Jordan Oakley interview | Underground Love
On finding the right scene and learning to live within the chaos, rather than resist it
Community Radio is the heartbeat of our city and thanks to legends like Jordan Oakley we have hope for underground music having a voice. Jordan joins Tempo to talk about his musical journey and involvement at PBS with the show Underground Love.
Hi Jordan, I would love to know what drew you to community radio at PBS and how did you first get involved?
I had been a listener of community radio for a few years but it wasn’t until I finished uni in 2017, had more time, and yearned to be closer to the scene that I loved, that I applied for a receptionist volunteer role at the old PBS station in Easey St. Volunteer coordinator Mara encouraged me to do the announcer course, and the rest is history.
I had become a bit disillusioned with jazz pedagogy at uni and realised that the DIY punk scene was where I belonged.
I am keen to hear about how Underground Love came together as a concept. You cover a lot of territory with underground music locally and around the world as well as connections with artists, fans, labels and venues to paint a picture of the scenes and communities that drive it. How did you first get exposed to underground music and what drives you to be so in touch with it?
I can’t say that I really grew up listening to much ‘underground’ music. My music upbringing was a mixture of my parents playing bands like Steely Dan, Pink Floyd and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, plus watching Rage, listening to commercial (eep) radio and falling in love with bands like Powderfinger, Faker and Operator Please. There are still some amazing bands from the 00s that only released an album or two, and despite often being tied to (or aspiring to be tied to) major labels/distro, still seemed to have a youthful DIY spirit.
Another big part of my early musical development was the Guitar Hero and Rock Band video game soundtracks. But it was meeting more tapped-in people in year 10 at school that really opened my ears to more music, and some more local sounds.
Henry (Bughunt, Jarrow, and Yellow Brick Road on PBS) revered bands like Sonic Youth, Lost Animal, the whole Seattle scene, Adam (Pinch Points) showed me The Lucksmiths and Kruder & Dorfmeister, Georgia Maq (Camp Cope) played me Bright Eyes and Neutral Milk Hotel.
A bunch of us also got really into Last.fm and would obsessively listen to albums on repeat. Our school was pretty relaxed so we could share earphones in class. Plus we’d trade CDs by the lockers. I gave Henry Powderfinger’s Internationalist. He said it was OK. He lent me Placebo’s debut, which I adored.
At the tail end of high school we’d hang around at The Ev, The Espy basement and Workers Club and we became pretty keen on the whole rock and punk scenes going on. Post-school I always credit Rhys from Rhysics with introducing me to the scene that I feel like I’m still a part of now. His old band Woo Who (with Lucy from Hexdebt) was a classic.
Being around during the early days of bands like Amyl, Cable Ties, and Hexdebt got me hooked. What a fun scene. Feels like a while ago now, wow.
Out of curiosity how long does it usually take to prepare the show? Also are you someone who plans meticulously or are you more intuitive in your approach?
I usually say it takes between 5-10 hours, depending on how much time I have each week. It’s hard to compare it to other people’s processes, but I think I have a fairly meticulous approach.
I group songs into different sound or genre brackets, then order them depending on tempo, key, and energy. By the time I get into the studio, everything from the notes to the specific transitions is all laid out.
I’ll often try to challenge myself to go in a bit more underprepared, but I’m just way less nervous when I know exactly what the plan is. Probably the hardest part would be actually finding the music. Some weeks I build the playlist so intuitively but other times it can be harder, maybe when I’m trying to tie together more disparate sounds.
What advice can you give bands and solo artists who are dying to get played on your show? Is it chocolates in your pigeonhole or a cool story about the music that gives them a better chance?
It depends on how chaotic my life is when I receive your email. I do my best to go through the whole inbox but sadly I don’t have time to reply to everyone. I do encourage people to email me, though, so everything is in one place. It’s tricky keeping track of DMs across multiple platforms on top of that.
There are a few factors, though. One is whether I’m already familiar with the band, the label, or if I can see that you’ve been playing with other acts that I know. Also if you mention familiar musical influences, that helps too.
I remember back in 2018 I would spend whole evenings sending a million emails to people with the debut Pinch Points EP, and I’d barely get anything back (although some overseas stations see “Melbourne post-punk” and that’s enough for them to listen). It seemed like things really picked up once we started playing heaps of shows, and once a few first radio plays and a well-timed Bandcamp feature landed, we managed to get some good momentum that kind of kept on snowballing. Lastly, it pains me to think of all of the great songs that I’ve missed in my inbox that would be perfect for the show. There have been a number of times where I’ve seen a band live who have blown me away, only to search my inbox and see a request for a premiere from 6 months ago that I missed.
You play in three bands (maybe more?) being Pinch Points, Checkpoint and Delivery. How do you manage your time across the projects? and do you have to sometimes have to prioritise one and tell the others to chill out?
Yeah it is a lot! It’s rare that all three bands will be super busy at the same time, but sometimes there will be weeks with lots of rehearsals and shows, or even an occasional two gigs in one night. I suppose I’ve just learned to live within the chaos, rather than resist it.
Do you have something exciting coming up that you are working on at the moment that you can share with us?
Delivery went into the studio late last year and recorded some stuff which is all sounding really fun. Excited to share the results of that down the track. There’s also a fun event in the works with the Bush music fest crew in September. Preston DIY house show kinda deal. It’ll be a special one, trust me!
What do you put your energy into outside of music if there is actually such a concept that life exists outside of it?
My life feels completely entangled with music most of the time, but it’s important to do other stuff too! When things get super busy I always wish I could totally switch off and play lots of video games. I’m halfway through Death Stranding at the moment but it’s hard to find the time to properly dig into it. I’ve been reading a lot over the past year though, which has been lovely. A Language of Limbs by Dylin Hardcastle was an incredible and heartbreaking book I read last year.
I love cooking as well. Last night I made a huge batch of congee and bought a fresh stick of youtiao from down the road. Liam from Delivery’s chilli oil on top worked splendidly! And also I’ve been trying to go to the beach heaps during the warmer months. I’ve lived in Footscray for 4 years now, but only recently have I made the most of the fact that the beach is only 15 mins away!
Finally, who are your favourite local Melbourne bands at the moment and who would you like to see interviewed for Tempo?
Wow so many! I still can’t get enough of Tongue Dissolver. Their recent set at the free/all-ages ‘Weird Out West’ show in Footscray was so sick. Baby Ouzo are also so much fun. Public Figures are dominating. New albums from Hedge Burners, The Antics, Blue Communications, and Kisses are impeccable. My friend Joe has a project called “The Great Intelligence”, and he’s been working on an album for a couple of years now, which is about to get released. Really tight Devo-esque synthpunk. Mixed by our buddy Sam Harding. Highly recommended!
Listen live or on demand
