MUMBAI: Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, producer, and songwriter Jordan Rakei has revealed a new EP, "Bruises". The project sees Jordan exploring different genres while seamlessly incorporating his signature neo-soul sound.

The EP's opening single "Defection" is set to be a new fan favourite, co-written by Jordan with Oli Rockberger. “It's a narrative of finding love and recognising its power in dissolving any other types of issues,” says Jordan. “We wrote it a few years ago, back in 2018, and now glad it finally has a place in the world.”

Recalling Jordan’s musical roots and in particular his love of Bob Marley, the title track "Bruises" trips out of the speakers with an overtly reggae-ish swagger. “I wanted to explore my musical roots of reggae music on ‘Bruises’, but put a slightly alternative spin on it,” explains Jordan. “I wrote the string parts and took them to Amika Quartet. We spent a whole day coming up with different ideas for different sections of the song, and I'm really happy with how it all turned out. I had a lot of fun making this track as it takes me back to my earlier days of making music.”

Also featured are "Lightning"–written by Jordan’s old friend Georgia Potter (aka Moreton) and blessed with the same sultry electronic production that characterised Jordan's 2021 album 'What We Call Life'–and a beautiful alternate take on "The Flood" recorded at the BBC’s iconic Maida Vale recording studios. “I love reinterpreting my own songs into different versions to suit different live settings or moods,” he says. “I wanted to strip everything back and make this one about the tension and release, rather than overplaying/production.”

The talented, genre-bending artist released his fifth studio album 'What We Call Life' in September 2021 to a flood of plaudits from the likes of The Line of Best Fit, describing 'What We Call Life' as "A thought-provoking and utterly compelling collection of tracks, delivered with understated yet captivating style… [it’s] Rakei’s most complete album to date, a rich texture of sounds and concepts, masterfully weaved together by an artist at the top of their game," and has garnered huge support from tastemakers across Asia like Hypebeast's "Best New Tracks" list, JPNN (Indonesia), hear and there (Thailand), Asia Live 365 (S.E.A) and more.

No stranger to collaboration, Jordan is closely associated with friends and collaborators like Loyle Carner (with whom he co-wrote, produced and performed on “Ottolenghi” and the Jorja Smith-featuring “Loose Ends”), Tom Misch and Alfa Mist. He has also joined Chic’s Nile Rodgers for a writing session and recorded with Terrace Martin, producer for Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, and Herbie Hancock.