Riding the waves of support and plaudits for his sophomore album – and debut for Ninja Tune – Wallflower, Jordan Rakei is looking forward to a busy and fruitful 2018. Today he releases new single and firm fan favourite ‘Eye To Eye’ from the aforementioned album alongside a tight, soul-infused dancefloor edit produced under his Dan Kye moniker (Rhythm Section). The release is accompanied by a stunning video conceived and directed by Tom Ewbank, featuring Jordan as the despairing protagonist.
“We shot the music video on the Welsh coast in the middle of December, which came with a few challenges, not least the temperature of the sea and the weather!” explains Tom. “This was the first bit of acting that Jordan had done and I was initially concerned that we may struggle to transform one of the nicest and most considerate people I know into a psychopath. I’m not sure what Jordan’s performance says about him as a person but his portrayal is very convincing and at times terrifying. I’ve always enjoyed working with Jordan and I feel very fortunate to have worked with him on this project, hopefully his fans enjoy the video as much as we enjoyed making it”.
In January, Wallflower finished at No.2 in the “Album Of The Year” public vote at Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards. The record is also shortlisted for The Australian Music Prize (the equivalent of the Mercury Prize in the UK). Jordan kicked off 2018 with a tour of Australia and Asia, and he returns to the US in February/March for a string of shows following his sold out mini-tour last September, finishing the run in Austin at SXSW. Closer to home, Jordan is set to play two very special shows on consecutive nights at the legendary London venue Ronnie Scott’s in April. The tickets sold out in an hour upon announcement. He will also join fellow Ninja Tune artist Bonobo as main support at Alexandra Palace in May and shares the bill at Field Day with Erykah Badu, Madlib and Jeff Mills & Tony Allen.
Watch the official video for ‘Eye To Eye’ by Jordan Rakei below –
Tour dates:
24 Feb – Union Stage, Washington, DC
25 Feb – The Foundry at Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA
26 Feb – Sinclair, Boston, MA
28 Feb – Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON
01 Mar – Shelter, Detroit, MI
02 Mar – SubT, Chicago, IL
03 Mar – Turf Club, Minneapolis, MN
05 Mar – Constellation Room, Santa Ana, CA
06 Mar – El Rey, Los Angeles, CA
08 Mar – The Fillmore San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
12 Mar – SXSW, Austin, TX
23 Mar – Cape Town International Jazz Festival 2018, Cape Town, South Africa
13 Apr – Next Step, Cully, Switzerland
18 Apr – Ronnie Scott’s, London, UK
19 Apr – Ronnie Scott’s, London, UK
26 Apr – Kulturhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
03 May – Het Depot, Leuven, Belgium
05 May – Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Cheltenham, UK
11 May – Salon IKSV, Beyoğlu, Turkey
26 May – World Island, Leeds, UK
31 May – Alexandra Palace (Bonobo support), London, UK
01 Jun – Field Day 2018, Brockwell Park, Herne Hill, UK
22 Jul – Liverpool International Music Festival, Liverpool, UK
27 Jul – Soundwave Festival Croatia 2018, The Garden Resort, Tisno, Croatia
17 Aug – Lowlands Festival 2018, Biddinghuizen, Netherlands
18 Aug – Pukkelpop Festival, Kiewit – Hasselt, Belgium
24 Aug – Lost Village Festival, Lincoln, UK
01 Sept – Electric Picnic, Stradbally, IE
Order Wallflower by Jordan Rakei
For more information follow Jordan Rakei on Facebook
(Image credit: Jake Turney)
