South London’s Liam Mera Kai releases his long-anticipated debut EP, it’s fine once you’re in, via HeadFirst Records — a six-track journey into self-doubt, personal growth, and creative freedom.
Written and recorded over the span of 18 months, the project marks a significant chapter for the Johannesburg-born, London-raised artist. Leaning into a sound that touches on alt hip-hop, neo-soul, and experimental R&B, Liam weaves textured soundscapes with lyricism that’s as honest as it is introspective.
“I’ve always found that writing is when I’m at my most vulnerable but also my most expressive and this EP felt like a way to speak without pressure. It’s wild to think that the project is finally here. I wrote it over the last 18 months with just one thing in mind – it had to be honest. It really feels like my most explorative work both lyrically and sonically. Sometimes painful and reflective, but a real pleasure to make,” Liam explains.
The EP opens with ‘wishbone’, a striking introduction that captures the overwhelming loop of overthinking, blending jazzy production with tightly woven bars and melodic hooks. Follow-up track ‘I WANDER’ delves deeper into uncertainty and creative risk, flirting with alt-R&B textures while straddling the lines between song and rap. “The main focus of this track is the contradiction and wordplay in the hook – ‘I wander… wonder if I’m doing it right,’” he explains — a line that encapsulates the project’s core ethos.
Each track offers something distinct. ‘violet?’ delivers a more laidback, jazz-inflected moment of calm, pairing smooth vocals with punchy, off-kilter percussion. In contrast, ‘passionflower (the villain)’ leans into darker tones, with spoken-word-inspired passages and moody, atmospheric production reminiscent of artists like Sampha and James Blake.
Elsewhere, ‘feel it all (hourglass)’ charges forward with a nostalgic nod to old-school UK rap, built on dynamic, sample-heavy production. It’s a sharp gear shift from the project’s intimate finale, ‘skin’ — a subtle, soulful closer shaped by the experimental minimalism of Dijon, Bon Iver and Frank Ocean. It’s in these sonic contrasts that Liam’s creative range becomes most evident.
A self-described “thinker”, Liam Mera Kai has spent the last few years carefully shaping a sound that doesn’t conform but collides — drawing on his love for genre-blending artists like Loyle Carner, Bakar, and Paolo Nutini. His music is steeped in emotion, reflection and wordplay, with themes of admiration, confusion, and quiet resilience woven throughout.
While it’s fine once you’re in marks the beginning of a wider journey, it’s also a complete statement on its own: raw, curious, and strikingly honest. To celebrate, Liam will perform a special live show at The Gibson Garage, London on 15th July — a chance for fans to witness the debut project in full, in the kind of intimate setting that suits his music best.
Listen below:
