Brother/ Sister power duo Sarah Jordan and Matt Von are talented vocalists and songwriters from Toronto, Canada, who strive to spread their passion for music in a positive way.
Just this year, they decided to pair up and fuse their talents into a duo. They want to inspire and share their story with the world through the one thing that has always made them truly happy, the gift of music.
Sarah Jordan and Matt Von are excited to finally begin propelling their music together. Their groundbreaking and awakening pop sound is going to have them skyrocketing to the top of the charts.
Their chemistry is undeniable in their debut single, “Great Escape,” released in March 2019. Not only is the production incredible but the melody and ups and downs of this song are so empowering and so fun to vibe with.
This song stays true to its name, allowing the listener to relate every lyric to their own situation and give them hope for an escape to a more positive outcome. I love the fusion of vocals. Matt’s voice and range are flawless and intoxicating. Sarah’s vocals are completely mesmerizing and beautiful. When they harmonize together, it’s absolutely explosive.
The surprising drop in the song to a dance/ pop beat was so refreshing and catchy. The uplifting anthem and transcendent track “Great Escape” is an emotionally-rich song that gives hope to listeners looking for their own great escape, but it’s also just a fun song to blast on your speakers.
“Let me fall into your arms, keep me close away from harm” is a very powerful lyric; their blood connection and what they have been through together have created a strong chemistry.
Sarah and Matt have a story to tell through their music, and I think this track, “Great Escape,” is just a peek into what’s to come from these two.
Hey guys! Can you tell us a bit more about yourselves?
At first, we both started out as individual artists, but this year, we made a choice to come together as we think our sound is very strong and it stands out as a duo. We have a very special sibling relationship, one that you don’t see too often. But it is our music, inspiring love for each other, and the shared passion that keeps us so close together. Because we both started music lessons at a young age, we appreciate the hard work that goes into making ourselves the best musicians we can be.
Matt showed an interest in playing guitar early on. He took lessons at a very young age, and now he is an accomplished acoustic, classical, and electric guitar player. Matt is a self-taught vocalist and has not taken one vocal lesson in his life. When he started to song write, he sensed a natural ease when singing and playing guitar simultaneously. Matt started performing across Toronto at a young age, and his experience over the past ten years has truly made him a professional performer. Matthew is currently studying music at York University and is working towards earning his bachelor’s degree in fine arts.
Matt performs as an individual artist, with his cover band as a lead singer, and of course, his most recent venture, alongside his sister in their duo. In 2017, Matthew released his first original album entitled “New Day.” Being so young, this experience shaped Matthew’s artistry and helped him decide what kind of artist he wants to be. When Matthew is not performing, he spends his time at home songwriting, collaborating with other musicians, recording in the studio, playing hockey, and spending time with family/friends.
Sarah began taking piano lessons, and shortly after, she realized her true passion for singing. So, she enrolled in vocal lessons too. Sarah wrote her first song shortly after, and that year was when she finally got a chance to record her original song in the studio. This memorable experience allowed her to collaborate with many musicians, which helped Sarah see what the music business was all about. Sarah continued to focus on perfecting her presence on stage by auditioning for various Canadian talent shows in her early teens.
Even though multiple doors closed in Sarah’s face, she never gave up because she knew that being a singer would always be her dream, and no one would come in the way of making her achieve it. Sarah has been performing across Toronto for the past seventeen years as a solo artist, a sub-in vocalist, a lead singer of two cover bands, and of course, with her multi-talented brother Matt. Sarah’s song-writing skills have really improved over the years, and she takes all of her life experiences and translates them into emotional story-telling lyrics. Sarah released her first original album five years ago entitled, “What Happened to The Love.” Recently, her focus and priority lie with her brother in creating new and fresh radio-ready music, and they both have been spending a lot of their time in the studio and under the direction of their management Tina Cole and Global Music Entertainment.
Sarah is an elementary school teacher and has been doing so for the past five years. She finds her job truly rewarding and is so blessed to pass on the love of music to the younger generation. Sarah makes music a part of her life every day by teaching during the week and singing on weekends. She absolutely loves that music is central to her. Sarah also has an incredible love for travelling, seeing new places and exploring, adventure, songwriting, performing, and spending quality time with her favorite person, her brother.
What’s the writing process like for a brother/sister duo? Do you two collab with anyone else?
We just started working with management this year, and so we are really working on promoting our band and getting quality music recorded and released. Increasing our fan base is something we are really trying to increase!
The songwriting process for us is ongoing. We don’t really know when a song or melody will come to us, but we do know that when we go through certain experiences, we are inspired to write, as songwriting is a means for us to truly express our emotions and what we are feeling. Heartbreak, love, loss and pain are usually subjects that we find naturally easy to write about, and our past experiences truly define us as the humble and grateful artists we are.
Usually, if we get ideas and we are not together, we will record our thoughts on voice notes! When we finally get together, our ideas slowly blend, and the story will start to unfold. It’s like writing a chapter in a book. Sarah’s strength lies in writing lyrics, and Matthew’s strength lies in writing the music and chords. This combination is the perfect equation for writing a hit song. We feel so blessed when we feel this connection that we have that is so strong. It is so rare to find that between brother and sister. We can’t explain and put into words the raw emotion that pours out of us when we are in the midst of writing a song.
Our family connection enables us to know what the other is thinking, and the process then becomes so easy---it’s like finishing off each other’s sentences! We haven’t written to many people because we admire what we have. But since signing under new management, we have had the incredible opportunity of working with one of the best producers, Jovan Jovanov.
He has produced our first two big hits, with the first one being “Great Escape,” which was released three weeks ago under the artist's names SARAH JORDAN AND MATT VON. We also just completed a songwriting workshop with Toronto Latin pop artist Alx Veliz, and from this workshop, we met some new contacts and found some more opportunities for collaborations. We are looking forward to working with teams of songwriters to improve upon the strength of our songwriting skills.
What makes you both so passionate about music? How did you get into the music industry?
We have been in the music industry since we decided that music is the thing that we are most passionate about! Taking lessons at an early age propelled our interest, and our constant support from our parents is what made us believe in ourselves from day 1. My dad really pushed both of us to take music lessons early on because he always thought that learning an instrument was the best hobby to take on. And he was right! We owe it to him for seeing something in us. And without the help of our music teachers along the way and our parents to support us financially and emotionally, we wouldn’t be at the level of our professional careers’ that we are at today.
We are both so passionate about how we feel when we perform. The feeling is indescribable. To have audience members be captivated by the story we’re telling is literally the best feeling in the world! The feeling and adrenaline that pumps through our veins when we’re on stage is magical. We want to inspire others with our story, and we want to communicate our own musical language to the world. One day, we hope that our voices and our music can be heard everywhere. We hope to be on the big stage one day worldwide, and we only hope that we can write timeless songs that people can relate to. We want to be the soundtrack to people’s lives. Music lives within us, and performing is the air we breathe. Often, it’s difficult to describe in words the level of love we have for our gift of music. Music and we are one. Music is what feelings sound like, and to have emotions wrapped up in the melody of a song is such a beautiful thing. We want to be the singers that carry out that emotion.
Who are your biggest inspirations musically that have helped shape your careers?
First and foremost, I learned how to sing from my grandmother. When I was little, we would sing in the church together.
My uncle Elio was a songwriter and music composer. He passed away 8 years ago sadly from Cancer. I really do owe my childhood love of music to him. We were such an amazing team, and he really helped me understand how to compose a song and what elements went into becoming a strong songwriter. We also spent a lot of time in the studio in my teenage years.
Listening to some of my favorite artists and watching them perform on live awards shows and in concert was such a mind-blowing experience for me! My idols, Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, and Lady Gaga, are three of the powerhouse women in music that I gauge my career around. Their fearlessness and humble characters are something I look up to; more so, the longevity of their careers is something that I aspire to work towards. They stayed true to themselves, even while being surrounded by the pressures of the spotlight. Not to mention, their voices are timeless and classic, and every lyric they sing moves me to tears. Finally, my BROTHER, Matty. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I am today!!! Our partnership is something I wouldn’t trade for the world. When I hear his voice and the talent and skill level he has, I am blown away. I feel like a proud mother. He is the most talented person in the world, and watching him get better and better each day is a blessing. I love my musical partner in crime with ALL MY HEART.
Personally, I’ve had so many musical icons that have inspired me from the start of my career to where I am today. I listen to many different musical genres that have led to my love of music.
Just to name a few, I look up to Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, James Bay, Ed Sheeran, James Arthur and Dean Lewis. Justin has been a key role model for me ever since I began music. Seeing him in the spotlight at such a young age, it made me have a belief that anything is possible in the music industry. He created music at such a young age and developed into an amazing figure to all audiences across the world. Even though he went through hardships throughout the several years building up to where he is today, he came out on the brighter side.
Every other artist that I mentioned above has the same style of sound and performance type as me. These artists capture the attention of an audience through the simplicity of their voices and the emotion in the music they are playing. My sister Sarah has been the driving force for me and the biggest inspiration in my career. I truly never knew that I could sing until I heard my sister perform at many events and constantly practice at home for her vocal lessons.
Music in the household played a big part for me in beginning to start developing my voice. I began to sing and play the guitar at many gigs across the city after watching my sister for so many years. Now I am so glad that we have merged together to bring our talents to the world and showcase “Sarah Jordan and Matt Von.”
“Great Escape” is an awesome track! Can you tell the readers more about the meaning behind it?
Great Escape is an empowering anthem, one that makes you feel alive and encouraged when you hear it. When the song is over, we want the listeners of our track to feel fearless, with no chance of being held back to accomplish anything they set their minds to. As songwriters and human beings, we feel that we let these lyrics speak for themselves. The song takes you through a story, and depending on what your personal story is, the song is relatable, and you can visualize the magic of the lyric in this song unfolding while you listen. The lyrics don’t necessarily describe what we’ve been through, but because the lyrics are hopeful and looking towards a positive future, we are hoping that we can lift you up if you are feeling defeated. We are not breakable, but there are things we have experienced in our childhood that have broken us, but only parts of us. By choosing to put our pieces back together one by one, we wrote a powerful lyric that describes how we have moved on from the heartache and the past and how we are shaping our future---by doing it OUR way and making sure that the world is ready for us.
We are no more being held back by the restraints of those who held us down or continue to get satisfaction through feeding us their misery. We have overcome these trying times, and we see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are the light at the end of the tunnel. The world is too beautiful to miss even a second of the adventure it has out there, and it’s waiting for us. And for you. This is a GREAT ESCAPE.
What's next for you through 2019?
With the help and mentorship of our manager, Tina Cole, we are working on getting new music recorded, building our fanbase and getting our social media numbers up. We are working on getting a dedicated following. We also just released our first song as a duo, GREAT ESCAPE. It’s available on all streaming platforms. We also just filmed our first music video, and it’s going to be released very soon! Our goal is to record a new single every few months and work on a very strong release plan. We are trusting the process and continue to listen to our manager. Her advice has really geared us in the right direction.
We will also be looking for more performance opportunities and making strong contacts that will hopefully lead us to where we need to be! We are also hoping to become stronger songwriters, and we are excited to collaborate with other new artists. Collaboration is key because you’ll never know what those relationships will lead to.