At only eighteen years old, I was pondering the unlikely possibility of being an architect, and trying not to listen to my career counselor’s thinly veiled discursion to pursue writing. Some young adults know how to follow their intuition. Currently, my only intuition tells me to make sure I make it to Raury’s set and see him sporting a straw hat at The Laneway Festival in the next coming week.
Raury is on everyone’s lips and for good reason too. This wunderkind capably balances elements of R&B, hip hop and folk with incredible execution to match.
Raury has achieved a lot in the space of one year. He featured on SBTRKT’s Higher and released his debut album, Indigo Child which takes a smooth swing on R&B. But if you expected Indigo Child to be anything like his single Higher, prepare to be mistaken. This album dabbles in rap, folk and R&B. A collective representation of the time period of music where sound speaks more than lyrics, but not in the pop, chorus repeated four times at once sense.
Sometimes it’s hard to commit to an entire album in one setting, this album is however, easy and enjoyable listening. Throughout Indigo Child, Raury samples sounds in an ascetically pleasing way, to the ear. This smooth and low tempo collection of songs resonates something obvious, a new music prize has been born. This album can be related to Frank Ocean in the way that it is fluid and slow and soulful like The Internet, some have even compared him to Bon Iver. Songs like Superfly are raw and unedited with acoustic guitar and sweet lyrics.
Similarly, God’s Whisper couples folk and Rhythm and Blues in one single, an anthem like tune that again, displays his dedication and commitment to the music industry, at such a young age. Wildfire can sound similar to Ratking, who also play at Laneway. What Goes Up and Sweet n Sour are recorded conversations similar to the Kendrick’s Mum and Dad bickering vibe. A personal favourite is Amor. The last eight-minute song on the album, Seven Suns is a powerful and lyrically vulnerable end to a selection of wide-ranging ideas and music concepts on Indigo Child.
The diversity of Raury’s sound caters to lovers of folk, R&B and even hip-hop. There’s sophistication to his overall sound, which shows maturity well beyond his age. And when age shouldn’t be a question in music, it’s more a matter of the ability he has to make an intricate and mature sound at such a generally immature age, for most at least. The younger generation of R&B looks refreshing.
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