Jalen Ngonda Announces New Album + New Music + New European Headline Tour.

Washington, DC-raised, London-based phenom Jalen Ngonda returns to announce his sophomore album, Doctrine of Love, arriving June 5th via Daptone Records. As an introduction to his eagerly-awaited full-length, Jalen is also sharing the album’s title track, a rousing, sharp statement on the enduring experience of loving someone and weathering the gravitational pull of those highs and lows.

Speaking on the album’s title track, Jalen explains: “I wrote that track when I was trying to do anything to get out of the studio. I was listening to a lot of James Brown at the time and that was an inspiration. ‘Doctrine’ to me was a word no-one ever uses. I took it to be like a certificate, the ‘Certificate of Love’ – look, I think maybe I meant ‘doctorate’, but we wrote it and recorded it and now it’s a whole thing. I just write the song. The listener can interpret it however they want.”

Jalen’s Doctrine of Love is a resolute second chapter building on the feverish success of his critically-acclaimed debut album Come Around and Love Me. Jalen formed his sophomore album over two sets of writing sessions between Brooklyn and Riverside, CA, with Vince Chiarito and Michael Buckley returning as producers to mine deeper into the trove of contemporary soul they struck with his debut. Jalen’s second album imbues that sound with an ode to his roots in the church with hints of gospel choruses in the background vocals and a modern pop perspective. With Doctrine of Love, Jaden is guiding soul music into 2026 with a reverence for its history and motifs, but also an authentic vision for its future and drawing parallels to how the genre has influenced today’s R&B, hip-hop, and more. In Jalen’s own words:

“The doctrine of love holds that every thought and action should be guided first by compassion for others, because love is the highest measure of human worth”

Come Around and Love Me introduced the world to Jalen’s once-in-a-generation voice, which he honed at the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts after cutting his teeth playing drums in his church. His debut in 2023 triggered a staggering rise, with Jalen making his US TV debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and appearances on Graham Norton and Later with Jools Holland. His viral hit single “If You Don’t Want My Love” has racked up over 253 million streams to date and he achieved A-list rotation on BBC 2, BBC 6 Music and Jazz FM across multiple singles. His live show captivated audiences from day one, opening for Thee Sacred Souls, Freddie Gibbs and Olivia Dean on their respective US and European tours in 2023, along with selling out a healthy number of global club dates as a headliner. Jalen has also collaborated with the likes of Jordan Rakei and Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz, who tapped Jalen to be featured on their newly-released album The Mountain.

Jalen is also announcing his own headlining European tour coming this Fall, with a series of dates beginning on October 2nd in Amsterdam. His European festival run continues an extensive run of live shows that begins this month with a series of Australian tour dates, a stint of UK and European shows in the Spring and a run of European festival dates in the Summer including Love Supreme (UK), North Sea Jazz (Rotterdam) and Mad Cool (Madrid).

Upcoming Live Dates:

3/4 – Perth, AUS @ The Astor Theatre
3/6 – Melbourne, AUS @ Forum Melbourne
3/7 – Adelaide, AUS @ WOMADelaide
3/8 – Meredith, AUS @ Golden Plains
3/10 – Sydney, AUS @ Enmore Theatre
4/22 – York, UK @ York Barbican
4/25 – Oxford, UK @ O2 Academy Oxford
4/27 – Sheffield, UK @ Octagon
4/29 – Margate, UK @ The Drill Shed
5/3 – Liverpool, UK @ Liverpool Sound City
5/4 – Cheltenham, UK @ Cheltenham Jazz Festival
5/5 – Leicester, UK @ O2 Academy Leicester
5/11 – Rouen, FR @ Le 106
5/12 – Luxembourg City, LU @ Den Atelier
5/19 – Strasbourg, FR @ La Laiterie
6/26 – St. Gallen, CH @ OpenAir St. Gallen
6/28 – Milton Keynes, UK @ SMK Live Festival
7/4 – Glynde, UK @ Love Supreme Festival
7/10 – Rotterdam, NL @ North Sea Jazz
7/11 – Madrid, ES @ Mad Cool Festival
7/12 – Birmingham, UK @ Mostly Jazz, Funk & Soul
7/17 – Pori, FI @ KIRJURINLUOTO
7/24 – Suffolk, UK @ Latitude Festival
8/5 – Rome, IT @ Casa Del Jazz
8/7 – Locorotondo, IT @ Masseria Ferragnano
8/13 – Oslo, NO @ Øyafestivalen
8/14 – Gothenburg, SE @ Way Out West
8/30 – Portsmouth, UK @ Victorious Festival
10/2 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
10/3 – Groningen, NL @ De Oosterpoort
10/5 – Cologne, DE @ Carlswerk Victoria
10/6 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
10/8 – Paris, FR @ L’Olympia
10/9 – Lille, FR @ L’Aéronef
10/11 – Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
10/12 – Zurich, CH @ X-Tra
10/14 – Berlin, DE @ Huxleys
10/15 – Hamburg, DE @ Grosse Freiheit 36
10/16 – Copenhagen, DK @ Amarger Bio
10/24 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
10/27 – Bournemouth, UK @ O2 Academy
10/28 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton
11/1 – Leeds, UK @ Project House
11/2 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland Ballroom
11/3 – Manchester, UK @ Academy