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Origin (Jordan Rakei album)
2019 studio album by Jordan Rakei From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Origin is the third studio album by New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter Jordan Rakei. It was released on 14 June 2019 on Ninja Tune, with a deluxe edition released on 13 March 2020. The album explores themes of digital dystopia and the impacts of technology on humanity.[1]
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Background and release
Origin was released two years after Rakei's previous album Wallflower (2017).[2] Written over the course of two months, each track on the album tackles a different effect that technology can have on the human experience, including virtual and augmented reality, simulation theory, brain–computer interfaces, and the technological singularity.[2] Rakei cites dystopian television series Black Mirror and The Handmaid's Tale, as well as the Yuval Noah Harari book Sapiens, as thematic inspirations for the album.[3]
The deluxe version of Origin, released nine months after the album's initial release, includes a version of the track "Signs" featuring American rapper Common, whom Rakei met while on tour and cites as one of his "favourite rappers of all time".[4]
In January 2020, Rakei performed three songs from the album in a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR Music.[5]
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Critical reception
Origin was met with positive reviews. At Metacritic, the album received an aggregate score of 75 based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6]
In a review for The Guardian, writer Tara Joshi called Origin a marked improvement over Rakei's first two studio albums, describing it as "full of a rich, cinematic musicality that feels poppier, sparklier and more breezily ambitious."[1] PopMatters reviewer Paul Carr similarly lauded the album, dubbing it a "neo-soul masterclass" that is a "vibrant and deftly blended mix of smooth jazz, classic soul, and cool funk with a sprinkling of 1990s R&B and hip-hop."[11] Reviewers have also praised Rakei's soulful vocals and lush, groovy, jazz-inflected production, as well as his lyrical commentary on the effects of technology on the human experience.[7][8][11]
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Track listing
References
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