A Quick Chat with Jordy Maxwell

Congratulations on the release of ‘Let Me Out! How does it feel now the track is out? 

Thank you! It seriously feels incredible to share the song with anyone that wants to listen. It’s been such a special song and I can’t wait for people to hear that build!

The fact it wasn’t supposed to be on the EP is cool that we made it happen!

Can you tell us a bit behind the track and what it’s about? 

‘Let Me Out’ started as a phone recording and some seriously silly lyrics (One day I’ll release it). After listening back, the chord progression and melody were kept, and the song evolved into a simple, sweet start into a massive build up and release. The song is a journey of feeling so trapped in life, whether it be a location, a relationship or work and eventually being able to release yourself from what's dragging you away from what you love. 

How was the creative process while you were writing ‘Let Me Out’?

It was actually quite hard as I had fallen in love with the phone recording and although the lyrics were about some stupid things, I still wanted to keep that special feeling in the melody. 

I knew ‘let me out’ was the main feeling behind the song as I was writing. As it came together lyrically, I thought it would be cool to have the song start with the feeling of being trapped and questioning how to get out of the rut. As the song builds you can feel like something is going to eventuate. I wanted to create a lot of tension in the build-up and then release into an uplifting feeling of freedom in the end. 

After being in the studio with Andy Lawson and putting it all together with the strings and drums, I still can’t believe how big we made it.

You have seen an impressive amount of support from your previous releases, what has been the standout moment for you in terms of that support and/or any other achievements as an artist?

The standout support for me was having 17 up and dancing 2 weeks after my debut sing, ‘Blue Eyes’ came out. It was a moment I’ll never forget and one that made me realise “people like my song, HOW GOOD!”

Having songs used not only in feature films, TV series and video clips but also funerals and weddings is a unique feeling. Having a song used to celebrate life and death is a very special feeling.

Being the triple j unearthed feature artist was a great opportunity to talk about how I started writing music, what I bring to the stage and being open and vulnerable both live and through the lyrics.

You’ve got a bunch of live shows coming up on tour for Jack Botts but also for yourself. What can fans expect to see from one of your live shows? 

Fans can expect a performance. Whether it’s me playing solo or with a band I always want to put on a show and entertain. What has been my strength live has been my way of sharing a story that is wholly relatable to a crowd and transition that into a song. Humour is also a special part of my shows. I want to keep the crowd smiling even if there’s times where life isn’t going to plan. By the end I hope that we can have a boogie to release everything that is going on

Now that ‘Let Me Out’ is released – what is the next plan for 2023? 

As mentioned, a lot of shows! The ‘Drunk Darts & Broken Hearts’ Australian tour is getting finalised. Hopefully with a full band! As well as a few sneaky shows in Europe and the UK this year! 

My first shows in EU/UK, so that will be such an experience.

I am releasing the ‘Drunk Darts & Broken Hearts’ EP in April as well as starting recording on my debut album at the back end of the year!

Very exciting things ahead.