Meet Jordan Guadalupe | Singer/Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jordan Guadalupe and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jordan, how do you define success?
My personal definition of success is defined by achieving whatever goals I set up for myself, in the short term or long term. Everyone has different goals of course so what could be a huge success for one individual personally could be not so important to another, so I believe it is best to stay focused on personal goals and milestones, and not to compare your “successes” and accomplishments to others/your piers. In short, success is whatever you define it to be, and it most definitely will be achieved with focus, passion, and persistence.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am the founder, lead frontman, lyricist, and co producer of J.LG. I’ve been releasing music under the moniker J.L.G since 2019, with over two EP’s and a plethora of single releases since then, and a new single coming out this Fall, specifically October 4th (will get back to the new single). The music myself and Juan Felaco write and create is really a mixed bag of genres and ideas, packaged together with intimate storytelling and nostalgic, usually quite melancholic soundscapes. Myself personally I am heavily influenced by 80’s synth pop, New Wave, Cold Wave, Alternative Rock, Post Punk, shoegaze, R&B, Pop and a plethora of other genres. I am an absolute music fanatic and listen to literally everything under the sun, so in the song creation and songwriting process I try not to limit myself to any sort of genre or “box” and instead really try to focus on creating the most authentic, refreshing, and original music possible, with heartfelt storytelling and very intimate, emotional lyrics. In every J.L.G release, I make sure to wear my heart out on my sleeve and really just be as raw, real, and vulnerable as I can be for whoever takes the time to listen, hopefully in doing so creating “timeless” music. I feel that when you put yourself in the most vulnerable positions possible as a creator, that is when you are able to strike a true relationship and genuine connection with your listeners, and at the end of the day I feel in my opinion as creators, artists, musicians, we just want to be heard, and in turn hopefully understood to an extent, through our art.

I would describe J.L.G as an alternative outfit, generally speaking, but genre varies. Our latest release “Angelica,” for example is an orchestral ballad, while our last EP “Kill Club Dance Radio,” was more alternative rock, post punk, “darker” sounding project with of course an emotional, intimate acoustic song thrown in the project as well. One of our most popular releases (and we have a short film/music video out currently on Youtube for) the single “Lion Lady” is a neo jazz/soul, R&B, alternative rock, shoegaze ballad, so as you can see we REALLY make a concerted effort to just follow our intuition as creators, and not try to place the music in a specific genre. I will say though we have been told numerous times our music is quite cinematic sounding, and I do pride myself on being a self proclaimed film aficionado, so I guess that is a common theme we stumble on when creating hahaha. Nothing in life is black and white in my opinion, so I look at music the same way, fishing in the gray area. The gray area is where the true beauty is at, and you can’t work in that space without a completely open mind. If it sounds good and feels good, rock with it. Music can never strike a deep chord or truly resonate with a listener if it never accomplished that love first/originally with it’s creator.

We do have a new single being released this Fall, October 4th specifically! I am beyond excited to share the new release with the world, and I will say that for this one we are going back to our rock roots, of course still implementing our signature synth heavy sound as well. So expect something heavy, something loud, something dark & eerie and something fun. My true horror roots come out in this track as well, so expect “dark” in regards to the soundscape for a lack of better words hahaha. Definitely a song I am immensely proud of, and one that is written specifically about a current tragedy that is occuring in our world at the moment, without getting into too many details. I try not to over explain the art/music, as I always want the listener in a way to interpret the music and message how they want to. At the end of the day the creators experience is just as unique the listeners, so I try to respect that as earnestly as I can.

Lessons I’ve learned along the way I’d say to be brief because I am still learning, growing, and failing continually, are to be authentic, respect others, and never settle. If you are not true to yourself and what you love as a creator, it can be felt. Authenticity, originality, and passion can never be faked, and I believe people and listeners are not fools, so they know. It’s hard to explain, but thats what seperates talented songwriters with timeless songwriters in my opinion, level of authenticity. What you can bring as a creator and artist is so unique that no one other person can offer or replicate the ideas and emotions you can specifically, and vice versa. Oh and of course, treat others the way you want to be treated. If you lead with love, everything will take care of itself. I tend to be an optimist in regards to the quite traditional belief that “good things happen to good people.” Be true, be you, and don’t be a jerk. And never let an outsider define your worth. You have the magic, own it. Even if sometimes others cannot understand, does not mean it is not there, and it is not true. Always create for yourself first. Always.

I’d say I want the world to know that J.L.G strives to be timeless. Whether it is or isn’t is not for myself to decide and proclaim, but timeless music is always the goal. And by “timeless” I mean creating music/art that transcends trends or what is popular at the current moment in the worlds music landscape, and create art that will strike a genuinely emotional connection with the listener. They will hold that connection, moment, emotion, “bond” whatever you want to call it throughout their life’s journey, and to me that is what makes music timeless.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am from South Florida, I’ve bounced around and lived in Broward and Miami-Dade County my whole life, so South Florida is home. There truly is so much to do and experience in South Florida as a whole, as it is such a culturally diverse and rich part of the country, a true “melting pot.” We have people from all over the world, and being a heavily latino influenced culture it brings such a refreshing blend of traditions, people, and cuisine to our area, one that is very unique in its own regard. I would show them our local music scene as well as I feel we are severely underappreciated in that regard nationally/internationally, and we have a plethora of amazing local music venues that really put on beautiful shows, and the local music community is so close and tight knit, it truly is inspiring to experience. I would definitely have them try our robust and diverse cuisine and food culture, from Roti shops, to South American delicacies, carribean food, all the good stuff. There is truly something for everyone here, much more than what people think of when they think of South Florida, the clubbing, yachting,party life etc. That culture is very prominent down here and you can have a great time in that regard, I just believe personally the true beauty is in the blend of cultures and people our area possess. From Ft. Lauderdale, Miami Beach, Miami, Wynwood, and just the general greater south florida area, there is something for any and everyone so it is quite hard to be specific in what I would recommend, but I would say have an authentic colada and croqueta while your down here. Trust me, it will change your life haha.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Well first off I want to give a shoutout to Alfredo Rivera for shouting me out and presenting me the opportunity to collaborate with you all, he is an amazing engineer and most importantly human. Another guy I would love to give a shoutout to is my dear friend and fellow co producer and engineer for J.L.G, Juan Felaco. Juan and I have been working together and making music for over five years now, and without him there would be no J.L.G as we know it. He is my partner in crime and an absolute genius in my opinion, I am incredibly grateful for him and all he does in helping shape the music and bring ideas to life. He is the best, and I believe our songwriting abilities and potential as a duo are limitless. Lastly I would love to shout out my band. I love and appreciate them dearly, and they are the absolute loveliest group of guys to play with live. We are all so comfortable together and share a great mutual respect for each other and the music, they are all amazing musicians and class act individuals, a real committed group of talented men (Juan Felaco as lead guitar, Garrett Blackburn on the bass/guitar, Demetrius Conley on the drums, Stefan Kaurigas on the guitar/bass).

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.l.g.music/?hl=en

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu6BSt5oC-vSZngmsUjYoRQ

Other: Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/1BgrepOwhNVOoDJsJ8ZLT5?si=N_UIijxpSGa8HVf3fBRN-w *MUSIC ON ALL MAJOR PLATFORMS AS (SPOTIFY, APPLE MUSIC, TIDAL, AMAZON MUSIC, ETC: J.L.G

Image Credits
SAMUEL RIVAS