Elton John loves Jonah Mutono’s “blissed-out R&B” (NPR Music)

A track to listen to before his debut album comes out next Friday: Jonah Mutono‘s “Circulation,” which Elton John featured on his Rocket Hour show on Beats 1 Radio. Pigeons and Planes describes the track as powerful…a theatrical, expansive leap, and them named it one of 10 New Songs By Queer Artists You Need To Hear.

NPR Music, in naming Jonah one of their Austin 100 for this years canceled SXSW, says that his “infectious, blissed-out R&B reflects on a desire for comfort and community amid arrangements that meet at the midpoint between the cool vulnerability of Frank Ocean and the sleek balladeering of Khalid.”

Jonah grew up moving between Uganda, London, Kenya, and the US. His debut album GERG, out May 15, dives into sexual identity, visa struggles, racism, and more with diaristic honesty and a deeply soulful warmth.

Let me know if you’d like to hear more! Happy to get you the album.