Hailing Jordan - Meadows

Here at EO, we get literally hundreds of comments on the site from you lot every day! ...Okay, so that's not strictly true. We've had one. Throughout our entire existence. But! That one comment has paid off, as it put me onto this gem of a track that I would otherwise never have found.

I know very little about Hailing Jordan, other than that his real name Miguel, and he's Swiss (though was born in Brazil). What I do know, however, is that his latest single, Meadows, is fantastically interesting, as it takes the current concept of mashing up EDM with other genres to the next level, as he pairs it with... sort of... Medieval... folk. Yeah. Look, just listen to it, alright? And then I'll see you below to tell you a bit more.

Meadows is, at it's heart, a Big Room track. And we don't often go for those. My personal belief is that it's an incredibly stale genre of Dance music. But Miguel's latest effort hooked me right from the start. I suppose it appeals to my Classical sensibilities (I'm a Classical musician, in case you didn't know). Oh, and it probably also appeals because I play the violin. You see, the main melody of each build-up, is a beautiful folk tune played on the fiddle. Whether Miguel composed this himself, or sourced it from somewhere else, I'm not sure. What I do know, though, is that it works. Really, really well.

'Beautiful' is probably not a word you've ever used to describe a Big Room track before, but it is entirely apt here. Well, maybe less so at the drop, because that's when things start to get hairy. However, even this manages to be more interesting than its extremely generic counterparts. Miguel even plays around with modes during these sections. Brief lesson on what modes are: each song is in a different key, yes? Well, modes are basically just keys, but very old ones, that have slightly different notes in them. They're most often used in medieval and other early music. A good example of a use of modes is in the first Hobbit film, where the dwarves sing their ancient song.

...where was I? Ah, yes, enough about that though - all you need to know, is that it's an interesting thing to do, and it's clever.

I also really enjoy the frequent, yet seamless, changes from major to minor - it's really well done. Each drop bounces along, with the elasticated synths keeping the whole thing moving. Make no mistake: Meadows may be beautiful in some ways, but it's still an absolutely massive track.

Meadows is different, and that alone makes it better than most Big Room tracks. But Hailing Jordan has also managed to make it good, by utilising a number of very clever techniques, and with that violin melody. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what Miguel has got coming next.

The Octopus' Rating: 7/8

Release Details:

Name: Meadows
Artist: Hailing Jordan
Label: S2 Records
Release Date: 15 September [OUT NOW]
Purchase: Beatport

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Alex Simpson

Writer, musician, and all-round top guy. I set up Excited Octopus. Currently, I'm on a one man team. It gets lonely sometimes. But I don't mind, because I love you all.

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