- 2021-10-12
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MUSIC
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Donate to support families affected by the crisis in Ukraine ➔ Ezra Jordan Releases New EP “117”: Streaming
Canadian singer-songwriter Ezra Jordan released his sophomore EP “117” on October 6, 2021.
The EP comprises of 6-track, including preceding singles “dollarama”, “bitter” and “heaven help me”.
The music videos for “dollarama”, “bitter” and “heaven help me” are consisted by three parts of a four-part short film.
Ezra Jordan said of the EP, “These songs are written about a bunch of things that I've been trying to say for years, but didn't know how until I did a little bit of growing up. This music makes me feel like I've finally 'landed', if that makes sense. I hope they mean as much to you as they do to me.”
He continued, “My sophomore EP was inspired by really dark times in 2020 when I went into a cocoon of loneliness and self-pity. When I emerged, I had 117 in my hand and a renewed sense of self. I want you to know the real me. This is the most honest I've ever been in my music, and the most true to myself. These songs are written about things that I wasn't able to say out loud until I got to know myself a little better. I have a theory that you find a new version of yourself every 7-10 years, and 117 is your introduction to that person.”- Ezra Jordan explained of some tracks for the EP.
“dollarama”
“'dollarama' was inspired by an intense period of self-reflection. The pandemic had derailed significant life plans to the point where I seriously contemplated giving up on my music career. It's about looking at where I came from, the reasons I am who I am, and making the tough decisions about whether or not those things still align with who I want to be as a person. Icarus with dollarama wings refers to a newfound perspective I gained on ridding my life of the cheap things that don't bring real happiness, value, or quality. This is a key theme of my sophomore EP about honesty and being unapologetically true to myself.”
“bitter”
“I wrote 'bitter' when I was fed up with the over-the-top sense of gratitude and positivity that seems to be hurled at every possible situation these days, especially online. The point of the song isn't to say that gratitude or happiness is a bad thing, but more that if that's all you ever feel, is it even true anymore? Sometimes, bad things happen, and you have to go through the hard parts in order to get the benefit of experience later, rather than staying mindlessly positive about everything. You can't have the sweet without the bitter. Writing 'bitter' was one of those magical creative moments where a song came out of the blue all at once, almost fully formed. I was on the phone with my manager talking about my career and our next steps, and feeling pretty pessimistic about it. After we finished the call, I asked myself why I was feeling this way when so many other artists seem to be excited about their music and their careers all the time. I remember thinking, 'why should I be excited all the time? Not everything about this industry is glamorous or fun. Why can't I be bitter?' And at that moment, the light bulb went off. 30 minutes later, I had written the song.”
“heaven help me”
“'heaven help me' was the first song I wrote for my EP, 117. It was written a few short weeks after breaking up with my then girlfriend. The break up was preemptive because we were going to be spending many months apart, followed by a short time back home until I moved away to Los Angeles. It just didn't make sense to do long-distance. The breakup felt especially weird because it had nothing to do with how we felt about each other. It felt like we had been ripped apart too soon by reasons that were out of our control, and I was really struck by the 'unfairness' of it all.”
“who i am”
“'who i am' started out as a journal entry that I wrote during the lockdown. I was feeling very isolated, as we all did. More than that, I realized that on some level I had always felt that way. Like the people in my life that were closest to me didn't actually know me very well, and in this song I come to terms with the fact that moving on from these relationships was a very real, and very scary, possibility.” -
Photo by Ryan Brough - source : Apple Music
