Ottolenghi

Album: Not Waving, But Drowning (2019)
Charted: 74
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is titled after the Israeli-English chef Yotam Ottolenghi. It features dreamy vocals from Brisbane-reared singer-songwriter Jordan Rakei, whose other collaborations include Disclosure's track "Masterpiece" from their Grammy-nominated album Caracal.
  • The song was inspired by an incident on a train when Carner was reading Ottolenghi's cook book Jerusalem. The rapper explained to NME that somebody came up to him asking why he was reading a Jewish book, "He was coming at me – not physically, but he was threatening me," Carner said.

    The rapper felt intimidated and tried to diffuse the situation by saying, "I'm not Jewish but so what if I was? I'm not doing anything to you." The man left the train in a huff, spitting cuss words.

    When Carner got into the studio he told Jordan Rakei the story and they came up with this track. "The song isn't really about Ottolenghi," Carner said, "but it wouldn't exist without him, so it made sense to pay homage."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

John Lee Hooker

John Lee HookerSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.

Angelo Moore of Fishbone

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.

Millie Jackson

Millie JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Outrageously gifted and just plain outrageous, Millie is an R&B and Rap innovator.

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many Songs

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many SongsSong Writing

For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.