Jordana LeSesne, formerly known as 1.8.7, is an American musician and producer from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. She now produces and performs as Jordana. She became known in the mid-1990s as a drum and bass producer.

Vibe magazine ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production ...

called her "one of the most respected Drum ‘n' Bass producers in the US." In 2015, she was named as one of "20 women who shaped the history of dance music" by

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

. She is

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

and came out in 1998. She has released over 50 tracks, including four albums, several EPs, and remixes under the alias 1.8.7. The 1997 album ''When Worlds Collide'' became known for its "dark pummeling assaults". She has licensed tracks for compilations as well as the

Sci Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

. Three of her albums charted in the Top 25 of both the CMJ (College Music Journal) and Mixmag U.S. (later Mixer Magazine, now defunct) for 1997 as well as 1998 and 1999. Her third album "The Cities Collection" debuted in the CMJ Top 5 climbed to the #2 position on CMJ Music Monthly's dance chart for June 2000. Her works have been reviewed by '' Billboard'', '' Spin'', ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', ''Urb'', ''Mixer'', ''

'', ''

Raygun A raygun is a science-fiction directed-energy weapon that releases energy, usually with destructive effect.Jeff Prucher, '' Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction,'' Oxford University Press, 2007, page 162 They have vario ...

'', as well as ''Knowledge'' – the U.K. Drum and Bass magazine. In 1999, she was listed in Raygun's ''Who's Who'' of International DJs. She was one of the headlining DJs on Knowledge Magazine's 28 city ''Kung Fu Knowledge'' tour in 1999.

Impact on music

Her work has influenced artists such as

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

producer

Bassnectar Lorin Gabriel Ashton, better known under his stage name Bassnectar (born February 16, 1978), is an American DJ and record producer. Biography Ashton grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended Bellarmine College Preparatory. He initiall ...

, who heavily sampled ''5 A.M. Rinse (feat. MC Sphinx)'', the last song on her first album ''When Worlds Collide'' for his song ''Here We Go'' of his 2010 EP and single '' Timestretch''. She has since unaligned herself with the aforementioned and is currently still awaiting some unpaid royalties promised to her by Bassnectar. Additionally,

electronic rock Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrum ...

act

Celldweller Celldweller is an American electronic rock project by multi-musician Klayton. Celldweller songs have been featured in many films, movie trailers, television shows and video games. Career Precursors: Circle of Dust and Angeldust (1992–1999) Th ...

sampled "Wake Up" off of her first album as well as "San Francisco" off of her third album "The Cities Collection" in their 2013 song "Uncrowned". In 1999, Drum & Bass/Hip Hop producer and label owner Hive approached Jordana to remix her song ''Defcon-1'' also off of ''When Worlds Collide''. Hive's remix appears on his 2001 album ''The Raw Uncut''. Jordana collaborated with

Lady Sovereign Louise Amanda Harman (born 19 December 1985), better known by the stage name Lady Sovereign, is a British rapper, best known for the songs "9 to 5" and "Love Me or Hate Me". Early life and family Lady Sovereign grew up in Chalkhill Estate in ...

on a song early in Sov's career after the two met through an internet chat room for StrikeFM.co.uk, an online radio station which Jordana had a show, and the now defunct UKGarageWorldwide.com forums. The two would later team up when Jordana under her Lady J alias, had Lady Sovereign MC for her radio show on

Flex FM Flex FM is a London-based community radio station, which originally started life as a pirate radio station. Flex broadcasts house, drum and bass, dubstep, UK garage, old skool hardcore, reggae and soul to London and surrounding areas on 101.4F ...

London.

History

She first came to the attention of the music industry when she was asked to remix Blondie's "Atomic." Her remix appeared along with Armand Van Helden and Diddy’s remixes on the single. A little over a year following that release, Mac McFarlane, the promoter of the well established and legendary

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

club, Konkrete Jungle, contacted her to create a themed song for a CD compilation/mix-CD. Jordana created the song "Konkrete Jungle" for that purpose. Described by CMJ as containing "menacing hardstep attacks", it was released on the Ultra Records compilation, Konkrete Jungle - Maximum Drum & Bass, mixed by

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Drum'n'Bass show host

Jumpin Jack Frost Nigel Thompson (born 29 May 1967), better known as Jumpin Jack Frost, is a British jungle and drum and bass DJ and record producer. Biography Frost was born in Brixton, London, and after a troubled youth, started to discover music through loca ...

. Following extensive touring throughout North America and abroad as a music producer, Liquid Sky Music, an indie label distributed by Caroline Distribution signed her to a three-album contract in late 1996.

Hate crime in Ohio

On the night of February 22, 2000 in Kent,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, Jordana was attacked and beaten in a hate crime by a group of men including Matthew Gostlin. Gostlin and other assailants vaulted her in the parking lot outside of the Robin Hood nightclub where she had just performed on the Cities Collection tour. The group of men attacked suddenly and Jordana lost consciousness almost immediately after being struck in the face. She suffered nerve damage to the lower part of her face as a result. She was quoted, saying in the May 2000 issue of CMJ ''New Music Monthly'' that in the seconds just prior to the attack: "I saw his face. I remember the look on his face. It was this look of utter hate" In an interview with the Village Voice, George Meesig, a man from Cleveland, Ohio who defended her during the attack, stated that Gostlin had misgendered her, saying “this is personal”. Other reports noted by the Village Voice on the message board for Breakbeat Science (a Drum'n'Bass record store) mentioned transphobic slurs being shouted during the attack. She subsequently cancelled the tour. Gostlin, while charged, was never arrested nor spent any time in court. Her family was told by the Portage County (Ohio) prosecutor's office that attempts had been made to serve the warrant but Gostlin's whereabouts were unknown. She felt that justice would not be served so she left the United States for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Additional work in music industry

In addition to music production, Jordana is a DJ, musician and singer. From 2001 to 2002, she worked at

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England as Lady J, with

performing for her during her radio show. In 2002, she held a club residency performing

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...

2-step garage 2-step garage, or simply 2-step, is a genre of electronic music and a subgenre of UK garage.''A transcription of this article is availablhere as a PDF file.'' One of the primary characteristics of the 2-step sound – the term being coined to de ...

and house music at the club Trinity in Vauxhall. After returning to the United States, Jordana returned to rock and fronted a goth metal band in Seattle. Prior to that, she was asked to play bass in another band briefly where she became close friends with singer Shelita Burke. She has been billed alongside Arca for Planet Zolean: Un/Tuck + Hot Mass on the Currents.FM Common Multiverse Initiative. She was featured as Mix of the Day for Resident Advisor, and recently contributed to the Daisychain Podcast. After a long hiatus Jordana has returned to DJing out and made her first appearance in over a decade at the Seattle, Washington music festival, Kremfest at Kremwerk. She's since played multiple underground raves with upcoming shows on the horizon. In 2014, Jordana scored the documentary ''Free CeCe,'' produced and directed by Jacqueline Gares and

Laverne Cox Laverne Cox (born May 29, 1972) is an American actress and LGBT advocate. She rose to prominence with her role as Sophia Burset on the Netflix series ''Orange Is the New Black'', becoming the first transgender person to be nominated for a Pr ...

. The documentary details the struggles of CeCe McDonald, an African-American

trans woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and s ...

wrongfully incarcerated for murder for defending herself against an attack on her outside a

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

bar.

Literary mentions

She has been featured in several books. Her success in rising from living in a "rust belt" city to being an MTV-featured electronic music artist was mentioned in " The Rise of the Creative Class" by economist

Richard Florida Richard L. Florida is an American urban studies theorist focusing on social and economic theory. He is a professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a Distinguished Fellow at NYU's School of Professional Studies. ...

. She appears in two books detailing American electronic dance music scene history: Michaelangelo Matos's ''The Underground is Massive,'' and ''Rave Culture, an Insider's Overview'' by Jimi Fritz and Virginia Smallfry. Monica Roberts was a close confidante and cited Jordana's influence as pushing her to expand her printed publication TransGriot to a blog in 2006. An interview with Jordana was featured in multiple books, including a book published in 2012 by rock journalist

George Petros George Lawrence Petros (born 11 January 1955) is an American art designer, author, editor, interviewer and illustrator. From 1984 through 1992 he published and edited ''EXIT'', a punk-inspired art and science fiction magazine he founded with Adam ...

. She has spoken on her personal life in interviews for publications such as The Festival Voice, The Brooklyn Rail and href zine.

Personal life

She currently lives in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Vinyl

* 1995 Blondie "Atomic (The Beautiful Drum and Bass Mix)" VV58320 Chrysalis Records/

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

* 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".. ith 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.

– "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 Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerat ...

/ 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

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

References

External links

* * https://www.jordana.co * https://jordanaofficial.bandcamp.com/ * https://www.mixcloud.com/jordana/ * https://soundcloud.com/jordanaofficial * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jordana Rock DJs Remixers American dance musicians American electronic musicians American techno musicians American drum and bass musicians LGBT people from Pennsylvania Transgender women musicians LGBT DJs Musicians from Pittsburgh Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American women in electronic music Electronic dance music DJs LGBT record producers American women record producers Transgender singers African-American DJs African-American LGBT people 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers American transgender musicians