Atlanta’s genre-defying artist Raury might only have turned 20 a couple of months ago, but has already achieved an extraordinary amount in his short career, kickstarted by hugely popular 2014 single ‘God’s Whisper’ and further aided by the successful release of Raury’s debut studio album All We Need in October 2015.

Since that time, however, Raury has been relatively quiet on the music front, save for a brief reappearance earlier this year with the release of ‘Home‘. Now, Raury has once again broken his musical silence with the release of new single ‘NEVERALONE’, bringing along with it a unique backstory.

Over the weekend, American professional skydiver Luke Aikins, in partnership with Stride Chewing Gum, performed the daredevil task of plunging 25,000 feet without a parachute or wing-suit, landing in a 100 x 100 foot net and becoming the first man to achieve the feat in the process.

“What he’s doing is a metaphor for life in general,” Raury said of Aikins and the jump, “He knows something that nobody else knows.”

A transcendent, uplifting and soulful experience, carrying on Raury’s well-known and frequently spoken about skills for balancing the nuances of multiple genres, ‘NEVERALONE’ finds Raury reflecting on Aikins’ extraordinary jump — and drawing parallels between himself and the skydiver in the process.

“Me and the skydiver, we’re the same person, the same being, with the same intentions and thoughts,” Raury continued. “I just happen to be born in Atlanta, and had access to music and this happened to me. I’m a musical daredevil. He was born where he was born and he had access to skydiving. The differences between being a musician or being a skydiver … it’s all honestly the same. We’re all people who believe something [and] try to show the world what’s in our head, our dreams.”

There’s still no word on when fans can hope to see a follow-up to All We Need, but until word arrives, at least we now have ‘NEVERALONE’ to tide us over.

• Words: James Schofield