Raven

Description

Kelela’s forthcoming chapter, Raven, promises a beautiful and bright sonic experience. All the tracks on the follow-up to her critically-acclaimed debut album “Take Me Apart,” which marked Kelela's ascent into the mainstream, were written, arranged, and co-produced by her and Asmara. The ambient duo OCA (Yo Van Lenz & Florian T. M. Zeisig) and LSDXOXO, along with Bambii, are the main producers. On Raven, Kelela emerges from the ocean-orbiting waters of her higher self to explore autonomy, belonging, and self-renewal as routes to healing. Pitchfork has already praised both singles, “Washed Away” and “Happy Ending,” as “a showcase for her soaring soprano” and a testament to her “graceful, breathy vocal delivery.” With her talent for traversing the frequencies of R&B and dance music, Kelela has established herself as an interpolative artist across music, art, and fashion. Her early works, “Cut 4 Me” (2013) and “Hallucinogen” (2015), solidified her place as a trailblazer in alternative underground R&B and electronic music, paving the way for collaborations with other visionary artists such as Solange, Gorillaz, Andrew Thomas Huang, and Danny Brown. With her sophisticated blend of elegance, futurism, divinity, and sensuality, Kelela has led the way, demonstrating that style is both a component of art and an art in itself.