Soul singer and producer Jordan Rakei has been spending a lot of his Fridays staring at John Lennon’s cigarette marks recently.
This March, the songwriter became the first artist in residence at the Beatles’ spiritual home Abbey Road Studios. It’s a fairytale position that involves playing around with Adele’s microphone and tinkling the keys of John Lennon’s piano at a moment’s notice, or whatever mystical toys he can find in the fabled Studios Two and Three. But Abbey Road approached Rakei with one strict instruction: that he makes it a space where people make music for fun.
This is where you will likely find the 31-year-old Australian-born Londoner on a Friday night, in an ideal world recording with Frank Ocean or James Blake, or writing the latest blockbuster film score. Over the next year, Rakei’s commute will involve sneaking past bundles of tourists stopping traffic outside the world-famous studios. It's something he relishes. “They could have literally chosen anyone,” he tells me. “They are the most famous studio in the world, they have all this legacy. It’s an insane deal.“
The residency has coincided with the release of Rakei’s fifth studio album The Loop, which marks a new beginning in his career and personal life. Rakei has swapped nights flicking through jazz records in Soho for gnocchi and cuddles with his two-year-old son since relocating to Berkshire in September 2022, roughly when he began making the record. “It’s me in sonic form,” he explains. “This is really the most self-indulgent album. I really just wanted to be me because I’m so impressionable. If someone said anything I would just go and do it.”
Rakei hid his early songs from his wife and team to ensure it was “just pure Jordan” and block out any judgment from the outside world. As a stats man, he often considered what fans or his old label wanted to hear from his music, but Rakei has completely changed his approach on The Loop and now compares his lyrics to diary entries. “It’s quite hard for a musician to make something they truly love without any compromise but I really love the album and the music coming out and I just feel happy people can hear it.”
Rakei is also hoping to get us two-stepping in 2024, with a new album from his DJ alias Dan Kye on the cards if he has space in his busy schedule. This February, the artist released a new remix under the mysterious evoked moniker for the first time in four years - and there’s a strong chance we could be seeing more tracks very soon. “I sort of method act what people would want to dance to” He jokes. “If I get a spare week this year, that is my goal to finish a Dan Kye record again so if anyone is reading this hold me to it.”
Below, Jordan Rakei curates this week’s Friday night playlist. His fifth studio album The Loop is out on May 10.
Adrienne Lenker - Real House
Sarah Meth - Save It for the Rave
Billy Swan - Don’t Be Cruel
Khruangbin - May Ninth
The Smile - Teleharmonic
