What We Call Life

A dedicated period of introspection influenced Jordan Rakei’s fourth album. “Therapy is a really logical way to help yourself improve in life,” the New Zealand-born, Australia-raised and London-based singer-songwriter tells Apple Music. “It's not just about getting out of an extremely depressive state, or getting over a divorce or a really bad breakup. It's like, how can therapy be a tool to get me to see life slightly differently, and make me slightly happier?” What We Call Life finds Rakei at his most confident, his approach to composition and production shifting as a result of his journey, with each song representing something he learned via therapy. “I feel like it's really who I am right now,” he says. “I had my own sound, but I was letting my influences shine through a little bit more. But with this one, I feel like it's the first time I’ve had my own voice throughout a whole album.” Across his previous work, Rakei hasn’t found issues with genre-blending—fusing soul, jazz, R&B and alternative influences with rare finesse. But What We Call Life is his most experimental, ambient and existential set yet.