Jordi Storm

This honestly feels so good to write: I’m happy to announce that I’ve just released “A Sylvan Tale” – my latest EP!

It goes without saying that artists like to think that all of their music is special in some way, but this EP really is quite special to me. I looked back and counted the months; it’s been three years, five months and four days since I released any original music. Over the last few years, I’ve been working on my craft and challenging myself in new ways. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have had doors opened to me that allowed me to grow, so I wanted to focus that growth into a handful of songs reflecting who I am today, as an artist. Whenever I’ve been honing these musical skills, I’ve felt a sense of joy in knowing that I’d be able to bring a better version of myself and my music to the world.

Those that have followed my journey will know how important it is to me, that I can create a space for people to escape to – and find comfort in – when life feels overwhelming. I think that’s one of the reasons my music often drifts toward the ambient and the relaxing, always with a generous pinch of fantasy vibes. These attributes of songs – be it video game/film soundtracks or independent releases – transport me to a different realm which I find myself especially in need of when things get tough. Anyway, I think I should probably speak a bit about how this EP was born. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank a few people who have been instrumental in supporting me in recent years.

A Sylvan Tale was created alongside my release of two vocal libraries in collaboration with Impact Soundworks: Sylvan Vocal Layers and Sylvan Vocal Phrases. I wanted to create a release that fully encapsulated my sound and my love of singing and using the voice as an instrument. I’ve been really impressed by the team at Impact Soundworks, and how much each of them has a personal stake in, and passion for, this project and others that they work on. They’re all expert at what they do and music is so much in their DNA. I was surprised, and very grateful, that many of my long-time friends would be working behind-the-scenes to bring these libraries to the world. I’d like to thank Andrew Aversa and the team for your brilliant work, and for allowing me to have the opportunity to hear my deeply sampled voice in the future music of songwriters and composers around the world. I’m also very grateful to Merry – my friend and long-term musical partner – for creating the most gorgeous album art, inspired by the song “Heart of the Forest” from the EP!

One person in particular that I owe a lot to, for taking a punt on me and investing so much in me, is Hiroaki Yura. His continuous mentorship and advice over the last four years, as well as the opportunities he’s given me to polish my compositional and artistic chops, is nothing short of invaluable. I’ve gotten to make a livelihood from music, to compose for a number of very inspiring projects, and even have my original music recorded by the Eminence Symphony Orchestra with John Kurlander at the helm as the recording engineer! To have my music recorded by an orchestra – especially one of this calibre – is something that has been a rather ambitious goal of mine to achieve at least once in my music career, so I can't quite believe it's actually happened. Through Hiro’s mentorship, I’ve been fortunate to meet and learn from some of the composers who have greatly inspired me; established legends in the industry and legends in the making alike. The teams at his companies Whistler and Area35, in particular, have been a pleasure to have gotten to meet and work with. I really look forward to the future of this collaboration and to seeing my continued transformation through the projects ahead. For believing in me and my music, thank you Hiro.

I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to somebody else; somebody who has been, and continues to be, my favourite artist. It’s not often one can also say that they can call their favourite artist a dear friend. Thank you KOKIA, for always being there and supporting me, both emotionally and practically; without you, I wouldn’t have been able to live in Tokyo and have those life-changing experiences. You will always be a constant inspiration to me, and I am very thankful for our friendship.

And to those that have built me up and supported me over the many years: you are the foundation upon which I am supported, and the pillars that keep me standing tall. You give me the courage to push myself and the belief that my music has meaning and value to the world. In those times where I feel lost and demotivated, I look to you and I am found. For being my compass, I am thankful to you more than I am able to express in words.

Without the generosity of others, I know that I would not be where I am today.

~ Jordi

Hello folks! April is now here and as I’m writing, the snow outside is very slowly but surely melting away, preparing for spring’s welcome. As I live in Finland, this winter was a long one. As an April child, I’m very much looking forward to the warmth that spring has to bring. 

Two of the things that I enjoy the most are connecting and keeping in touch with my dear supporters that encourage my creating, and writing. So with that, I decided to finally explore the option of staying in touch via a mailing list. I feel that it’s a more direct and personal method of connection than simply posting posts on social media into the ether. I also get to write in a less general, more personal and private manner this way. On top of that, I can include interesting content such as free music downloads, as well as a peek into upcoming, unreleased or private creations! If this is something you’d like to be a part of, you can sign up to my mailing list on the main page of my website. You can expect emails approximately once a month, and it would be both my honour and my pleasure to be able to stay connected with you on my musical journey! 

Speaking of which, I released my first musical moment, Memoria. Captured in this moment are three instrumental songs that I composed, with strong feelings of nostalgia, a relaxed atmosphere, and an emphasis on the beauty of melodies in composition. I have often written music to support my voice, so that I have something original to sing. I was feeling very inspired by much instrumental music, from video games such as Japanese role-playing games from the 80s and 90s, The Moomins series, as well as that of artists such as Kitaro, Yanni, Vangelis and Enya. I wanted to properly put my composing to the forefront for a change, rather than my voice. 

The first song “The Moon Beneath the Water” was actually very much inspired by the art, created by the incredible artist stilleri who I began working with this year. The idea for the art came after the idea for the musical theme, but the music came after the art, so I’d say that the visuals and the music very much inspired and guided one another. In this track, I was particularly inspired by the fantastical atmosphere of the underwater, and the music brings to my mind the coral reefs and the floaty, glowy nature of jellyfish, and how they would shine in the moonlight of an underwater moon. 

“The King’s Ruby” was inspired by the world of The Moomins, particularly the 1990 series. I was watching it a lot in Finnish with English subtitles, back when I was in the midst of really learning Finnish. That’s when I really fell in love with it… somehow, I felt that I was watching something so nostalgic that it felt as if I had watched it in my childhood. I wanted to capture that same nostalgic feeling in this track, as well as the two others on Memoria. The King’s Ruby, or kuningasrubiini in Finnish, is actually an item from the series. It is said to have shadows and flames dancing inside of it, and the Hobgoblin and his panther are hunting for the ruby – so I added a bit of action into the composition to reflect the chase for this majestic object! 

The third song is “The Mirror Realm” and is the most ambient of the three I would say. I don’t think I have created a song that is so heavily percussive, and I really love bell-like melodic percussion. I wanted to capture the magical feeling of reflection and rays in this song, and a floaty feeling with the sensitive woodwinds and atmospheric pads. When I listen to it, everything feels like it’s working together adjacently in satisfying harmony, similarly to how a mirror reflects that which is facing it. There is something about these types of instruments as well that appeals to my sense of nostalgia. Perhaps it comes from the types of sounds one might hear often as a young child, from lullabies or from toys. 

For each of these songs, I thought it would be a nice idea to feature them as 1 hour looped versions on my YouTube channel. I personally really enjoy getting lost in looping relaxing music, and I thought that each of these three instil a suitable sense of tranquillity that would lend itself well to those types of videos. Pairing these with the landscape version of the art and animating it to bring it to life was a lot of fun, and it felt like I was creating a world of Memoria with them! 

I think that is all I wanted to write for today’s update, but I hope everybody is finding joy and peace in this 2022. I think we could all use some peace, perhaps now more than ever.

A new chapter, a fresh start… as humans we can’t help but think about where we are in relation to our goals and our dreams during this time of the year. There is nothing like overindulging over the Christmas holidays to set people’s minds back on track, ready and focused to dive head-first into whatever it is they want to get done during this new year. I have found myself to be no exception to this and – as usual during this time of the year – I'm filled with a renewed sense of motivation and creative ideas aplenty. I think it would be quite unnatural and against our better instinct towards improvement if we weren’t to be looking forward, though I recognise that too often we might find that the constraints of our fears, emotions, condition or situation bind us firmly in place. Despite everything and with hopeful intentions, I’m looking ahead towards the coming days of 2022! 

As of this day of writing (7th January), I should be leaving on the yearly folk music cruise-festival, Folklandia. I would have been performing both with the class of Kaustinen’s Folk Music Line, as well as with the folk group Häly accompanying the Ottoset dancers of Kaustinen’s Youth Association. It would have been a really fun experience to meet and to listen to the performances of many of Finland’s brightest folk artists! I’m sure I would have found it very inspiring, but I understand that safety must come first. It is saddening when thinking about all of the events that have been cancelled due to the pandemic, but I like to think that we as a people muddle through and find ways to still make life enjoyable for each other as best we can. 

I have a lot of opportunities this year to be grateful for; I’m walking along the start of several paths, of which their destinations are yet to come into vision. This could be quite nerve-wracking, but I find it rather exciting, for all of these opportunities revolve around music. At the end of last year, I signed with a Japanese-based composing agency that works within the world of video games and anime series and film. I pondered on the decision a while; whether or not I was at the right place and time in my career and life. Fortuitously, it came at a time where I was transitioning to focusing solely on music within all aspects of my life. More on that in the future, but for now, I am excited to see where this leads. I am also taking a more active role within the OC ReMix community this year; a non-commercial organisation dedicated to the appreciation and promotion of video game music! It’s a wonderful website in whose shadows I’ve lingered in the background since I was just starting out in video game arranging. More on this also in a later post, I’m sure! 

I mentioned earlier that today I would have been at Folklandia, and in actuality it would have served as a goodbye to studying folk music and living at Kaustinen, as I have done since the summer of 2021. I’ll be moving back home to Vaasa, which is a considerably more active place than Kaustinen during winter simply due to its larger population. I have gained so much as a performer and composer from intensively studying and performing Finnish and Nordic folk music, that I will carry with me moving forward. As it happens, I will be applying to study Finnish folk music full-time at the renowned Sibelius Academy in Helsinki this year. I would love to be in an environment that allows me to actively develop and create, amongst like-minded individuals in a world-class musical institution. This is something I’ve never had, but have always wanted. Fingers crossed! 

There is much in the works that is yet to be released that I’m actively working on over a longer period of time, hence the sense of vagueness in this post. I can certainly delve into greater depths on the particulars of some creative ideas I’ve had for this year though. As somebody that releases the music that they create, thinking in terms of standard formats for distribution (single, EP, album) has always left me lacking in creativity and unsure of what steps I'd like to take. I think it puts pressure on artists like me who want to make all sorts of different genres of music, as one has to also think of continuity and cohesion from one release to the next, which can actually be quite limiting. Having a clear identity as an artist, as with any brand in general, always requires a sense of consistency so the audience knows what to expect. My mind when it comes to working on music just doesn’t work in this way though, so I’ve been thinking in more depth about how I approach and view music, and how I might reflect this in the way I release music. 

I’ve decided I’d like to experiment with releasing my songs through musical “Moments” – like a polaroid captures an image, a compressed audial snapshot that captures a particular mood, feeling, memory or… moment. This will allow me to work on all manner of personal projects without the pressure of worrying about cohesion, or whether a lack thereof might negatively impact or bring confusion to my artistic identity. I have so many ideas for this year! I want to work on songs in Japanese, in Finnish, in Elvish, instrumental songs, lullabies, music box compositions, video game arrangements, Celtic songs, orchestral music, nostalgic synth music, collaborations with session instrumentalists that play unique world instruments, and much more! I’ve come to realise that while these different projects might not be connected to each other on their own, they are all connected through my love of creating each of them being a strong part of me, like different patches that make up a larger blanket upon which I can continue to build and weave new creations. There is also not the pressure to sit on songs for so long to save up for a whole album. I have many stories I want to tell and many worlds I want to build! 

I’ve also just started to create playlists of different genres of music on Spotify. There’s barely a minute of the waking day where you won’t find me listening to music of all sorts of different genres and moods. Aside from the enjoyment this brings me, as a composer, I think it’s a fundamental part of one’s own creative development to continuously freshen one’s mind with newfound songs of any genre. If somebody has put their heart into it, its message will likely reach me as a listener. I have heard so many beautiful and inspiring songs over the years, so collecting them and categorising them into different playlists allows me to re-explore these songs in a deeper way - by carefully choosing the right songs to fit the right mood to create as fitting and wonderful an experience as possible. I also get to enjoy these myself and spend even more time carefully listening to music; getting to know what elements of songs speak to me personally and capture my interest.

Expect to see my productivity and output increase a lot in the coming months! I am really grateful that I am in a place in my life where I finally get to focus deeply on music, and still have time to do other things that I want to do and spend time with the people that are important to me. I had a wonderful time in England over Christmas and New Year, especially considering I hadn’t been back to my homeland for over two years. Consider me rejuvenated and raring to go. 

Hugs & good vibes for all, 
Jordi

✵ Music Announcement ✵ 

To those of whom that have been following my music over the years, 

Music is something that has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I've dabbled on YouTube since I was 13, and I created my main YouTube channel in 2011 a week before my 18th birthday. It's been a wonderful experience having the freedom to explore my creativity, to collaborate with some incredibly musicians around the world, as well as my transition to creating and releasing original music properly over the years too. 

Through this exploration, the YouTube channel that has been home to my experiments and releases for ten years is a bit of an amalgamation of many different creations of varying age and quality. I learned that there is so much that I could create with just one laptop, one microphone and a few instruments in my bedroom. It's been so much fun and I'm very proud of the journey, and I'm certainly not ashamed of anything I've created earlier in my youth. It is just that much of the content on this channel is by now quite outdated, and not representative of the level of music that I am creating now, which is wonderful in its own way as it shows how far I've come! 

Now, aged 27, I am committed to focusing on music. I have always worked on music alongside my degree, my work, and everything else I have done in life. I've been transitioning to a point where my music is shifted gradually more to the forefront and while I'm not quite there yet, I feel that it is time to create a new space for my recent music. I will be committing to uploading more regularly, and putting a lot of effort and energy into the music that I upload. 

So, ten years after creating my first channel, I am starting with my new "first video" - a cover of Edge of Night from The Lord of the Rings, in which I've performed and recorded all the accompanying instruments. Coincidentally, the first video on my last channel was also a cover of this song performed by 17 year old Jordi. Onwards and upwards! 

Of course, I'll still keep my old channel up to retain all the content that I've created over the years... consider it now a "legacy" channel in a way. 

So I'm jumping from 2.7k subscribers down to 0 again. If you want to follow my newest music, please subscribe! It takes a lot of time and effort to start from the ground up again, and I'll be putting all my energy into making sure you won't regret it 

Everybody's support over the years has played a part in this decision, so thank you all of you so much for your love and encouragement. It's not the first time I've thanked you for it, and it certainly won't be the last. In the meantime, please enjoy this release!

2020 has been such an intensive year for me, which I suppose isn't necessarily a bad thing. It had been getting on a bit since I had been able to actively work properly on music though, which for most musicians I know, leaves this sort of empty, unfulfilled feeling inside. I'm really pleased to say that I was able to release an album! 

Alex was kind enough to fund the manufacturing of a physical version of this album too, which marks my first physical release in my music career. With music mostly going digital and moving away from physical versions, it never really felt like a wise investment to make. I have always personally preferred having a physical copy of music that I own... there's nothing quite like holding it in your hands and being able to touch it... something tangible. 

✶ You can listen to the album trailer here

✶ The entire digital release is able to be listened to and/or be purchased here on my website, as well as through all the usual digital services 

✶ You can buy a physical CD from my website's music store or from my Bandcamp, which includes 2 extra bonus tracks I made together with the wonderful Alexander Nyman

Feel free to stream it or listen to it in full to your heart's content without purchasing it if you like - I know it's been a tough year for many and funds are a bit tight. I appreciate all the support in any form it takes, and I feel fulfilled to have released this album. I'd love to know what you guys think, and as I occasionally upload songs when I complete them to Newgrounds (for which I always have had a soft spot), some of you may recognise a song here and there. 

I hope you've all had a pleasant festive season, and that you'll also have a brilliant New Year. I hope to be more active here in 2021, but we'll see how that goes!

~ Jordi

Hello folks!

I'm very pleased to announce and unveil my new website. Ever since I moved to Finland a little over a year ago now, I've put a lot of my time and my energy into integrating. I've been studying Finnish full-time on an intensive integration course since January, which means that I've not had as much time as I'd have liked to focus on my musical projects. My move to Finland has also inspired me greatly, personally and creatively. I wanted to create a website that reflected these changes within me, while also giving those that are interested in my music their own digital space to find it, listen to it and/or download it. To celebrate this new website, please feel free to get your hands on my album The Brightest Star, as well as my EP To the Clouds for free.

So a very warm welcome to you, and thank you for your support over the years! 

~ Jordi