INTERVIEW: Jordan ‘JJ’ Olifent – Borders

With an innate ability to seamlessly blend genres and styles in order to forge a bludgeoning yet melodic sound, Lincoln’s BORDERS have been raging against the machine since the release of 2017 EP Diagnosed. Chock-full of gargantuan grooves and throat-shredding vitriol, it also presented itself as a scathing expose on modern day issues like healthcare, austerity and corruption. Two years on, the quartet are back and ready to share another ambitious collection of music with a message – their debut full-length entitled Purify. We caught up with band talisman Jordan ‘JJ’ Olifent prior to its release in order to get the story behind the album.

Purify is due to be released May 10th and will be BORDERS’ debut album. Did you guys feel any sense of pressure going into it?

Jordan: We did and I think that’s why we spent so much time working on it. We released Diagnosed in 2017 so there was a lot of preparation for this because we wanted it to hit hard and make a point of our new sound. We’ve experimented with a few different styles, specifically with rap, that is going to be flowing into this record. We actually did all the pre-production ourselves too. There was certainly a lot of pressure, but it was worth the wait and we’re super excited to have it out.

What would you say are the main differences between the music now and that of the Diagnosed era?

Jordan: I feel like it’s much more polished and where we want it to be. Personally, from a vocalist’s point of view, I wanted people to hear my lyrics more. It still has that technical brutality – the screaming and harsh vocals we really like and we’re keeping those elements on this album. But because a lot of the lyrical content has changed and has become quite important for the branding and meaning of Purify, we decided to do a lot of the rapping stuff as well. There’s a lot more of a metalcore vibe, people are calling it “rapcore” [laughs] I don’t know though, I mean, that’s putting us up there with bands like ATILLA. And I don’t think it’s quite like them!

What have the reactions from press folks been like so far?

Jordan: Its been crazy press wise – its mainly been a lot of underground shows and folks wanting to get in touch and put the message out there. We’ve had a lot of radio play and I’m actually really stoked for this interview to be honest, obviously we’ve known each other for a long time now. People have reacted really well but mainly it’s the public’s reaction that I’m more surprised and shocked at – that organic reach and response that we’ve had. Just by simply putting out a record through Long Branch – the amount of interest that we’ve had. Obviously, I can’t say too much but our future prospects are looking good! We’ve had a lot of interest and there’s some things that are really gonna help us. We’ve got some festivals lined up too; Burn It Down is one. I mean there’s some amazing bands playing that. And of course, we’ve got UK Tech-Metal Fest. The response has been amazing from the fans of the older stuff, but we’ve got new fans too because it’s such a different style this time around. Its just been great so far!

What was the decision behind your choice to release 731 as the first single?

Jordan: We wanted to have that track go live first and it also worked being the first track on the album because it’s showing how our sound has changed the most. It’s keeping the old elements of BORDERS but giving you a taste of the new style. An interesting point of the album is that we refer to Purify as being a call for a purge of corruption – and it’s a call for the average person to think about the world that they inhabit. For me personally, I’ve created a timeline of corruption. Years and years ago when they had these experimental war camps going on – even just looking back to the Holocaust time period – the corruption that was going on was so open to the world. People knew about these things and at the time things were a given. Whereas I think corruption nowadays is behind closed doors. It’s the fast food companies, the pharmaceutical companies – the chemicals and shit that’s going into food and making people really ill. I wanted to show a journey of corruption from the past all the way to the present and what it could be in the future. 731 is where it starts – that’s the beginning of the timeline. It does hit hard lyrically and that song meant a lot so we wanted to put it out first.

What’s going on in the video for War in terms of its visual aesthetic with all the yellow that’s being used?

Jordan: We wanted to go with the yellow aspect in order for it to be representative of the corruption in the album. War is more of a performance video, but all of the artwork that you see is representative of that corruption I’ve referred to – it links in to 731 too. How what we could consider as medicine, the yellow stuff feeding down the tubes into the chap in the video? It’s working on another level, as a symbol of sorts.

We’re actually getting some HACKTIVIST vibes from the album at certain points – are they a musical influence for BORDERS?

Jordan: They’re not as such – although I do really like their stuff. We’ve played with them before in London and we do admire how they brought rap to that genre. You know, the more tech/djent side of things. Whereas we wanted to bring the rap style to metalcore – so we’ve still got those techy vibes but we wanted to put a different spin on it. I know they do mention the kind of corruption, but the content of this album does filter back to the Diagnosed stuff and to my own personal experiences with my mum and her cancer diagnosis in 2011. I’ve always been such a fan of UK grime though. Growing up in Nottingham, it’s like the main genre of music. I used to go to loads of rap battles and so I knew how to do it from there. Its why we tried it with Purify.

The world in 2019 is a daunting place in which to live. Do you think that humanity truly needs to sit up and recognise what’s going on around us in order to survive?

Jordan: I think there should be a call for change. I think we need it. And this is exactly what Purify is about, it’s about thinking outside of the box. It’s about thinking about the world that we live in today and what is going on and trying to not be fooled by all of this information that we’re being force fed by mainstream media. That’s what War touches on actually. I won’t tell you the place, but this might be a bit of interesting insider info. I did an internship at quite a big news organisation. And they would send me out to get negative opinions on something that was happening in a certain area. I can’t remember the ins and outs of it – most people only had positive opinions, but they only took and reported on the negative ones. So, to the public eye, that information was easily misinterpreted. That’s why I think that people should do their own research and find trustworthy media and not feel like they are pressured into believing certain things.

In terms of Diagnosed’s lyrical content and themes, you voiced your own personal mistrust for the pharmaceutical industry – was it a conscious decision to continue down a similar path with Purify?

Jordan: Absolutely. Diagnosed was very much a personal story for me although it also touched on things that people can relate to nowadays. I wanted to give a broad range of different times and types of corruption so you can see and experience that journey from start to finish. To see how this world is ending up and how it could be. We’re writing some stuff at the moment, and I’m very invested and interested in our future music – maybe touching on an album that’s to do with the future or the end of the world and where that could lead us. This one is more about the past, present and the way it could go.

How does the recording process work for BORDERS – is it a collaborative effort or do you have a principal lyricist/songwriter and then everyone else offers an opinion or idea?

Jordan: Gav [Burton, guitars] is the main writer of the music – he’ll write the instrumental for the song. I’ll put the lyrics on top of it then typically we’ll do a demo then get Dan and Tom round. The guys are all really skilled – they’ve all got degrees in music production. We’ll go through things step by step, figure out where we could change some parts and then we all work on it together.

You recently signed with Long Branch Records. How has the support been from them?

Jordan: We could not have asked for a better label to sign with to be honest. They’ve pushed it really really hard and been really supportive and I’m so pleased with what they’ve done. They came and watched us when we played in Hannover with MARTYR DEFILED. We knew about their interest back then but researching into their roster its just crazy. GHOST IRIS – absolutely incredible band. THE ROYAL too – the things they’re doing are just ridiculous. The vocalist from CRYSTAL LAKE featured on one their tracks – that speaks for itself! Fingers crossed – it’s looking good with us and them!

As genres, tech metal and metalcore are saturated with so many similar bands falling under the umbrella. What is it about BORDERS’ sound that differentiates you from the pack?

Jordan: It’s the fact that we’re not afraid to try something different, but also by staying true to our roots. We’ve always had what I consider to be that BORDERS sound, I feel like it’s our own, but we also understand and appreciate that there’s elements of these genres that make the music and finalise it and make it what it is. We love catchy choruses, so we’ve always tried to make them that way and as pop-like as possible. Like with a lot of metalcore stuff out there. With tech, you need to stay true to your wrist [laughs]! We’ve created a balance, but I think that our sound shines through that – and I hope that people can recognise it.

What would you like fans to take away from this album?

Jordan: Definitely the lyrical content. Purify has such a personal meaning to us, that we want to make that relatable to everybody else. I’d want them to understand what we’re talking about with this purge – how we can face down the corruption, think outside the box and research into these things and make the world a better place.

If you could achieve one thing as a band in 2019 what would that be?

Jordan: Download Festival! We’ve been so close! I’ve actually never been, it’s a festival that I’ve wanted to go to since I was 14, but there has always been one reason or another why I couldn’t make it. I’ve said I want my first time at Download to be playing. I think it’s definitely possible though – and we’re all such fans. Maybe next year!

Purify is out now via Long Branch Records.

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