Northampton freelance music producer Jordan Millon has released his debut single, titled ‘Looking Upstairs.’
Blending hip hop with the language of working class politics and social critique, it draws on the themes of economic inequality, division and frustration with the status quo.
The track sits within a long tradition of protest music that seeks not merely to entertain, but to challenge, question and provoke discussion.
It also features a speech by legendary trade union leader Arthur Scargill, drawing a line between past struggles and present realities.
Message about division and power
He invites listeners to direct their anger away from one another and towards the structures he believes profit from division.
Listen to the track ‘Looking Upstairs’ below
The track, Looking Upstairs, is a politically charged blend of hip-hop, rap and industrial textures that reflects the producer’s own journey through multiple musical worlds.
Having previously played in metal bands, experimented with folk music and taught himself digital production techniques, he describes the release as both a statement of intent and a launch pad for a future career helping others realise ambitious artistic visions.
Looking Upstairs
“It’s basically saying: look upstairs,” he says. “Look at the people funding the media, the algorithms and the systems that benefit when ordinary people are fighting amongst themselves. Maybe direct your attention elsewhere for a split second.”
Working-class roots and lived experience
The message running through the track is shaped by his own working-class background. Born to parents who worked as warehouse operatives, and currently employed in warehouse work himself, he says he has watched communities become increasingly fragmented.
“We’re very fractured as the working class,” he says. “There are vested interests in keeping people separated rather than organising, breaking bread together and fighting for better opportunities and a bit more autonomy.”
That sentiment gives Looking Upstairs its title. Rather than directing blame towards society’s most vulnerable groups, the song questions who benefits from outrage, distraction and division.
Musical style and experimentation
Musically, the track is as restless as its ideas. Although it clocks in at around three minutes, the producer says it deliberately refuses to settle into one lane.
“It’s got a prog-rock structure even though it’s a rap track,” he explains. “It moves between different sonic textures, but it’s all cohesive. It’s me saying: this is what I can do.”
Collaboration beyond Northampton
Part of that ambition involved reaching beyond Northampton’s borders.
After searching through potential collaborators online, he found the rapper who would ultimately complete the track: Rak Jay UK, a voice artist and performer based in Argentina.
“I was vetting loads of different people,” he says. “Then I listened to his catalogue on SoundCloud. Some of the words he sent me in a message just felt right – like he understood what the track needed to be about.”
Arthur Scargill and the Miners Strike Speech
The song also reaches into Britain’s political past. The producer obtained permission through representatives of former National Union of Mineworkers leader Arthur Scargill to sample part of one of his speeches from the 1984 miners’ strike.
“There was one line in particular that captured the spirit of the track – the call for an end to divisive incentive schemes.”
For him, words spoken during one of Britain’s defining industrial disputes still resonate today.
“There’s an incentive to be divisive now,” he says. “There’s money in outrage.”
A personal leap into public release
The producer admits the single is also a personal gamble. Although he has written countless tracks over the years, this is the first he has actively promoted – pitching it to blogs, arranging interviews and seeking radio play.
“The dream is to produce music with other people that inspires others,” he says. “Music should be fun and palatable, but it should also push people outside their comfort zones. I just want to help people make uncompromising art on their own terms.”
ADHD, pressure, and perspective
Away from music, he speaks candidly about living with ADHD and the advice that has helped him manage creative pressure. The most valuable criticism he ever received, he says, was learning not to treat every task as an emergency.
“If you’re taking the bins out, you shouldn’t feel like a crocodile’s chasing you,” he laughs. “Take a breath. Look at the task for what it really is.”
For a producer releasing his first official single while balancing warehouse shifts and artistic ambitions, perhaps that philosophy has never been more relevant.
Closing message
One track won’t overturn the established order. But as carnival reminds us every year, change often begins with people gathering together, sharing stories and imagining that the world could work differently.
Looking Upstairs is available now on Spotify and other major streaming platforms.