Dive into The Midnight Zone With Jordyn Stoddard
Photo credit: Luke Rogers
The Midnight Zone is a collection of songs that bring all the elements of light and dark into a new perspective. These songs have been written and produced over the last two years. I had the name for the project before writing/recording most of the singles. I am a concept artist, where I combine fashion, visuals, and storylines into one big picture. I spent time back home in Florida during Covid, and funny enough my mom randomly asked me one day if I knew what “The Midnight Zone” was as we were walking around Amelia Island. She began to tell me the scientific definition of the oceanic zone: “The Midnight Zone is one of the deepest/darkest parts of the ocean, where no light shines through and because of the dark habitat, all animals are predators and scavengers.” Now you're probably wondering why the hell I used this for a project title. This EP for me captures some of the darkest and lightest elements combining all aspects of music and life. I wanted to empower my listeners by being my most vulnerable self. This entire project was produced and written by females, all of them being my closest friends. Getting to work with the people that know me best truly allowed me to explore parts of myself that I was hesitant to share. I hope you hear all these unique parts of me, and it encourages you to be your most confident self as well. Get ready to dive into the midnight zone.
TMZ Intro
This intro was written and recorded the same week as “What’s Mine.” I knew I wanted either a song or intro track that was called “The Midnight Zone” to tie into the concept. The intro sets up the entire theme of what you're about to immerse in; the definition of Midnight Zone, exposing my darkest elements. My favorite part about this track is that my producer, Toxic Pop Syndrome, took sounds from each single and added it into the intro. If you listen closely you will hear parts from each song in this track.
What’s Mine
“What's Mine” was originally written as a pitch for Selena Gomez but turned into my own anthem of self confidence. Quarantine gave me time to reflect on habits that I wanted to quit. After years of feeling ignored and underestimated in the music industry, “What’s Mine” is my statement of self worth and empowerment, not only for myself but for others. This is the song I want people to resonate with, knowing that their hard work will pay off and their sole value comes from being confident in themselves.
In My Dreams ft. Neeko Crowe
I can’t say I have a favorite song from this project because they all represent such a specific time in my life, but this song holds a special place in my heart. “In My Dreams” not only describes the realness in relationships but the process of writing this song is extremely memorable. I wrote this song with Sara Sturm who was my first friend/co-writer in Nashville. We met in college and she became my best friend and has been one of my biggest supporters over the last six years. During Covid we would write over FaceTime to pass the hours in the day. I was missing somebody that was no longer in my life, and I wanted to reflect on that. I was having these vivid dreams at night about being back with that person and of course in the dream everything was easy. But as soon as I woke up, real life kicked back in. The outro was written during the process of recording the song. I wanted to bring back some of the darker elements since this song is more light hearted. When you give so much of yourself to somebody sometimes you get lost.
Self Sabotage
This was the very first song written for the project. At the time I was secretly seeing somebody who was having a major effect on me emotionally. It was not an exclusive relationship and I spent that entire summer trying to prove to somebody that I was enough. It was exhausting. I knew the position I continued to put myself in, and it's how I got the title of the song. After walking away from that relationship, I wrote down the words “self sabotage.” My producer asked me to hop in a session for pitch a couple weeks after all the drama. I think what really kick started some of these songs was them being originally written for pitch. Even though I was writing my truth, I think eliminating myself as the artist for a moment allowed me to be completely raw with what I needed to say. This song was too personal not to take for myself. I knew the mistake I had made by giving someone else my time and love who clearly didn't accept it. This song helped me recognize that and take my power back.
Murder His Feelings
This was the last song written on the EP. This song started in my bedroom with just Sara and I during Covid. The song was originally called something else and the hook was completely different. I called my mix engineer Dan to tell him I was ready to record the next single for the project. I said over the phone the old title of the song and he responded with “Murder His Feelings, what a bad ass title.” I immediately said “Um that was not what I said but now I have to re-write this song because that is it.” The next day I went into the studio and my producer (Toxic Pop Syndrome) and I rewrote the entire hook of the song, and re-framed the entire lyrics around this concept. It felt like the strongest way to end the project bringing back this idea of what the Midnight Zone describes. I had so much fun recording this song, it allowed me to play this edgy character that helped me not overthink the emotions behind the song.