If clubs truly are areas of personal transcendence, then toilets are portals, wormholes from one psychological vantage point to another.
The cover of ‘For You’ finds India Jordan in the cubicle of London’s Dalston Superstore, a legendary LGBTQ+ venue famous for its open-minded – in every sense – atmosphere. It’s these parallel conduits of rave hedonism and personal discovery that permeate the producer’s new EP, with ‘For You’ collecting six outstanding tracks that offer system rattling energy alongside revealing elements of melancholy.
A return to solo duties following a joint project with Finn last year, ‘For You’ moves from hyper-glossy French touch reference points to a kind of translucent melancholia, with poignant emotion allowed to seep out of its digital sheath. ‘I’m Waiting (Just For You)’ is all anticipation and release, with India Jordan allowing the fidgeting, scarcely-contained energy of the production to become a kind of precocious metaphor for their own explorations.
‘For You’ fixates upon the sensual qualities of sound, while ‘Emotional Melodical’ has this overwhelming sense of robotic soul. ‘Rave City’ finds India Jordan at her destination point, the accelerated futurism of the production revelling in the sheer fun, the unbridled personal expression of the rave experience.
Calmness pervades ‘Westbourne Ave’ – a kind of R&S level stillness, a zen-like peace that permeates the taut, textured levels of electronic sound. The EP concludes by ramping up the energy once more, with ‘Dear Nan King’ finding India Jordan exiting the project on their own terms, a riveting display of deeply physical nonchalance.
An ode to the transformative impact of rave culture released at a time when clubs aren’t able to open their doors, ‘For You’ somehow taps into both the promise of personal redemption dance music can offer, and the widespread sense of loss at being shut out from these experiences. By accidentally tapping into our contradictory lockdown energies, India Jordan may well have produced their finest work yet.
8/10
Words: Robin Murray
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