Joji – Nectar (Vinyl 2LP)

Japan-born singer and producer Joji is a multi-talented visionary, with a cult following from every corner of the internet. Joji is one of the most enthralling artists of the digital age. He has a total vision for his work, not just in the writing and producing of his music, but artwork, videos, merch, and live performances as well. It’s a fully realized world that his fans can inhabit and explore – and see themselves in. “My music is not biographical,” he says, but even still, the deep, heavily shaded emotions in his songs are genuine and they speak to anyone who has ever felt stuck on the outside looking in, who knows what it means to not belong.

With a star-studded cast of features across the 18-track album, Nectar is Joji’s most ambitious project to date. A project Joji describes as having “a sense of urgency but calm,” Nectar occupies space where genres melt into each other, where downtempo R&B slides into invigorated pop, where indie alternative creeps into electronica; where emotions get tangled in an exploration of what every living being is innately drawn to – whether for pleasure or for survival – and the ends they’ll go to reach it.

The album showcases the wide-ranging universe of Joji’s collaborators, including New Zealand-based indie-pop darling BENEE, globetrotting producer-DJ-musician Diplo, Atlanta rapper mainstay Lil Yachty, Mexican-American R&B singer-songwriter Omar Apollo, Japanese lo-fi bed oom pop up-and-comer Rei Brown, and critically-acclaimed experimentalist Yves Tumor. Featuring standout production from Diplo, Bekon and The Donuts (Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN, Rich Brian’s The Sailor), Justin Parker (Lana Del Rey’s “Born To Die”, Rihanna’s “Stay”), Kenny Beats (Ed Sheeran’s “Take Me Back To London” and DaBaby’s “Toes”) and more, the album’s thematic and sonic diversity remains unified by Joji’s lyricism and tone. Nectar comes from the in-between place that Joji’s work paces, characterized by its evocatively smeared quality.

LP1

1. Ew
2. Modus
3. Tick Tock
4. Daylight
5. Upgrade
6. Gimme Love
7. Run
8. Sanctuary
9. High Hopes (feat. Omar Apollo)

LP2

1. Nitrous
2. Pretty Boy (feat. Lil Yachty)
3. Normal People (feat. rei brown)
4. Afterthought – By Joji & BENEE
5. Mr. Hollywood
6. 777
7. Reanimator (feat. Yves Tumor)
8. Like You Do
9. Your Man