JORDANN and MUNYA have a lot in common. They both hail from Montreal; the two musicians trained in classical music while growing up; and it appears that they share a love for Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. “Naoko” – their latest release that shares a name with a character in Miyazaki‘s most recent film The Wind Rises – blends multiple cultures with varied emotions in a multilingual, multidimensional single.

Jordan Hébert, who performs under the name JORDANN, has been steadily releasing smooth, easygoing singles since 2017. In 2018, Men I Trust‘s Dragos Chiriac produced “Ashore,” his first single in English. Since then, he released debut EP Connecting Visitors to Fun, which further established the singer-songwriter as a master of chill bops. Sonically, JORDANN pairs perfectly with MUNYA, a powerful artist in her own right whose hits including “It’s All About You” and “Boca Chica” have found a home on the playlists of every tastemaker worth their salt. However, where JORDANN‘s music revels in a dark smoothness, MUNYA‘s signature sound celebrates pep, fast tempos and psychedelic touches. Together, the pair create a track that contains layers of JORDANN‘s coolness with MUNYA‘s upbeatness. “Naoko” immediately features JORDANN‘s relaxed vibe, with a smooth baseline that grooves and moves throughout the track. MUNYA brings the pop with the inclusion of a playful drumbeat and bright synths.

“Naoko” chronicles a relationship that’s continuing on despite the challenges created through distance. The pair harmonize throughout, singing in one evocative section, “We’ve parted ways though the air still flows / I hear the winds you play and my heart still soars / I keep trying to rephrase what I overhear / It can be such a maze but I volunteer.” French lyrics are also peppered in alongside English words. “Naoko” conveys that overcoming difficulties – whether it be physical separation, a language barrier, or something else entirely – can be possible with deep love and perseverance. Still, there is a melancholic uncertainty that shines through in the single, leaving listeners to wonder if the couple portrayed will really pull through.

Montreal-based musician JORDANN has gradually accrued a discography of bedroom pop bops, all featuring funky overtones and the smoothest of production. “Funk Olympics” only adds to this, becoming one of the most soigne songs of his bunch. The attention to detail here is fastidious, as each percussive tick, synth flourish and vocal note appears in the exact spot needed to keep the track pulsing with life. As he sings of forgetting the world around him when with his lover, so too will the listener forget about their world as they’re swept up into the song’s irresistible charms.

The music video to the track is also wonderful. Starring the artist, we see JORDANN train for the Olympic Games in Tokyo outside Montreal’s famed Olympic Stadium. He bikes around the globe, from the Taj Mahal to the Pyramids of Giza, eventually landing in Tokyo to represent Canada with pride. Ultimately, he achieves his goal in hilarious fashion, as we find out he’s competing in a Mario Kart race against the likes of Toad. You can watch the video and purchase the single below.

JORDANN returns today with “Corporate Social Responsibility,” the first offering since the release of his 2020 debut EP Connecting Visitors to Fun. As usual, the Montréal-based indie pop artist crafted a mellow and nostalgic groove with vintage synths and a drum machine from the 1980s. Navigating “the strong desire for emotional connection in times of psychological distress,” the dreamy track breathes with a nostalgic mood, which is fed by his frequent melancholy portrayal of the corporate world (he already released a track entitled “Business Solutions”). Rare are the artists that are able to encapsulate the spleen like he does.

Montreal’s bedroom pop artist JORDANN has been on our radar for more than a year now, since he released his amazing breakthrough track “I Revel in You”. Since then, the artist has consistently pleased us with a sharp and groovy cocktail of dashing basslines, dreamy synths, and melancholic croon. His debut EP features the previously shared gems “Café Speed” and “Poll Line“, as well as the highlight “Marketa”. The new track is inspired by the character of Markéta Irglova in John Carney‘s movie Once. Listen to the whole EP below.

JORDANN‘s music breathes with a whiff of nostalgia, both for its sounds and thematics. On the melancholic slow-jam “Business Solutions“, the Montreal-based artist was showcasing his love for disco-tinged grooves and dashing basslines, recalling his Montreal fellas of Men I Trust. More recently, the bedroom artist came up with “Café Speed“, another sepia-toned gem that we described as “one the best 80s sitcom theme songs never written”. The track is actually the first single taken from his upcoming self-produced debut EP, Connecting Visitors to Fun.

Before unveiling this project, the artist teases us a bit more with “Poll Line”, another spleen-loaded track sung both in French and English. Both a break-up and reconciliation song, it beautifully encapsulates the wanderings of Love.

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Like every December, we close a year of music with our traditional lists. After the Best Albums and Best EPs and Mixtapes, we’re happy to unveil the songs that made 2019 according to our team. Are these the best releases of the year ? Maybe yes, maybe no. But for sure, they represent what we have loved over the 12 months.

2019 is also the end of a decade and, even if the blog did not exist 10 years ago, we will try to share our favourite tracks of this era during the first quarter of 2020.

Finally, I’d like to mention that HighClouds would not be the same without its team of dedicated writers. People don’t always realize it but running a blog and contributing, even only from time to time, requires a lot of energy on top of your full-time job. So thank you to each of you for this.

And now, here are the 100 tracks of 2019, as well as a huge Spotify playlist to go through our selection and discover some other amazing tracks that almost made the cut this year. Thank you for reading us and see you next decade!

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100. 0171 – “1000 Words”

99. Modern Feelings – “Culture”

98. STAINWASHER – “Joy For Me”

97. Alina Bea – “King of Nothing”

96. Lowly – “baglaens”

95. Yot Club – “no way !”

94. Helado Negro – “Running”

93. BEA1991 – “Did You Feel Me Slip Away?”

92. Deaton Chris Anthony, Clairo, Coco & Clair Clair – “RACECAR”

91. Sandy – “Signals”

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90. Common Holly – “You Dance”

89. Teen Body – “Validation”

88. SOPHIE, Doss – “Whole New World (Sophie and Doss remix)”

87. Emily Reo – “Ghosting”

86. Barrie – “Darjeeling”

85. Caroline Polachek – “Pang”

84. 박혜진 Park Hye Jin – “I DON’T CARE”

83. Kraków Loves Adana – “Follow The Voice”

82. Jessica Pratt – “Aeroplane”

81. Ariel – “Dream Team”

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80. Spellling – “Under The Sun”

79. MUNYA – “It’s All About You”

78. Von – “Dealer’s Gone”

77. Makthaverskan – “Demands”

76. SASSY 009 – “Maybe in the Summer”

75. Jessie Ware – “Adore You”

74. PAT – “Love Will Find a Way Home”

73. XUXA SANTAMARIA – “Rudos Del Mar”

72. Ascendant Vierge – “Influenceur”

71. Thom Yorke – “Dawn Chorus”

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70. Nilüfer Yanya – “Baby Blu”

69. Saeyers – “Cruise”

68. Quinn Christopher – “Erase Me”

67. The Dawdler – “Sylvie”

66. TR/ST – “Iris”

65. Jai Paul – “He”

64. Maria Somerville – “Brighter Days”

63. Morabeza Tobacco – “Orinoco”

62. Eartheater – “Fontanel”

61. Otha – “Tired and Sick”

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60. Eugenia Post Meridiem – “Anjos”

59. Vagabon – “Water Me Down”

58. Lala Lala, WHY? – “Siren 042”

57. Jackie Mendoza – “De Lejos”

56. Dorian Electra – “Flamboyant”

55. Crack Cloud – “The Next Fix”

54. Chromatics – “You’re No Good”

53. Hana Vu – “Order”

52. Magdalena Bay – “Only If You Want It”

51. Ebhoni – “TGM”

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50. Cherushii, Maria Minerva – “A Day Without You”

49. Maluca – “NYC Baby”

48. Tyler, The Creator – “EARFQUAKE”

47. JPEGMAFIA, Helena Deland – “Free The Frail”

46. Blue Hawaii – “Still I Miss U”

45. Oklou – “Forever”

44. Crumb – “Ghostride”

43. Ariana Grande – “NASA”

42. Weyes Blood – “Movies”

41. Pure Bathing Culture – “All Night”

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40. Beauty Queen – “The Only One”

39. Couch Prints – “Tell U”

38. 070 Shake – “Morrow”

37. JORDANN – “Café Speed”

36. Lizzo – “Juice”

35. 100 gecs – “Money Machine”

34. Hand Habits – “can’t calm down”

33. Jenny Hval – “Ashes to Ashes”

32. (Sandy) Alex G – “Gretel”

31. Arlo Parks – “Super Sad Generation”

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30. Grace Ives – “Anything”

29. Burial – “Claustro”

28. Sharon Van Etten – “Seventeen”

27. pronoun – “stay”

26. Requin Chagrin – “Sémaphore”

25. BEA1991 – “My Own Heaven”

24. Billie Eilish – “bad guy”

23. Sorry Girls – “One That You Want”

22. Japan, Man – “Stop Staring”

21. Drauve – “Haunted”

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20. Big Thief – “UFOF”

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19. MUNA – “Number One Fan”

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18. Claud – “Easy”

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17. Danny Brown – “Dirty Laundry”

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16. Angel Olsen – “Lark”

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15. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Want You In My Room”

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14. Caroline Polachek – “Door”

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13. Boy Harsher – “LA”

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12. Magdalena Bay – “Venice”

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11. Erika de Casier – “Do My thing”

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10. Men I Trust – “Numb”

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9. Charlotte Adigéry – “Paténipat”

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8. Σtella – “Samba”

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7. GEORGIA – “About Work The Dancefloor”

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6. Lana Del Rey – “hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have”

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5. Aldous Harding – “The Barrel”

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4. Big Thief – “Not”

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3. Charli XCX, Christine and the Queens – “Gone”

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2. FKA twigs – “Cellophane”

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1. Clairo – “Bags”

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It’s the Halloween season, which means that for the past week it’s been nearly impossible to avoid certain songs: The Addams Family theme, Ghostbusters, The Monster Mash, “Thriller.” So what a delightful surprise it was to come across the new track by independent bedroom-pop artist JORDANN, “Café Speed,” lead single from his upcoming EP Connecting Visitors to Fun. You may remember back in May when we wrote about previous single, “Business Solutions,” a dreamy yet melancholy slice of indie-disco, not wholly unlike the work of DIY darlings (and fellow Montrealers) Men I Trust. And before that it was last year’s future-funk slow-jam, “I Revel In You,” a pop song that wouldn’t necessarily feel out of place in the end credits of a David Lynch film, as strange as that may sound.

This time around, JORDANN jumps right in with his signature combination of reverby snare drums, keyboard chords, and hard-to-miss bass, but also throws a perfectly dated synth line on the top of the first 20 seconds, resulting in the best 80s sitcom theme song never written. The gentle, mildly breathy vocals, while not always easy to understand, are reminiscent of Kings of Convenience‘s “Erlend Oye,” were his side-projects to lean further into RnB territory. What’s especially impressive about this song, however, is the exquisite arrangement. Check out the final 45 seconds, for instance. JORDANN expertly fills every available space of the instrumental outro with a gaggle of synths, horns, and the occasional guitar strum — all without feeling cluttered or claustrophobic. To borrow a phrase, there is a place for everything, and everything is in its place.

Equally impressive is how the funky, slinky, and totally popping bass line pulls triple-duty here, functioning simultaneously as rhythm, melody, and ear candy. It’s high up in the mix, so it stands out, but it’s also so fun, propulsive, and catchy that it practically begs to be the focus of your attention at certain moments. In an unexpected twist between the final chorus and the aforementioned outro, the tempo slows to half time, the snares amplify their echo, and for about 30 seconds the song now transforms into the best 80s teen rom-com love theme never written.

There is a lot to love here, and regardless of whether or not you require a respite from the season’s beloved Halloween tunes, it’s very easy to want to blast this on repeat. Which is good news since we have another couple of months to wait until the EP’s release. And by that time, this particular visitor will definitely be ready to be connected to some fun.

Hailing from the bustling city of Montréal, Jordan Hebert, better known as JORDANN, is a one-man band crafting indie pop tracks in his bedroom. If you like Men I Trust‘s dreamy and sepia-toned songs, you will certainly dig his music as well (Dragos Chiriac actually mixed and mastered his debut singles “Ashore” and “I Revel in You”). Like his Montréal fellas, JORDANN manages to produce delicate tracks decked with sharp details while always embracing a low-key and DIY ethos. Therefore, his songs come up with some beautiful contrasts, sounding both minimalist and intricate, warm and wistful.

His new offering “Business Solutions” is totally in line with this approach. Driven by a sleepy funk bass, its sparse and refined groove appears as welcoming at first, even recalling Daft Punk‘s masterpiece “Something About Us” to mind. But behind these smooth and caressing arrangements, there’s also a glimpse of autumnal melancholy, in the lyrics and the synth melody. Listen below.