The Bedroom: Jordan Rakei

The Bedroom brings you soulful and emotional sounds with Jordan Rakei

Listen to some haunting music and vocals from Jordan Rakei in the latest episode of The Bedroom. Performing two songs — Family and Clouds — Jordan brings his unique sound to the stage.

The Bedroom is a space where creativity often begins for many new artists. We are celebrating art that’s born here with an exciting range of artists — from up-and-coming indies to established veterans, there's plenty to discover.

Jordan Rakei was born in New Zealand, moved to Australia, and finally ended up in London in 2015. At 21 he self-released two EPs — Live at Recording Oasis and Franklin’s Room. He’s worked with artists such as FKJ and Tom Misch and he’s also a Grammy nominee for his work on Disclosure’s track Masterpiece. In 2017 he made his live debut at Glastonbury Festival and his album Wallflower was shortlisted for Best Australian Album in the 2017 Australian Music Prize. The two tracks he performs in The Bedroom come from his latest album, the 2021 release What We Call Life.  

Jordan’s touching and relatable music is a fusion of soul, jazz, and hip hop. However, Jordan isn’t easily put in a box. As he says of himself: “I’m always just up for pushing my sound to new areas. I never settle on a particular sort of sound. I feel like each of my albums is an evolution of its previous release, and it’s something I’ll keep doing as my career progresses. I’m not even sure what I’ll do next, but I know it’ll be different.”

Watch Jordan perform Family and Clouds from his album What We Call Life below.

Family grabs you from the very start with Jordan’s airy vocals and beautiful, simple piano intro. The lyrics are easy to connect to and clearly come from the heart as well as personal experience. Moving effortlessly from Family, Jordan brings us Clouds, a darker track with intricate lyrics that express feelings of vulnerability and being trapped.