Jordan Rakei
With a fistful of highly praised releases under his belt and a soulful, jazz and hip-hop driven sound, 26 year-old multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and producer Jordan Rakei is a rare talent whose artistry transcends the confines of age. Signed to British independent label Ninja Tune, Jordan released his second LP “Wallflower” in September 2017.
Born in a quiet town in New Zealand, Jordan moved to Australia at the age of three, spending most of his childhood in Brisbane. In 2014, his “Groove Curse” EP garnered strong support from North America and Europe, coaxing Jordan to make the 10,000 mile journey to live in London. He furnished a name for himself in the UK, collaborating with the likes of Tom Misch and lending vocals to Disclosure’s album “Caracal”. Jordan’s 2016 self-released debut album “Cloak” proved he was an artist ready and able to make huge waves with his own sound though. Also in 2016, he became close with South London record label and party Rhythm Section, who encouraged him to release an EP of dancefloor driven tracks under his Dan Kye alias.
Since ‘Wallflower’, Rakei has scaled up his ambitions, and is more confident in the way he goes about achieving them. Acclaimed by the the likes of The FADER, Evening Standard and Mixmag, he has clocked up over 100m Spotify streams, been voted as the #2 Album of the Year at Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards, had four singles included on the BBC 6 Music playlist, and performed live at BBC’s legendary Maida Vale studios with Moses Boyd, Joe Armon-Jones, Oscar Jerome and Binker Golding for BBC 1Xtra, as well as in session for Lauren Laverne, Gilles Peterson and Cerys Matthews on 6 Music, plus NPR, KCRW MBE, COLORS Berlin and Boiler Room. He’s performed at iconic venues and festivals, including Glastonbury, Pitchfork Avant-Garde Block Party, SXSW, Pukkelpop, BBC Biggest Weekend 2018, and Alexandra Palace (supporting Bonobo and appearing as a guest vocalist during his performance), played two sold out nights at Ronnie Scott’s, a DJ set at Fabric (under his Dan Kye alias) and sold out US and Australian headline tours.
On 26th February 2019, back from an extended studio hibernation, Jordan Rakei released new single ‘Mind’s Eye’. It’s his first solo material since 2018’s ‘Wildfire’ single and the first new music in what promises to be a busy 2019. It follows a string of live and studio collaborations with his friends Tom Misch, Alfa Mist and Barney Artist (aka the Are We Live collective); Loyle Carner (Jordan wrote and produced recent single ‘Ottolenghi’); Richard Spaven (Flying Lotus, Jose James, Mala); and Rosie Lowe.
