Jordana LeSesne, formerly known as 1.8.7, is an American musician and producer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[1] She now produces and performs as Jordana. She became known in the mid-1990s as a drum and bass producer.[2]Vibe magazine called her "one of the most respected Drum ‘n' Bass producers in the US."[3] In 2015, she was named as one of "20 women who shaped the history of dance music" by Mixmag.[4] She is transgender and came out in 1998.[5][2]
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. 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[6] 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.[7][8][9]
Her works have been reviewed by Billboard,[10]Spin, Rolling Stone, Urb, Mixer, Mixmag, Raygun,[3] 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.[11]
Her work has influenced artists such as dubstep producer Bassnectar, 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.[12] She has since unaligned herself with the aforementioned and is currently still awaiting some unpaid royalties promised to her by Bassnectar. [13] Additionally, electronic rock act Celldweller 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".[14]
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.[15] Jordana collaborated with Lady Sovereign 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 London.[16]
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.[3] A little over a year following that release, Mac McFarlane, the promoter of the well established and legendary New York City 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",[17] it was released on the Ultra Records compilation, Konkrete Jungle - Maximum Drum & Bass, mixed by BBC Radio 1 Drum'n'Bass show host Jumpin Jack Frost. 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.
On the night of February 22, 2000 in Kent, Ohio, Jordana was attacked and beaten in a hate crime by a group of men including Matthew Gostlin.[18] 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"[19] 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”.[20] 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.[18] 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.
In addition to music production, Jordana is a DJ, musician and singer. From 2001 to 2002, she worked at Flex FMinLondon, England as Lady J, with Lady Sovereign performing for her during her radio show.[21] In 2002, she held a club residency performing UK garage, 2-step garage 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.[22][23] She was featured as Mix of the Day for Resident Advisor,[24] 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.[25] 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. The documentary details the struggles of CeCe McDonald, an African-American trans woman wrongfully incarcerated for murder for defending herself against an attack on her outside a Minneapolis bar.[26][27]
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. She appears in two books detailing American electronic dance music scene history: Michaelangelo Matos's The Underground is Massive,[28] and Rave Culture, an Insider's Overview by Jimi Fritz and Virginia Smallfry.[29] 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.[30][31]
An interview with Jordana was featured in multiple books, including a book published in 2012 by rock journalist George Petros.[32] She has spoken on her personal life in interviews for publications such as The Festival Voice,[33] The Brooklyn Rail[34] and href zine.[35]
^Bill Werde (February 29, 2000). "Top Jungle Producer Attacked". Villagevoice.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
^"AFROPUNK". Afropunk.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
^Matos, Michaelangelo (April 28, 2015). The Underground Is Massive: How Electronic Dance Music Conquered America. Dey Street Books. p. 154. ISBN978-0062271785.
