Tel Aviv-based singer, songwriter, and producer iogi today shares his track “6am” from his forthcoming album we can be friends, to be released on 10/6 via Raw Tapes Records (the label helmed by Rejoicer of Stones Throw). Listen/watch “6am” HERE (RIYL: Sparklehorse, George Harrison) and pre-save the album we can be friends HERE.

The piano-led “6am” is ghostly, dreamy, and hopeful; encompassing the dichotomy of a floating feeling. You get notes of loneliness in an isolated trill from a woodwind or a washed out strum of a guitar, while the steady march of light drums keeps you moving forward towards a glimmering lightness. The gentler instrumentation is a testament to iogi’s breadth as a songwriter, compared to the groovy, upbeat nature of the forthcoming album’s title track, “we can be friends.”

Of the track, iogi says, “‘‘6am’ deals with my feelings of helplessness towards the pain of others. When we walk around this planet, we get exposed to abuse and exploitation on a daily basis, and it’s so overwhelming sometimes that we just shut our eyes and ignore it. Our relationship with the world around us is sometimes based on abuse and I’m trying to confront that realization in this song. Even though sometimes it seems like the problems in this world are so big and our actions don’t matter, I keep reminding myself we are a part of an endless chain and if we want to make a change for the better we have the power to do so.”

iogi’s 2018 debut the ceiling garnered 8.7 million Spotify streams and 1.9 million plays on Bandcamp, and 2021’s dreamy everything’s worth it contributed to the culmination of an impressive career that boasts over 17 million Spotify streams and extensive touring. iogi’s signed with Raw Tapes Records, founded by Yuvi Havkin, who himself is signed to the influential L.A.-based label Stones Throw under the name Rejoicer. Raw Tapes can be viewed as Tel Aviv’s answer to Stones Throw—an uncompromising, genre-defying label that houses a cosmically vast array of artists at which iogi fits right at home.

There’s an inherent playfulness in iogi’s songwriting—reminiscent of Harry Nilsson’s seemingly effortless songwriting and Steely Dan’s smooth elegance, as well as psych-pop contemporaries like Peel Dream Magazine and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. The ease with which these melodies flow can be a bit disarming; it first sounds like music you’ve already been living with for years. The lush collection of chamber-pop songs that make up we can be friends embody his generous and easygoing spirit—a result of Iogi’s ability to make music that radiates with empathy and thoughtfulness. This is music for afternoons where the sunlight perfectly touches the windowsill, as Iogi has returned with an album that is straightforward in its loveliness. The trip he takes you on is one you won’t regret joining.

A reflectiveness permeates we can be friends, carrying a simple but important message: We’re all in this together, so let’s act with as much kindness as we can muster.