Posted by If any listener of this album is not aware of who Jordan Rakei is, then let this writer explain. The 28 year old blends his music between hip-hop and jazz, but the talented artist, who was born in New Zealand, raised in Australia and now resides in the U.K has always had a trick under his sleeve.
Since he released his debut album, ‘Cloak’, Rakei has produced bodies of work such as ‘Wallflower’ and ‘Origin’, where he was nominated for the Best Album at the Aim Awards for ‘Origin’, but he couldn’t stop there.
Himself and the legendary rapper, Loyle Carner, would create Ottolenghi’, a smooth, yet calming hip-hop track that shows off both artists’ talents perfectly. The hip-hop influence was always going to be featured somewhere in this new compilation, but it’s a whole new level of hip-hop and jazz combined.
‘Late Night Tales’ is an album full of collaborations, but it’s a compilation that knows how to place tracks that stand out from the crowd. Tracks with up-beat rhythms after or before a heartfelt song allow the listener to take in every element of the lyricism
Tracks such as ‘Mountains’ with the soulful Charlotte Day Wilson and ‘Mulago’ with Alfa Mist are perfect examples of that. It’s an all-round beauty of an album. The 17 track production is clean-cut, but knows exactly how to keep the listener intrigued, even by the time of reaching the halfway point with ‘Idiom’, it’s able to provide an addictive summer beat to last a lifetime.
There are much more features and beats to write about here, but the experience of each track alone is something to admire. It’s the perfect cocktail of forgetting about the current climate, sitting back to relax and vibe to the beautiful creation that Jordan Rakei has produced.
8/10
Words: Josh Abraham
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