Deep Down with Jordan Hunt

In this episode of Deep Down, I speak with dancer and facilitator Bryony Pennington about freedom - not as an ideal, but as a lived experience. Bryony finds it in movement, in adventure, in not needing to ask permission. I tend to find mine in stillness, in structure and in the quiet safety of home. We come from different places, but what unfolds between us is a kind of creative alignment: two art...

In this episode of  Deep Down , I sit down with my lifelong friend and collaborator, Masumi Saito, an extraordinary movement artist whose work resists easy categorisation. Over nearly two decades, we’ve made art together across stages, galleries, and films, and this conversation captures a beautiful moment where we pause to talk about the deeper threads behind it all. We speak about what it means...

In this solo episode, I reflect on the strange, galvanizing force of being commissioned to create. In the early days of my career, commissions carried me forward, one after another, an unbroken wave of invitation and encouragement. I thought it would always be that way. But after a long, unexpected lull, I had to learn a different rhythm: how to keep working without waiting to be asked. From early...

In this episode, I catch up with my longtime friend and collaborator, novelist (and occasional movie star) Lauren J. Joseph. From our early days making DIY operas and performance art to Lauren’s recent book deal with Bloomsbury, we trace the curious ways that art and life blur over time. We talk about what it means to be taken seriously, how writing can reshape reality, and the strange magic of tu...

What happens when we stop fighting to keep everything afloat? In this solo episode, I reflect on the quiet power of letting go; of dreams that might never happen, of identities that no longer serve us, and of surface-level effort that drains more than it gives. Inspired by a painted phrase I stumbled upon: "If you're tired of keeping the ship afloat... let the ship sink", this episod...

In this episode, I sit down with my longtime collaborator and dear friend, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Olivia Chaney. Filmed in her now-hometown of York, we reflect on our shared musical journey; how she helped me shape my voice, and how we’ve both fought against the labels imposed on us, whether in genre or industry. Olivia shares the highs and lows of her time on...

In this episode, I dive deep into the nature of creativity. Is our work finite, or does it stretch on infinitely? Inspired by legends like Sibelius, who famously put a full stop on his composing career, I ponder if an artist’s journey is ever truly complete or simply an endless evolution. I also share a personal story about finding refuge in the garden, where mindfulness helped me cope with burnou...

What if things go well? Dancer, choreographer, and artistic director Monique Jonas believes in unlocking potential; emotional, creative, and human. We talk about the power of positivity, versatility, and transparency, and why dancers are people first, artists second. With Jona Dance, Monique is building a space where the next generation can grow with care, not fear. Join us for a conversation Deep...

In this episode, I dive into the art of upcycling music—taking forgotten melodies, abandoned sketches, and past compositions and giving them new life. But is reworking old ideas a creative shortcut or a path to deeper artistry? From my own decade-old piece resurfacing for a new ballet to Stravinsky’s habit of storing unused themes in a desk drawer, I explore the fine line between repetition and re...

What’s the drive behind making music? For composers like Steven Daverson and me, it’s more than just notes on a page, it’s about connection, creativity, and finding meaning in sound. In this conversation, we reflect on 20 years of friendship, the tension between solitude and collaboration, the thrill (and terror) of hearing your work performed live, and how deadlines can be both a curse and a crea...

Welcome to Season 2 of Deep Down with Jordan Hunt! As the saying goes, no man is an island, or rather no person is an island, and we all depend on a small village to survive, but why does that reality or truth feel so against the grain? Having grown up fiercely independent, I fell into the trap of thinking I could do it all myself. But Deep Down, what was the turning point for me? I discuss this a...

Season 2 out now, with episodes on TuesdaysDeep Down is a candid exploration of the creative process, a series that delves into the symphony of being from the perspective of a London-based composer, performer and self-releasing artist, and through conversations with like-minded friends and colleagues. We take a Deep Dive into lyrics and songwriting, unravelling universal ideas and enigmas through...

A quick update to round up the first twenty episodes of Deep Down with Jordan Hunt.

Time to celebrate! Spring is upon us, and yet I have no time to celebrate. With a list of achievements and reasons to celebrate accumulating, it comes with an ever-expanding schedule to match, and so I ponder in this rare moment for reflection, if Deep Down, which is more important, the achievement, or the celebration?

In this brief episode, after a sleepless night, I gather my thoughts to share examples of what keeps a musician up at night? The same relatable doubts of imposter syndrome, my place in the world, and an unavoidable clarity make for some deep-thinking about how to move forward, and how Deep Down, we’re all together in our solitude.

Music and night-time are such beautiful partners for me, and I always prefer the mystery of the dark to access my inner creative world, but is it a necessary state to be able to write at all, and why is it that the absence of light allows us to access a more boundless interior horizon? After the eight-hour writing stints of my younger days, Deep Down, is there any wisdom to be gleaned from this wa...

In a chaotic and noisy world, I’m sure most of us have felt overwhelmed at some point, Following some advice of a therapist, the apparent cure to overthinking is action, but as a freelance musician, juggling many roles and wearing many hats to make a living, has that action gone too far and turned into overdoing? And Deep Down, what’s the answer?

In this episode I take a Deep Dive into my song, appropriately titled ‘Ocean Floor’. It’s almost as though my work is all connected! I’ll be explaining how this enigmatic song of two halves really defines a punctuation in my songwriting career so far. I’ll be giving the emotive backstory behind the lyrics, revealing just how painstaking the lyric writing process can be, but also how cathartic and...

In this episode I explore Joy and Suffering, two apparently opposite emotions that one might say define the artist’s palette, but far from their obvious differences, are they really just different perspectives of the same thing? Having a musical output largely informed by the latter, I wonder, Deep Down, do you have to suffer for your art for it to be any good?

In this episode, I explore my apparently eclectic output as a composer and a seemingly disparate career as a musician and artist and ask what’s the thread that ties it all together and does that thread even exist? After an early career as a musician where any paid work was good work and the journey to develop my niche as an artist incrementally narrows the spectrum of my output, has it all paid of...

In this week’s episode, I peel back the layers of the onion to plot the journey of how I found my voice. As both a singer and composer, I had to find my voice literally and figuratively, and more importantly, I discuss the trials I overcame to discover what was hiding it from view, and how perhaps it was always there, waiting for me Deep Down. 

In today’s episode, I take a Deep Dive into my song I Once Cared from my debut EP Long Lost. It’s a song that’s still a mystery to me that came out of the blue one day, and I uncover the potential meaning behind the ambiguous doublespeak in the lyrics, giving some context for where I was when I wrote it, just how far I’ve come since those early days, and how Deep Down, we’re all swimming in that s...

In this episode of Deep Down, I ask myself 'where is my place of magic? And What even is a ‘place of magic’? It’s a phrase I often use in my day-to-day life when figuring out my plans and trying to find my flow, but in the context of my musical and work life, have I been so self-aware? Deep Down, Is it even possible to sustain a place of magic, and if so, what’s the magic key?

In this episode of Deep Down, I face my ghosts head-on, in a special Deep Dive into my song Peter, written about my former love, Peter Alexander, who died tragically in 2012. It’s one of the more difficult episodes I’ve recorded, but revisiting the lyrics all these years later gives me a new insight into old pain, as I discover new connections, and release. 

For me teaching is listening. Perhaps that sounds a little counterintuitive, as we all assume the point of teaching is to impart knowledge, but to do so blindly can miss the opportunity to be simultaneously a teacher and a learner. With over twenty years of teaching experience, I share some of the moments that led me to this conclusion and unpick what exactly do I mean? And what does it mean Deep...