Jordan Rakei – Origin and Live From The Royal Albert Hall

On some albums, it is more than the quality of the individual songs that feels right. They have a temperature, a colour and an atmosphere of their own that runs from the first piece to the last. That is exactly how I feel about Jordan Rakei’s Origin.

Compared with its predecessor, Wallflower, the album released in 2019 almost sounds like a fresh start: the moment when an artist suddenly finds his own sound after years of searching.

Here, Jordan Rakei brings together neo-soul, electronic music, R&B and modern jazz. You hear the latter less in extended solos than in complex chords, shifted rhythms and unusual developments within the songs. Yet the music never feels overly cerebral. It remains warm, sensual and emotional.

Then, of course, there is his voice.

I especially like the way he lets individual notes resonate with a slight fragility rather than simply ending them. He does not have to sing loudly or make a show of a big voice. His voice often feels restrained and intimate, yet that is precisely what gives it an enormous presence.

An album with a continuous story

For me, Origin is his most coherent album because it has a shared sound and tells a complete story.

Rakei explored what increasing digitalisation does to us as human beings. Each song looks at a different aspect: artificial worlds, technological control, the loss of real communication, the manipulation of our perception and the danger that, despite being permanently connected, we become ever lonelier inside. His inspirations included dystopian works such as Black Mirror and thoughts about humanity’s future development.

The album opens with “Mad World”, almost like a film. The world feels restless, strange and increasingly governed by forces individuals can barely control. Musically, the song is fluid and catchy, yet a certain nervousness lies constantly beneath its surface.

Why this particular album?

On the preceding album, Wallflower, you can already hear his considerable talent and many of the ingredients that would later form his style. But the different influences still stand more separately alongside one another.

On Origin, they suddenly merge into a sound world of their own.

The electronic production sounds futuristic, while his voice remains warm and human. Jazz harmonies, soul, choirs, synthesizers and unusual rhythms audibly belong together. Even pieces at different tempos feel as though they occupy the same room and tell the same story.

I still find individual wonderful songs on his later albums. But to my ears, their sound moves more between intimate songwriting, soul, electronic music, funk, jazz and large orchestral arrangements. That is musically ambitious, but for me it no longer has quite that extraordinary coherence.

Then comes the live album

For someone wanting to get to know Jordan Rakei, I would therefore recommend Origin first, immediately followed by Live From The Royal Albert Hall.

Released in 2025, the live album was recorded during the second of two sold-out concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and contains 21 songs from different stages of his career. It also includes pieces from Origin, among them “Mad World” and “Mind’s Eye”.

Live performance makes it especially clear that this distinctive atmosphere goes beyond studio technology, post-production or a perfect mix at the desk.

Rakei can bring his music to life on stage too. His voice carries, the band gives the songs room and many pieces develop even greater power live. That slight breaking and lingering resonance of his voice feels more immediate there.

What stays with me

A sound that carries live too

For me, Origin shows the moment when Jordan Rakei found his sound, and Live From The Royal Albert Hall proves that this sound is more than a product of production… It is within him.

Sources for the article

Origin – Jordan Rakei / Ninja Tune

Live From The Royal Albert Hall — album details