As creative consultant for Stüssy, co-founder of STRONG talent agency and prolific DJ, Jordan Vickors always needs to stay one step ahead. It makes sense, then, that he started self-isolating a full two weeks before the UK’s lockdown was implemented. By the looks of his Instagram he’s handling the new way of life well: studying the work of his all-time favourite musicians, FaceTiming people’s pets, and making i-D a truly epic five-and-a-half-hour long playlist. But more on that later!
“Apart from getting 3,673 FaceTime calls a day, nothing’s really changed,” Jordan says. “Honestly, I don’t really leave my house as it is, unless it’s to DJ or go for meetings or to the airport. I’ve been in self-isolation for years. My mother couldn’t get me out of the house as a kid — I’d just sit and play video games all day. So I’m fine with it. At Stüssy, we’ve taken the correct measures to keep everyone safe and the business safe, and I have a home office so I’m all bless.”
Knowing there’d be some great stuff on the speakers chez Vickors, we asked Jordan to kick off our new series of self-isolation playlists, and he kindly obliged. Starting out with some Gil Scott-Heron and Herbie Hancock before venturing into heavier realms, his playlist is a guided tour of his set staples. The selection is perfect for playing home alone and ideal to accompany you on one of your government-approved daily walks.
“This playlist reflects the start of my day all the way into the afternoon,” Jordan says, “taking it slow and moving through the gears as I start my day. The backbone of this comes from the music I play in my sets, so it’s always going to have electronic music at the core.”
Press play and read on for Jordan’s tips on staying sane and keeping creative during lockdown.
Hi Jordan! How’re you responding to the lockdown situation?
I’m trying to stay away from the hardcore media-driven stuff, just touching in once and twice a day so it doesn’t distract me from my research. I’ve been listening to the guidelines to keep safe and implementing them when I need to leave the house. I walk or ride a bike if I go outside, same as before. I’m also a little let down by our government’s efforts to protect us. South Korea approached this much better than us.
Do you have any kind of goal for this period?
I’m chipping away on my ‘10,000 hours’ studying Miles Davis and John Coltrane right now: the spacing in their records; entry points, exit points, the difference between the two; the timings of their careers; the impact they had on each other and the other people in the band. I’m averaging a book a week also. My mentor has been setting tasks each week, so it’s been keeping me busy. My end goal is to be in the best place musically, where I can tell my story and let people know my sound when making an edit or my own record.
Got any tips for staying sane and keeping creative while on lockdown?
Yeah, I do actually:
– Before you go to bed, write down your tasks for the next day in bullet points.
– Get some sleep. It’s so easy to slip into a FIFA hole until 4am.
– Play some disco when you wake up or something funky to dance in the shower to.
– Don’t go on your phone for at least an hour after waking up, so you understand how you feel first.