Singapore-based producer Kiyan Foroughi steps into a new orbit with his debut album inner light. OUTER SPACE. — a sweeping, cinematic concept record that blends neo-soul, conscious hip-hop, jazz, and trip-hop into a story about remembering who you are.
Led by focus track ‘The Destination’ featuring Substantial and Rachelle Ruby, the 10-track project is a mythic odyssey inspired by Rumi’s philosophy and Carl Jung’s shadow work, following a female protagonist navigating alien worlds and inner battles — only to discover that the destination she’s been searching for was within her all along.
A debut built on lifetimes of movement
Born in France to Iranian parents and raised across Paris, Dubai, Boston, New York, London, and now Singapore, Foroughi’s life reads like a passport stamped with cultural dualities. That cosmopolitan existence forms the backbone of inner light. OUTER SPACE. — a record that bridges East and West with ease.
Drawing inspiration from J Dilla, Kendrick Lamar, Nujabes, Massive Attack, Vangelis, and the Soulquarians, Foroughi crafts what he calls cosmic R&B — weaving boom-bap drums, lush jazz textures, and atmospheric soul into a soundscape that feels both intimate and interstellar.
“The album is about remembering who you were before you forgot,” Foroughi shares.
It’s a thesis that unfolds non-linearly across the record — through desire, collapse, reckoning, and ultimately, integration.
‘The Destination’: the thesis in three verses
If the album is a journey, ‘The Destination’ is its revelation.
Featuring veteran conscious rapper Substantial — best known as Nujabes’ most frequent collaborator — the track delivers three verses that map the protagonist’s evolution: searching externally, transforming through self-discovery, and finally returning home to herself.
“When I started building this album, I knew I needed someone to deliver this message with a grounded clarity formed by true scars. And that was Substantial,” Foroughi explains.
Substantial’s bars carry the weight of the album’s mythology, while Rachelle Ruby, who voices the protagonist throughout the record, takes on a different presence here. No longer searching, but arriving.
“On ‘The Destination,’ she’s also the voice saying: ‘The journey was never about reaching the stars. It was about remembering you were always one in the first place,’” Foroughi adds.
It’s a moment of clarity that reframes the entire album.
A story told in chapters
inner light. OUTER SPACE. has been unfolding in episodes.
The journey began with ‘Seas of Space’ in November, marking the protagonist’s first step into the unknown. It continued with ‘Beautiful Distraction’ featuring Rachelle Ruby and Masia One — a seductive collision of hip-hop, R&B, and late ’80s synth wave that captured the moment of giving in to desire.
From the hope of ‘Seas of Space’ to the collapse of ‘never even here’ and the internal reckoning of ‘Shadow of the Enchantress’, each release has served as a chapter in a larger narrative arc — culminating in ‘The Destination,’ where all pieces converge.
Rather than a collection of singles, the album functions as a cohesive mythology — one that invites listeners to experience it front to back.
A cast that spans continents
Beyond Substantial and Rachelle Ruby, the album features an eclectic lineup: actor Darius Homayoun (Succession, Tehran), rapper Masia One, Singaporean MC Jude, and Montreal-based singer-songwriter George Azzi — with mixing and mastering by Malaysia-based engineer Taiyo Shirai at Sonic Lobby Studios.
At its emotional core, however, is Ruby — a Singapore-based singer and entrepreneur who co-founded tech startup Needle with Foroughi by day, and anchors the album’s narrative by night.
The dynamic between Foroughi and Ruby — collaborators across both tech and music — adds another layer to the project’s themes of duality and integration.
Singapore’s cosmic export
In a scene often defined by singles and streaming moments, inner light. OUTER SPACE. stands out as a fully realised concept record — ambitious in scope and philosophical in intent.
Foroughi may build worlds as a tech CEO by day, but on this debut, he proves himself equally fluent in sonic storytelling.
With its blend of jazz-infused beats, conscious rap lineage, and soul-searching narrative, inner light. OUTER SPACE. positions itself not just as a debut — but as an invitation. An invitation to look outward. And then, inward.
For more information about inner light. OUTER SPACE. please visit the album website.
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