We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jordan Tariff a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jordan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
When it comes to songwriting there’s definitely a lot of trial and error involved. I first started by writing whenever I felt any sort of extreme emotion. Whenever I was sad, I would use it as a way to process what I was I feeling. The more that I practiced expressing these emotions, the easier it became to tap in to what I was feeling at any given moment. It also became easier to decide what sort of story I wanted to tell. Whenever you can truly be in touch with what’s going on inside of yourself, you’ll be able to fully express and create the best work possible.
One thing that I’m actively learning about/participating in is true freedom of expression. We’re often so consumed by the “formula” of songwriting or how to make the next big hit that we lose large aspects of the creative process. The skill that I think is the most essential (and the most challenging) is the ability to do what resonates with yourself and no one else. To do/create art for the pure enjoyment of it will always breed the best results. It’s increasingly difficult in the age of social media to keep art in its purest form but I cannot stress how important it is. Create something you love and only because you love to create it. Keep doing that over and over and you can’t go wrong. Don’t let the pressure of trends dictate the way you approach your craft, especially if it forces you to sacrifice your love for it.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
My name’s Jordan Tariff and I’m a singer songwriter living in LA (but originally from Massachusetts). I first got in to the music industry because my brother convinced me to start posting covers on instagram! After spending a few years doing that I gained a good following on social media and decided to move to LA to pursue music full time. After a few years of some pretty serious ups and downs pursuing my artist project, I decided to pivot and started to write music for other people.
I’ve spent the better part of the past 4 years working with some of the most talented and established writers, producers and artists in the music industry. I’ve also been incredibly fortunate in curating a group of people to work with that can come together to create something beautiful despite the place they’re at in their career. Everyone I work with is someone I deeply admire and respect as an artist and a person. This has allowed me to work on all different genres of music and helped countless people tell their stories. It’s usually pretty easy to recognize that we’re sad or happy but we may not always know why. As a songwriter, it’s my job to help pull these complex emotions out of the artist and aid in telling the most authentic story possible.
What’s most important when writing with someone is your ability to make them feel comfortable, seen and heard with whatever they’re feeling or saying. Rather than approaching every session looking to make the next viral sound or song I approach it looking to create a piece of work that can move the artist as well as their listeners. Writing should be a cathartic release of emotion and a therapeutic experience. I think I really excel at creating these safe spaces to be as creative as possible and I’m incredibly proud of that.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I think we all need to get out of our comfort zones when exploring art. Of course it’s great to listen to your favorite artist’s music or check out your favorite painters work but real beauty can exist in diversity as well. There’s so much incredible art out there and it’s all so easily accessible! Whenever we “stick to what we know” I truly believe that we’re doing ourselves a huge disservice. Listen to new music, go to that new gallery, watch all of those indie films and explore explore explore. Some of my favorite music comes from people that have less than 100k monthly listeners on Spotify and some of my favorite artwork I’ve found through Etsy or small blogs on the internet. We need to be open to exploration and unafraid to support something/someone that may not be as “established” as some of the bigger guys. If something moves you, tell everyone about it. Be excited about art of all kinds!
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Working with so many amazing artists has always been the most rewarding thing to me. It’s so insanely inspiring to create with people from all over the world and all different walks of life. Everyone has such fresh perspectives and interesting ways in which they see the world. I have been in so many sessions where we all share the same idea but everybody’s able to talk about it in increasingly different ways. I often find myself being completely blown away by someones take on an idea or a melody and it never ceases to amaze me. We can be so blinded by our own ideas that when confronted with someone else’s it’s almost like they’re speaking another language. Perception is reality and whenever you’re offered a fresh look at something, your entire reality shifts.
As artists, we’re constantly experiencing these shifts due to the amazing people we work with! I just find it so cool and I’m incredibly thankful I get to experience such a thing.
Contact Info:
- Website: Jordantariff.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/jordantariff
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordantariff
- Twitter: twitter.com/jordantariff
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JordanTariff
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kpf5SUVfn1hgLVlwjp3O7?si=Twtj5NR6RSeWT5BG77NR-w