Much like the metropolis he’s called home for most of his life—New York City—Jordan Galland reflects an amalgam of creative energy. His backstory includes forming and fronting the indie-rock band, Dopo Yume—which released four albums and toured with the likes of Rufus Wainwright and Cibo Matto—as well as having written and directed short films and stop-animation videos.
Galland channels the varied facets of his talent into Airbrush, his debut effort as a solo artist. At turns kooky and contemplative—its standout tracks include titles like "Everyone Else Is Boring" and "When The Girl Is Lying"—the album is an engaging blend of melody and shameless emotion.
While Airbrush is available now, Galland will make his directorial debut with the independent film, Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Undead—a vampire comedy adapted from Hamlet, starring Jake Hoffman, Devon Aoki, and Kris Lemche—when it opens nationwide in February 2010.
To score the film, Galland recruited longtime friend, Sean Lennon. The two are frequent collaborators, having worked together periodically in Dopo Yume, as well as having co-written tracks on Lennon’s 2006 LP, Friendly Fire, his sophomore effort as a solo artist. Lennon released his soundtrack to Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Undead—his third solo album—last week in North America. “I couldn’t have been happier about it,” Galland says of his friend’s latest achievement.
In a conversation with Donald Gibson of Blogcritics Magazine, Jordan Galland talks about his progression in music as well as the nature of his collaboration with Sean Lennon on his first feature film.
You’re not new to making music, but Airbrush is your first solo album. Was there a catalyst for you to go on your own?
My first band, Dopo Yume, was definitely a band situation, but I wrote the songs; I did a lot of the arrangements, and I sang. I felt comfortable moving in the solo direction. It wasn’t too much of a departure from Dopo Yume, partly because Dopo Yume was a constant, rotating cast of different people. There were moments where I did play acoustic shows alone just to keep the band going while I was in between members.
Under that name?
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