Read me in the original French
On one ear, a cauri shell. On the other, a map of La Réunion. Jordan Olympus, an emerging pop star, expresses his multiple identities through his music and his style. It’s why he wears these earrings: the first is a symbol of his Malagasy origins; the second, an ode to the island his father calls home, where he lived between 2008 and 2010. Now settled in France, he released “Whine” on 14th November, a song celebrating the eponymous dance, which is very popular in island nations.
Jordan Olympus is always busy. He spent the morning frantically calling dancers in preparation for a concert at the Odeon on 8th December. After weeks of waiting for responses from professionals, he finally decided to recruit street performers. These dancers are no doubt talented. However, there are only two weeks until the concert. Another call arrives. “It’s a lot to manage,” he admits.
"Cinema isn’t real enough because you have to repeat the same scene a thousand times. Music allows you to craft something which looks like you"
Yet it’s for this kind of scenario that Jordan is best prepared. Self-taught on guitar, piano and production software, he has learned to be independent. For two years, he has also been taking dance lessons which help him direct his new collaborators. However, his decision to attend classes was unrelated to his musical career. Instead, he sees them as an outlet: “Dance is one of the only things that makes me not think at all.”
Before dedicating himself to music and dance, he was immersed in these arts. Thanks to his musician parents, he grew up in an eclectic musical environment, steeped in francophone, anglophone and Malagasy influences. However, while they listened to rock and French variety, Jordan Olympus preferred Afro-American music. “I learned to love taking the stage at family parties,” he reminisces, “On the side, I was drawing a lot.”
The workshop or the stage?
His love for art is not limited to music. Initially, he did not consider it a career, instead imagining that he would become an illustrator. He eventually recognised that he was too extraverted for such an isolating artform and opted to attend film school: “I really like moving. I really like communicating with people.” Then, he realised he had again made the wrong decision: “Cinema isn’t real enough because you have to repeat the same scene a thousand times. Music allows you to craft something which looks like you.”
For someone who, from the moment he arrived in France, suffered from the perceptions of others, expressing himself through art is vital. “Even if I'm African, I'm not black enough to be considered black by some people,” he explains, “But neither am I Asian, nor am I white.”
"Even if I'm African, I'm not black enough to be considered black by some people. But neither am I Asian, nor am I white"
Jordan Olympus embodies a mixture of identities, thanks to Madagascar’s African, European and Asian influences. This diversity is reflected in his use of several languages including English, French, Malagasy and Spanish. Yet it is in English that he prefers to write his lyrics: “When I write in French, I feel like it isn’t me.”
He constantly slips in English phrases, demonstrating the ease with which he expresses himself in that language. But his decision to sing in English goes beyond that. Today, it’s more about refusing to be categorised. “Why not?” he asks, gesturing wildly, “I can come from Madagascar, be in France and sing in English.”
A visual universe
This hybrid identity also manifests itself in the visual aspects of his work. Aided by his cinema training, Jordan Olympus is building his own “universe”, drawing upon Greek and African folklore. He chose the name “Olympus” because his favourite stories in secondary school were about the Olympians: “I really like anything out of the ordinary.” The influence of African folklore is most evident in his outfits. Even if he is wearing black today, he has never hidden his love for colourful African designs and has sung at several runway shows.
It's a universe he hopes will crystallise with the release of his next EP, which will recount the difficult period between 2019 and 2024. The pandemic came at the same time as the death of his mother. Jordan Olympus had just released his first EP, L’Acension, and was forced to promote it exclusively via live streams. Despite everything, he remained optimistic. “I'm a superstitious person,” he laughs, explaining that he saw the release of Beyoncé’s Renaissance as heralding a new era of artistic development.
How does he stay so positive? “Focusing on action rather than losing myself in thoughts,” he responds, sipping a glass of white wine. The artist may be searching for a coherent aesthetic but he never wants to stop evolving. His visuals centre around discovering your identity, with the music video for “Whine” showing young people exploring their creativity in various ways, from dance to motorcycling. As he puts it so well, “the autobiography isn’t finished.”
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