Jordana (producer) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jordana LeSesne
Jordana at Technorganic Records showcase party with MC Collaborator
Background information
Born	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres	Drum and bass
Occupation(s)	Producer, musician
Years active	1992–present

Jordana LeSesne, who used to be known as 1.8.7, is an American musician and music producer. She is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Today, she creates and performs music under the name Jordana. She became well-known in the mid-1990s for her drum and bass music.

Vibe magazine once called her "one of the most respected Drum ‘n' Bass producers in the US." In 2015, Mixmag magazine named her one of "20 women who shaped the history of dance music." Jordana is transgender and shared this publicly in 1998.

She has released more than 50 songs. These include four full albums, several shorter music collections called EPs, and many remixes. Her 1997 album, When Worlds Collide, was known for its strong and energetic sound. She has also allowed her songs to be used in music collections and even on the Sci Fi Channel. Three of her albums were very popular. They appeared in the Top 25 charts of CMJ (College Music Journal) and Mixmag U.S. in 1997, 1998, and 1999. Her third album, "The Cities Collection," reached the #2 spot on CMJ Music Monthly's dance chart in June 2000.

Her music has been reviewed by famous magazines like Billboard, Spin, Rolling Stone, and Mixmag. In 1999, she was listed in Raygun magazine's Who's Who of International DJs. She was also a main DJ on Knowledge Magazine's 28-city "Kung Fu Knowledge" tour in 1999.

How Jordana Influenced Music

Jordana's music has inspired other artists. For example, the dubstep producer Bassnectar used parts of her song 5 A.M. Rinse (feat. MC Sphinx) in his own song Here We Go. This song was on his 2010 EP called Timestretch.

Another electronic music group, Celldweller, also used parts of Jordana's songs. They sampled "Wake Up" from her first album and "San Francisco" from her third album, "The Cities Collection," in their 2013 song "Uncrowned."

In 1999, a producer named Hive asked Jordana to remix her song Defcon-1. Hive's remix was later featured on his 2001 album, The Raw Uncut. Jordana also worked with the artist Lady Sovereign early in her career. They met online through a music chat room. Later, Jordana, using her DJ name Lady J, had Lady Sovereign perform on her radio show on Flex FM London.

Jordana's Music Journey

Jordana first got noticed in the music world when she was asked to remix the song "Atomic" by the band Blondie. Her remix appeared on the same single as remixes by famous artists like Armand Van Helden and Diddy.

About a year later, a promoter from a well-known club in New York City called Konkrete Jungle asked her to create a special song. Jordana made the song "Konkrete Jungle" for a CD collection. This song was described as having "menacing hardstep attacks." It was released on the Ultra Records collection, Konkrete Jungle - Maximum Drum & Bass. This collection was mixed by BBC Radio 1 DJ Jumpin Jack Frost.

After touring a lot in North America and other countries, Jordana signed a contract with Liquid Sky Music in late 1996. This deal was for three albums.

Other Work in Music

Besides producing music, Jordana is also a DJ, musician, and singer. From 2001 to 2002, she worked at Flex FM in London, England. She was known as Lady J, and Lady Sovereign would perform during her radio show. In 2002, she had a regular DJ spot at the Trinity club in Vauxhall, where she played UK garage, 2-step garage, and house music.

After returning to the United States, Jordana went back to playing rock music. She was the lead singer of a goth metal band in Seattle. Before that, she briefly played bass in another band and became good friends with the singer Shelita Burke. She has performed alongside other artists at events like Planet Zolean and contributed to the Daisychain Podcast. After a long break, Jordana has started DJing again. Her first performance in over ten years was at the Kremfest music festival in Seattle, Washington. She has since played at many underground parties and has more shows planned.

In 2014, Jordana created the music for the documentary film Free CeCe. This film was produced and directed by Jacqueline Gares and Laverne Cox. The documentary tells the story of CeCe McDonald, an African-American trans woman who was wrongly put in jail for defending herself.

Books Featuring Jordana

Jordana has been mentioned in several books. Her journey from living in a "rust belt" city to becoming a famous electronic music artist was talked about in "The Rise of the Creative Class" by economist Richard Florida.

She also appears in two books that talk about the history of American electronic dance music. These are Michaelangelo Matos's The Underground is Massive and Rave Culture, an Insider's Overview by Jimi Fritz and Virginia Smallfry. Monica Roberts, a close friend, said that Jordana inspired her to turn her printed publication, TransGriot, into a blog in 2006.

Jordana has also been interviewed for many books, including one published in 2012 by rock journalist George Petros. She has shared details about her personal life in interviews for publications like The Festival Voice and The Brooklyn Rail.

Where Jordana Lives

Jordana currently lives in Seattle, Washington.

Jordana's Music Releases

Vinyl Records

• 1995 Blondie "Atomic (The Beautiful Drum and Bass Mix)" VV58320 Chrysalis Records/EMI
• 1996 RockStone Foundation "Dis Soun'" JS007 Jungle Sky
• 1997 V/A – Nirvana EP "We Are Not Alone" JS114 Jungle Sky
• 1997 Soul Slinger-Don't Believe "Abducted (1.8.7 Remix) JS118 Jungle Sky
• 1997 Soul Slinger-Don't Believe "Ethiopia/JungleSky (1.8.7 Megamix)" JS118 Jungle Sky
• 1997 1.8.7 – When Worlds Collide full-length album EP1 "Defcon 1"/"When Worlds Collide"/"Blueshift"/"Dragonfly" JSK121 Jungle Sky
• 1997 1.8.7 – When Worlds Collide full-length album EP2 "Wake Up"/"Distant Storm Approaching"/"Ghetto Style"/"Ghetto Style (West Philly Mix)" JSK122 Jungle Sky
• 1998 Murder 0ne (1.8.7)/T.Farmer "Annihilate"/"Memory" BOOST002 Boosted Records
• 1998 This is Jungle Sky Vol. 5: Rock N Roll EP Disc 2 "Break In"/"The Return of Shaft"/"Konkrete Jungle" Jungle Sky JSK131
• 1998 This is Jungle Sky Vol. 5: Rock N Roll EP Disc 3 "Atmosphere Remix"/"The Jam"/Beastie Boys – "Sabotage (1.8.7 JS Remix)" JSK132 Jungle Sky
• 1998 1.8.7 – Quality Rolls full-length album EP1 "Quality Rolls"/"Relax Your Mind"/"Phobic" JSK136 Jungle Sky
• 1998 1.8.7 – Quality Rolls full-length album EP2 *"Jerusalem"/"Get Amped" (215 Remix)/"Stigma" JSK 137 Jungle Sky
• 1998 1.8.7 – Quality Rolls full-length album EP3 "Rock The Party"/"Deep Stealth"/"Cross the Line" JSK138 Jungle Sky
• 1998 1.8.7 – Quality Rolls full-length album EP3 "United"/"Blue Nile"/"Reboot" JSK139 Jungle Sky
• 1999 Jordana – "Pure Funk"/Stardust – "Music Sounds Better".. [With Bass] (Jordana JS remix) *whitelabel* JSK149 Jungle Sky
• 1999 Jordana – Cities Collection 12" 1 "Hollywood (courtesy of Lucasfilm)"/"Los Angeles"/"New York" JSK157 Jungle Sky
• 1999 Jordana – Cities Collection 12" 2 "Pittsburgh"/"Miami"/"San Francisco" JSK158 Jungle Sky
• 2000 Loki and Jordana – "Murder" 12" *whitelabel*
• 2001 Jordana – "Tampa Tantrum"/"In Your Arms" 12" TECO008 Technorganic
• 2002 Lady J feat. Lady Sovereign – "The Intro Dub" (Flex FM)
• 2002 Jordana – Full Colour 12" 1 *whitelabel* ConceptAudio
• 2002 Jordana – Full Colour 12" 2 *whitelabel* ConceptAudio

CD Releases

• 1994 V/A – Interstellar Outback "Jungleman" ROM01 RomHyperMedia
• 1995 V/A – Scotto Presents: Drop Beats Vol.1 "Ravestock Anthem" DROP001 Drop Entertainment
• 1996 V/A – This Is Jungle Sky Vol.2 "Dis Soun" JSK008 Jungle Sky
• 1997 V/A – This is Jungle Sky Vol.4 "We Are Not Alone" JSK116 Jungle Sky
• 1997 V/A – Future Groove "We Are Not Alone" ?74321 50089 2 Ariola/BMG
• 1997 V/A – New York Junglist "We Are Not Alone" AVCD11540 Avex Trax
• 1997 Soul Slinger-Don't Believe CD "Abducted (187 Remix)" JSK120 Jungle Sky
• 1997 Soul Slinger-Don't Believe CD "Ethiopia/JungleSky" JSK120 Jungle Sky
• 1997 1.8.7 – When Worlds Collide CD album JSK124 Jungle Sky
• 1998 V/A – This is Jungle Sky Vol.5 "The Jam" JSK130 Jungle Sky
• 1998 V/A – This is Jungle Sky Vol.5 "Atmosphere Remix" JSK130 Jungle Sky
• 1998 Soul Slinger – Upload: A Continuous Mix CD "Rock the Party" JSK142 Jungle Sky
• 1998 V/A – Nu Balance: Domesticated Drum & Bass CD "5am Rinse" COA70016-2 City Of Angels
• 1998 1.8.7 – Quality Rolls CD album JSK135 Jungle Sky
• 1999 V/A – Sci Fidelity: This is Sci Fi. CD "Deep Stealth" SciFi Channel/Jungle Sky
• 1999 V/A – This is Jungle Sky Vol.6 CD "Pure Funk" JSK150 Jungle Sky
• 1999 V/A – This is Jungle Sky Vol.6 CD "Unite Remix" JSK150 Jungle Sky
• 1999 Jordana presents 1.8.7 – The Cities Collection CD album JSK162 Jungle Sky
• 1999 V/A – E-Sassin Absolute Friction CD "Worlds Apart" 21C.3007 Quantum Loop
• 2000 V/A – Digital Empire: DJ Girl "Deep Stealth" 6454-2 Cold Front Records
• 2001 Hive – The Raw Uncut EP CD "Defcon-1" (Hive Remix) VTXCD-002 Vortex Recordings
• 2002 Jordana – Full Colour album ConceptAudio Limited Release
• 2003 V/A – Girls In Space CD "In Your Arms" CD-9213 Urabon Records
• 2005 Jordana – Jordana EP CD "In Your Arms" TECO CD001 Technorganic Recordings
• 2005 Jordana – Jordana EP CD "Tampa Tantrum" TECO CD001 Technorganic Recordings
• 2005 V/A – DJ Psycle-Back From The Future CD "In Your Arms" TECO CD-9213 Technorganic Recordings
• 2005 V/A – DJ Psycle-Back From The Future CD "In Your Arms" TECO CD-9213 Technorganic Recordings
• 2008 V/A – What the Bleep & Foi Oi Oi-Feelings For Detroit Vol.3 Yabette – "Babylon (1.8.7 Remix)" EEMIX003 Electronic Enlightenment

Digital Releases

• 2001 Jordana - Full Colour self released
• 2003 Jordana - Numerology self released
• 2020 Jordana - Resistencia EP self released
• 2021 ill.Gates, Jordana and Mimi Page - The Arrival, "The Future" Alpha Pup Records/Producer Dojo

Music Videos

• We Are Not Alone (1998) – directed by MSKW1 aka Michael Whartnaby
• Defcon 1 (1998) – directed by MSKW1 aka Michael Whartnaby and DBIDWA aka Dan Bidwa
• Worlds Apart (1998) – directed by Gerard Ryan
• Atmosphere (1998) – directed by Gerard Ryan
• Ring Me Back (2002) – directed by Trevor McKinley
• The Future (2021) – animation by Adam Hatch