Listen to Jordan Jones
Remember when surf and skate videos were the only way we found out about good independent music? Earlier this week, Thrasher premiered David Reyes' new part for Thank You Skateboards. Maybe I haven’t seen a good part in a bit, but this one hits differently, and it’s all because of the song. Calm, languid, almost melancholy, with an upbeat bridge that creates depth and dimension, “Picture of You” by LA-based musician Jordan Jones might feel slow for a skate part, but that’s why it stands out. It reminds me of “Shelter,” the surf film from 2006 that broke barriers by featuring somber “indie” music in an otherwise predominantly pop/punk scene.
But there’s more to the story. “Picture of You” is so perfectly paced with David’s skating because it was written specifically for the part. “I was down in Long Beach at Black,” Jordan tells me over the phone, when he and David Reyes met up and talked about his upcoming video. David mentioned he needed a song for the part, and Jordan offered to write it. After a couple back and forths, and a custom playlist curated by David for inspiration and taste, Jordan sent through a demo that was overwhelmingly approved by everyone involved. “I grew up watching skate videos and worshipping the music and how it translates, so this felt really natural to me.”
“I initially edited David’s part to a metronome set to 121bpm,” Thrasher editor Dan Stolling wrote on his gram. “An odd pace, but it just felt right.” Once Jordan got the timeline, he wrote the original song with those specs in mind and took it to Lolipop Records. “I sat at the piano and wrote the lyrics in about fifteen minutes,” Jordan recalls of the recording process. Mixed and mastered by Ignacio Gonzalez, and featuring drummer Nick Murray, the song was completed in one day.
“It’s rare to write music to an edit,” Jordan says, “especially for a world I know so well.” The process seems to have reinvigorated him. Jordan Jones released his self-titled debut, a timeless soundtrack to any mood, in 2019. Let’s hope “Picture of You” is the beginning of another album. In the meantime, check out more from Jordan Jones here, and watch David Reyes’ Thank You part below. –Maya Eslami.
