29 January 2020
DJing and diversity: the creative life of India Jordan
Diversity & Inclusion champion, Proudly King’s committee member, DJ and music producer.
![India Jordan DJing](/newimages/culture/india-jordan-kcc.xdb7b8c6c.png?f=webp)
India Jordan’s passion for working with communities shines through in all parts of their life. From their work within King’s Diversity & Inclusion team as a Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, to their position as a committee member for Proudly King's, King’s LGBTQ+ Staff Network, all the way into their creative life as a DJ and music producer.
Tell us a little about yourself and your careers…
Hello! I'm a DJ and producer, and I make and play dance music that is mainly inspired by the broad spectrum of UK Hardcore, house, techno and breaks. I play in London, the UK and a bit of Europe and I've been DJ'ing around 10 years, producing for 2.
How did you get involved in DJing and music producing?
I've always been into music, I asked for a guitar for Christmas when I was 3 and started playing properly when I was 10. In my teens I got into dance music and I joined the DJ society whilst I was in my second year of Uni. I later became president and started running club nights in Hull (both as a hobby and as a full-time job). After about 8 years DJ'ing, I finally got into music production.
The scenes I was involved in in Hull (mainly drum and bass) were very male dominated and had quite a gate-keeper-ish culture, so I put off producing for so long as I lacked the confidence. After moving to London, starting a record label and building a good community of supportive friends and mentors, I finally got stuck into it.
Could you tell us a bit about the creative process?
I wouldn't say I have a 'go to' process as of yet, it feels very sub conscious and stuff just happens! Though I do make the majority of my tunes when I'm travelling on trains. I've also made some of my most personal/best stuff when I've been through some adversity, which feels horrible at the time but it's nice to know I can channel it into something creative.
When I am making music, I often build a 4-bar loop and simplify it from there, create an intro and all the other pieces after that etc. Sometimes I have a really clear idea of what I want to make - for example I was in bed once scrolling on my phone and this melody came in my head so I opened up Ableton (the digital audio workstation software I use) and started making something. Other times I need to have some space away from production for a while when I'm stuck so I can come back with fresh ears and that helps a lot too.
![](/newimages/culture/dj-decks-780x440.x8d57b06d.png?f=webp)
How have these creative pursuits shaped your work in Diversity & Inclusion?
D&I feeds into every facet of my life generally, it's not something you can ever detach from. I am very value driven and this feeds into how I approach music too, I have been involved in community / DIY DJ and production workshops (one's such as Intervention that my good friend still runs and are worth checking out!), these are ran voluntarily for people who are under-represented in dance music (so women, trans and non-binary folk, and the BME community etc.).
Being a queer gender-fluid person also means it is important for me to feel safe and included in night club spaces and so it's important that I play in clubs that support these communities and also actively promotes and includes them.
What does it mean to you to be part of King’s Cultural Community?
Being a part of any community is hugely important to me both within my role at King's and outside of it. I supported the development of our staff networks at King's and I am a committee member of Proudly King's - it's so beneficial to be among a likeminded supportive community at work. Similarly within music, the label I'm a part of (Local Action) feels like music family.