Elujay - A Constant Charade [Ochre Vinyl LP]

With A Constant Charade, Oakland artist and producer Elujay removes the mask from his multifaceted, genre-crossing craft. “One of the most talented singer-songwriters in the Bay Area” (Hypebeast) makes his solo debut on the art-forward indie label drink sum wtr with a risk-embracing LP that follows nearly a decade of distinct work in the contemporary pop landscape. He sees his style as a fusion of unexpected flairs: R&B stirred up with rhythms drawn from yacht rock, sophisti-pop, dancehall, Al Jeel, Lovers Rock, and the tones of his Trinidadian roots. He pushes the sound outward in various directions on A Constant Charade, a dynamic collection marked by vulnerability and ambition. Themes touch on social cues, behavioral loops, and the ways we perform for others, “just noticing how I feel when I’m around people,” he says. Whether I’m code switching or acting differently…we all do it, it’s a charade.” With his signature croon and strongest arrangements to date, joined by a cast of collaborators and co-producers, Elujay cuts through the games to get real.

Recorded in various locations over a three-year period, A Constant Charade caps a breakout 2025 that started with the second installment of GEMS IN THE CORNERSTORE from JEMS!, his dsw-signed project with J. Robb. Like GEMS, the new album leans further into the influences of Caribbean music and leftfield electronic from dance to ambient and a dozen strains in between. “I think it's important to just notice that these people who you work with kind of give credence to new sounds that you find,” says Elujay. He credits much of Charade’s nostalgic quality to Nicholas Creus, “he’s a jazz guitarist and huge fan of The Police and yacht rock, he’s just all over this record.” As well as longtime collaborators Martin Rodrigues, Jaden Wiggins, and Ben Yasemsky, whom Elujay has known since childhood. “Benji is just a silent killer, great guitarist, producer, and finisher, always at the 11th hour tidying everything up.” When it comes to working with others, “I don’t have an ego about it, it’s all about: the best idea wins. At the end of the day, it’s for the people, we just want to make the best music possible.”

Album opener "Rogue Heart" finds Elujay floating above a breakbeat; his flow skitters over the hook, detailing the record’s central message. “It’s about finding myself through different partners and different situations…I was wearing this mask for somebody, and I realized that my heart wasn’t fully in it. How you can kind of lose yourself in someone’s aura.” He takes the metaphor a step further on "Flotilla", likening love to submersion, literal bodies of water. “Being scared of commitment but knowing it’s okay to dive into something.” Sonics mirror the feel with loose, fluid guitar lines and a pulsing beat.

The tempo drops for “Hyundai”, a downtempo mode where Elujay’s velvety vocals come to the fore. Backed by bass, guitar, piano, and saxophone, he spins lines about “that person in your life that gives you that boost, you know, like keeps you going. Because they have conviction and confidence in what they do, and you can lean on that in times of self-doubt.” On the smooth falsetto jam “Circles”, he outlines the shape of looping routines and interpersonal performance. It’s in these passages that Elujay reveals glimpses of his true self behind the stylish exterior.

He delivers the airy and poignant late album highlight “Anjeli” with serpentwithfeet, in their second duet following 2022’s Circumvnt. Directed to “angel number nine,” the two artists trade verses on the sobering flipside of promiscuity, a visceral sense of solitude set to synth chords. “I don't know how he does it, but his vocals…bro is just a wizard.”

A Constant Charade ends on the jazzy ballad, “Stereo Blasting,” crossing hypnotic instrumentation with one of Elujay’s most daring performances. “I was in my room, stereo blasting, it took a while to let down your guard,” he sings as percussion comes crashing down on each syllable of the chorus. A fitting place to close an album as adventurous as it is intimate.