This hard swap plays easy: How one KC producer juggles community, breaking the club music cookie cutter

Tyler Jordan’s new spin on DJing: amplify fellow artists and unite people through music, he shared.

Jordan — who produces electronic music and DJs under the name Oblivinatti (a mashup of his favorite video game growing up, The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, and his interest in conspiracy theories) — is evolving his sound production business Vibration Nation — launched in 2021 — into a platform for other creators.

Tyler Jordan, Oblivinatti, Vibration Nation; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

“I’ve been doing small events — whether it’s corporate DJ events — where we support DJs, giving them a platform to play their own music,” he explained. “Because a lot of these DJs don’t get an opportunity to play a lot of their own music. So it’s just evolved into more of a collective of artists that we’re just giving a platform and providing support for.”

Through these events and reviews of new music, Jordan — who is also a DJ manager for companies — hopes to shine a spotlight on these often-overlooked artists, he continued.

“A lot of the local Kansas City artists are all good friends,” he said. “So anytime someone has a release, we can create a blog post for them and help them market it and build up their brand under the Vibration Nation umbrella.”

Tyler Jordan, Oblivinatti, Vibration Nation; Jay Williams photo

“There’s no reason we all can’t succeed,” he continued. “There’s so much opportunity out there, especially for what we do. We have DJs who go to Italy and DJ on Lake Como in the most serene setting and we have multimillion-dollar weddings in Colorado. So I just want to extend those opportunities to artists looking to grow and maybe get more exposure.”

“If you truly think about a good DJ, they should be adaptable and they should be able to fit into any scenario,” he added. “So I think the more we’re able to educate DJs on that, the more opportunities they’re going to get, in turn, to really succeed.”

While creating a platform for other artists, Jordan is also creating his own music — which has roots in house, dubstep, dnb, hip-hop, and reggaeton — through which he said he is hoping to promote positivity and spread love. 

“I really want people to feel something whenever they listen to my music,” he shared. “I don’t want it to just be another cookie-cutter experience. I want it to really impact them and I want them to think about the world and how they can help improve their community.”

Click here to learn more about Oblivinatti.

“Not a lot of people are doing the stuff that I’m trying to create,” he added. “So it’s exciting to see how it’ll be received.”

Tyler Jordan, Oblivinatti, Vibration Nation; Jay Williams photo

Playing tag

His recent Oblivinatti projects, he noted, include a guided meditation mixed with dance music, the release of “I Just” with TwinnFlame, and a collaboration with SoDown, a producer/DJ/saxophone player who tours and plays festivals around the country.

“I actually had released a song a couple of years ago and it was received really well,” he explained. “One of my friends reached out to him and was like, ‘Hey, you need to work with Oblivinnati.’ He listened to the song and he was like, ‘This is amazing. Let’s make it happen.’ So we went back and forth and created something that’s going to be on his next album. I’m really excited.”

Jordan — who is hoping to incorporate more live instruments in his future performances — listed Pretty Lights and Zeds Dead as artists who have influenced him and his music

“They opened my eyes to this whole new world of sound design and just putting more power behind like your music,” he added, “and doing it intentionally rather than just doing it for being in the spotlight, per se.”

Click here to follow Tyler Jordan on Instagram.

International downbeat

While he was in high school, Jordan shared, a friend opened his eyes to the world of DJing.

Tyler Jordan, Oblivinatti, Vibration Nation; Jay Williams photo

Tyler Jordan, Oblivinatti, Vibration Nation; Jay Williams photo

“I’d be over at his house every week just constantly trying to learn from him,” he recalled. “One day he got into music production and showed me what he was using. Then I just took that and ran. I was like, ‘I’m so excited to create.’ It really gave me that drive.”

By college, Jordan had opted to study chemistry and business management, he noted, but a trip to study in Spain reignited his passion for DJing and changed his path. He met a friend who connected him with DJing job in nightclubs around the area.

“I started DJing every weekend and fell in love with the atmosphere and the vibe over there,” he explained. “Then I came back and I realized I didn’t want to do chemistry anymore. So I finished my business management degree and got a minor in chemistry and had plans to start Vibration Nation right out of college.” 

Jordan said he started by doing stagehand work to expand his knowledge and be involved in the music scene as much as he could.

“It was really my goal to just surround myself with music and be involved in every aspect possible,” he noted. “The more you know about everything top to bottom in the event world, the more successful you’re going to be. You’re going to know exactly how to handle any given situation.”

The name Vibration Nation shares that level of intention, Jordan said, noting that it reflects his overall goal of impacting people through music.

“Music is vibration, obviously, and I think it has a pretty profound effect on us as humans because we’re mostly made of water,” he explained. “We’re receptive to those vibrations and I think the power of music is really healing. In a collective sense, we are a nation of people who are all vibrating on the same frequency and trying to spread love.”

Click here to listen to Oblivinatti on Spotify.