got me thinking about looking at night time and the evening; sometimes you have a pensive night, or pensive thoughts driving along the road at night, lamenting mistakes or thinking about the future – capturing all those things.”
In order to capture those elements in sound, Jordan worked with producer Steven Schram. “The one thing that's really hard to do with writing and recording is you go in with a sound in your head and you have to try and replicate that,” Jordan says.
“There's so many variables and factors that can affect the end result but I was really fortunate to work with Steven Schram, who is an absolute genius with that sort of thing. He's a master; I learned a lot from working with him and he's had a big impact on the songs.”
'Night Music' will be released near the end of October with Jordan playing a pre-release show before heading out on tour with the album. “I'm really excited because previously playing my solo shows for the two EPs it was very much a folk, playing-on-my-own type show. Whereas with this upcoming tour there will be a lot more elements: piano, electric, acoustic,” Jordan says.
"We're going to be doing a few different setups. Especially playing a bunch of the shows with Amela and Leonie Kingdom, who both did a song with me on the album; having them play the shows and being able to perform the songs that we recorded together live will be really special.”
'Night Music' is released 25 October.
Jordan Merrick 2019 Tour Dates
Fri 25 Oct - Soapbox Beer (Brisbane)Sat 26 Oct - Sea Shepherd Defence Tour @ Burke & Wills Hotel (Toowoomba)
Sat 2 Nov - Some Velvet Morning (Melbourne)
Wed 6 Nov - The Junk Bar (Brisbane) - supporting Ruby Gilbert
Sat 9 Nov - The Shared Sound (Sunshine Coast)
Thu 28 Nov - Black Bear Lodge (Brisbane)
