Jordan Rakei
23rd August 2019
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by James Edwards. Photography by Richard Myburgh.
Friday nights call for the shedding of the weekly grind, and what better way to do it than within the walls of Auckland’s Powerstation being serenaded by Jordan Rakei I asked myself, my own agreement coming swift in answer.
Born in Hamilton, raised in Brisbane and now embracing the cosmopolitan arms of London as his home, Rakei has returned to Aotearoa on the back of his latest album Origin, the superb follow-up to 2017’s Wallflower. Mention Rakei’s name and you will undoubtedly hear the term neo-soul echoed back at you and while he does indeed embody such a classification his work is far more intricately layered; indie, jazz, funk, blues and hip-hop in varying, shimmering forms sliding across his composition page notes.
Or to put it simply, vibes. Rakei brought chilled out, groove-infested vibes to Auckland last night and I loved every glorious minute of it.
Support act for the show was Louis Baker, a Wellington native who has impressive vocals and isn’t afraid to take on the bigger tracks – ‘Purple Rain’ not a song to be taken lightly. His set was solid, and a nice follow up for crossover fans who may have attended his headline performance a couple of weeks ago at Tuning Fork.
Accompanied by a three-piece band – the first and hopefully not the last time he has played in New Zealand with one – Rakei arrived on stage in a Tokoroa High T-Shirt and for a second I did a double take just to make sure it was him. His casual choice of outfit rather befitting of his persona and blending in well with his band, all four looking like they had just breezed in from a café down the road.
Laying hands to keys, ‘Mad World’ was soon tugging at my earlobes and climbing on inside, where it was welcomed with a sigh of gratitude, those around me adopting the same look on their faces that I felt was reflected on mine. Plushness that you can sink into.
To say that his band were tight was almost a laughable understatement, despite their distance from each other as they half-encircled Rakei (who was centre stage) they instinctively moved across each track, shifting between guitar, keys and synths. In fact, the stage almost looked like a mini display store of keyboards, and to be fair they could have easily slipped into overkill, but instead only provided a more luxuriant sound to tracks such as ‘You & Me’ as they built in intensity.
The crowd had its groove on, I had my groove on, hell the bar staff had their groove on; Rakei’s smooth vocals charming any and all exposed to them. The set list moving through all three of his albums, the more stripped back ‘Nerve’ from Wallflower seeing Rakei’s hands draw his music from the strings of his guitar rather than the keys. Even ‘Add the Bassline’ from his Groove Curse 2014 EP got the nod to join the party, the tempo one that controls the head as you subconsciously nod in time.
By this point the crowd has been utterly won over, nothing more than putty in Rakei’s hands, his voice the only liquor they required, his obvious humility part of the overall charm that sees him continue to gather fans. Sure, the lyrics of some of his songs contradicted the affect that they were having on me and so it seemed everyone around me, but who said the negative has to be accompanied by nothing but flats.
The end seemed to come too soon, reluctantly I pulled myself out of the space I had nestled into and threw my hands together in applause, an encore delivering – to my utter self-indulgent joy ‘Eye to Eye’ which always reminds me of another favourite act of mine, Radiohead; the commonalities easily mined.
‘Mind’s Eye’ was what Jordan Rakei chose to finish the night with; another from his latest album it just cemented what those of us in the room already knew. That Rakei is the man.
Were you there at the Powerstation for this superlative soul and trip-hop show? Or have you seen Jordan Rakei perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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