Jordan Rakei

With each project Jordan Rakei sharpens his distinctive blend of soul-infused alternative R&B, allowing greater emotional candor to surface. Serving as vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer from his London base, he arrived on the scene in his early twenties via the 2013 EP Franklin's Room and quickly joined the Ninja Tune roster, which released his three albums capped by the deeply personal What We Call Life (2021). He later moved to Decca for The Loop (2024), an emotionally open rumination on parenthood and childhood. An active collaborator, Rakei has appeared on diverse cuts including Disclosure's "Masterpiece," Loyle Carner's "Ottolenghi," and Bonobo's "Shadows."

Tokoroa, New Zealand, is where Jordan Rakei was born; he spent his formative years in Brisbane, Australia, where piano and guitar became early pursuits. His recorded introduction came in 2013 with the independently issued Franklin's Room, an EP steeped in classic soul and reggae. The following year brought the five-track Groove Curse EP, which tilted further toward R&B and carried the influence of D'Angelo. Relocating to London in 2015 opened doors to numerous partnerships, among them appearances on FKJ's "Learn to Fly," Alfa Mist's "Hopeful," and the widely noted Disclosure track "Masterpiece." In 2016 he issued his debut album Cloak through his own 4101 Records imprint while launching the house project Dan Kye on Rhythm Section International. Wallflower, his first Ninja Tune release and a more wide-ranging take on alternative R&B, arrived in 2017. Further joint work followed with Loyle Carner and Nightmares on Wax, leading to the third album Origin in 2019 and subsequent headline dates across Europe, Australia, and the United States.

During 2021 Rakei curated a volume in the long-running Late Night Tales series and contributed two exclusive covers for the set—Radiohead's "Codex" and Jeff Buckley's "Lover, You Should've Come Over." Concurrently he prepared his fourth studio album; the reflective single "Family," which addressed his parents' divorce, preceded the deeply personal What We Call Life, released late that year. The record entered the U.K. chart at number 54, and toward year's end Rakei co-wrote and sang on Bonobo's single "Shadows." A few months into 2022 he issued the Bruises EP, featuring three original songs plus a live BBC Maida Vale reading of the What We Call Life ballad "The Flood." He joined the Decca roster the next year and, in 2024, released The Loop, expanding his palette with choir and orchestra while speaking directly about family and memory.