“Smoke” is Zoe Sky Jordan’s first single off of her upcoming album, Topiary, and it’s a good one. No stranger to the spotlight, Jordan’s songs have been featured in shows such as Degrassi: TNG, and in ads for KIA and Tim Horton’s. The alternative pop singer is originally from Toronto, but is now based out of Nashville, Tennessee.
Her song, “Smoke,” is so, so catchy. The array of instruments seem disorganized at first, until the strum of the guitar brings all of them together. “The intro is a warped sample from a 70s funk record,” Zoe elaborates. Her voice is captivating with a slightly wispy quality, fitting for a track titled “Smoke.” The song is made of layers and layers of instrumentals and background vocals and brought together in such a way that the sound is so serene that it is easy to get lost in, as Jordan’s words float across the surface.
To bring more light to the song, Zoe stated, “I had the title of the song when I was writing my first EP Restless,Unfocused, but never found the right story to match. It was inspired by the way a friend handled the loss of her boyfriend who died suddenly of a drug overdose. From what I have heard he wasn’t a heavy drug user, he just happened to take something that was bad one night. He was a young guy and it was pretty devastating. I was inspired by the way my friend handled his death. It all seemed to come from the perspective of celebrating his life not focusing on the tragedy and the unfairness of it all. It hasn’t stopped her from partying, it hasn’t frightened her from taking risks and that was the philosophy the lyrics came from. ‘Smoking cause you smoke and cause it feels good’ is that person saying ‘Living like you did and doing the things that you taught me makes me feel close to you again, and instead of shutting down in the face of loss I’m going to honor the way you lived by continuing to get the most out of my life.'”
We’re getting the most out of our lives by enjoying music like this.
Zoe Sky Jordan’s album, Topiary, will be out on August 26th.
