Rochelle Jordan: ‘I had to learn to not let anybody strangle or suffocate my career again’
Rochelle Jordan is ready to let loose – even more than the rest of us right now. Coming after seven years away from the leftfield R&B scene that made her a cult star, her new album Play With the Changes is a mad-scientist merge of weird pop, futurist dance and UK garage. The sunny 2-step of Artful Dodger et al is practically part of Jordan’s DNA. Born in London and raised in Toronto, her voice can belt like a house diva or wisp like smoke curls round hectic beats. “You guys are extremely open-minded,” she says of the British music scene. “There’s no boxes, no specific genre.”
Jordan’s music has never felt boxed in: her earliest songs matched the experimental instincts of Aaliyah and Brandy deep cuts with the shadowplay of the Weeknd’s House of Balloons. It’s even more of a surprise, then, that Jordan came close to becoming a music industry cautionary tale. After her debut album 1021 didn’t hit big in 2014, she rashly inked a label and management deal with “quite a known person in the industry” – she won’t say who – that she alleges became toxic. Feeling trapped and prevented from releasing music, Jordan fell into a cycle of fear and depression. “I had to wake up from the slumber and realise: ‘You’re the artist; nothing moves if you’re not putting out music.’”
Jordan also suffers from the moderate “SC” form of sickle cell disease, which attacks her internal organs and sometimes fogs up her memory. It’s upsetting to hear her talk about her years of turmoil. After a moment of shocked silence, she breaks the mood. “We’re both on the edge of crying!” she says, suddenly laughing. “But these conversations are needed. Artists need to understand their worth and not fall into things out of desperation.” She broke out of the deal and last year signed to LA electronic producer Tokimonsta’s Young Art label, a “no-brainer”, she says. “It’s not just us [both] being female. She allows me to be creative and free.”
A CGI-enhanced version of Jordan is shown on the cover art for Play With the Changes, depicting her as a glamorous bionic warrior with a don’tmess-with-me gaze. On her joyous new funky-house anthem Got Em she sings: “The kind of girl they don’t like / Taking the wheel ’cause I’m here to drive.” That renewed confidence even means she can be thankful for her uncertain years in label purgatory. “I had a lesson to learn,” she insists. “And that’s to not let anybody strangle or suffocate my career again.”
Jordan was always known for her big hair and bigger talent. But her new start prompted a radical rethink. “There was a sense of hiding behind it,” she says of her old look. “Now I’m showing my face more, because I feel like I’m finally proud of myself.”
Play Withthe Changes is out on Friday 30 April