Kelela: the importance of self assurance
Proceeding the release of her latest album Raven, I was highly inclined to write this as Kelela is definitely up there as one of my favourite artists and obviously I wanted to explain why.
A late bloomer in the music industry, Kelela only began taking her music career seriously after her late 20s. An established academic about to graduate in an American University Kelela was headed towards the traditional path of a student but fortunately decided to disregard her education and focus on music, Kelela decided to listen to her heart. In 2013 dropping her highly acclaimed debut mixtape, “Cut 4 Me” it was clear from the beginning that she was a force of nature and an artist to watch.
Her first album was extremely well received, gaining her a lot of popularity and even gaining a high score of 8.4/10 on Pitchfork. Mixing many genres in a debut album is ambitious but Kelela did it flawlessly, with the help of many producers from her label Fade to mind. Kelela creates an experience with her albums, allowing herself to create her own space; a lane of her own. “Cut 4 me” is adventurous and profound, perfectly curated and meticulously produced. Kelela is efficient in bringing a collection of well thought out production, pristine vocals and transforming previously darker toned dance music into fundamentally upbeat pop. One of her many talents is utilising her skills to reconstruct old electronic sounds into a new distinguished form of pop.I also can't talk about
Cut 4 me without mentioning one of her most recognisable songs, Bank Head. First dropped as a single in Kingdoms EP “Vertical XL” as a feature it was then announced as the 6th track in her album and released later as an extended version. A song that's instrumental at showcasing Kelelas vocal elasticity, it's been described as one of her best songs for this exact reason.
“Bank head” is known mostly for the hook of the song, repeating the lyrics “let it out” its elemental starting with levels. In the first two repetitions she's audibly holding herself back, not really letting it out. In the final repetition all self restraint is lost as she allows herself to fully let go, her vocals rising to its climax. Lyrically it's also ambiguous intentionally not allowing the listener to realise whether she's talking about her reality or her not being able to let go of a fantasy.
After her debut release in 2013, it was only a short wait for her artistic fermentation in her next EP ‘Hallucinogen’. A perfect formulation of pop, r&b and so much more, Hallucinogen is an invitation to sit in Kelelas musical spaceship and be transported around a galaxy of sounds. Featuring collaborations from sensational producers like ARCA and more Hallucinogen is the perfect follow up to an album like CUT4ME. It opens with ‘A message’ , a powerful intro to her EP, a song that speaks on the death of her recent relationship. Kelela’s integrity is displayed here with her vulnerability allowing her to really showcase her most honest self. Her songwriting skills are polished, being able to unfold her relationship truthfully without having to point out any specifics that enabled the termination of her relationship. She speaks on the discomfort that comes with being alone whilst also reminding herself of the benefits of finally letting her partner go, “Left some things behind, don't need your help”. As well as being produced by ARCA, the song got its popularity from its alluring visuals alongside that was released through THE FADER on i-D’s youtube channel in March 2015.
A seven song solution to all the questions that arose after her first album, this EP was an incredibly integral addition to Kelelas discography, really grounding her foundation as an artist that defied the odds, working with the right people and continuously making the right choices for herself as an artist with no limits.
Shortly after this EP was the exceptional second album “Take Me Apart”. After proving herself multiple times, it was now time for Kelela to truly have fun with her sound and grace us with an album that really let us into her cabinet of talent. With a range of producers and collaborators, it's easy to assume that this album would be quintessentially Kelela. And that's exactly what it is. Fourteen songs that perfectly encapsulate Kelelas essence as an artist, it's an unforgettable debut. Exploring the intricacies of a break up and its emotional baggage that comes with it, this album incorporates a range of emotional peaks that allows Kelela to distribute her feelings of sadness into works of real sincerity.
Personal favourites of mine include, ‘Frontline’, ‘LMK’ and ‘Onanon’ which are all great displays of her vocal range and insight into her playful takes on different genres. Frontline is an ode to the release of toxicity and the acceptance of the unknown in love. Nothing's certain, might as well try new things instead of running yourself dry with the burden of a repetitive cycle. Accept your fate, release old energy and rejuvenate yourself with new experiences and new things. Listen to Kelela.
Finally, I'm going to end this article on Kelela with a mini review of her latest album Raven.
Years after the release of her debut, Kelela ghosted the music scene completely disappearing from social media or even appearing on a feature on any of her many collaborators' new projects. Luckily, she was able to leave knowing she had an extremely loyal fanbase that not only respected her craft as an artist but also the time that's needed for yourself to grow as an artist. Twitter loves Kelela and rightfully so, Kelela even stating herself at her show in London (that I was lucky enough to attend) that she truly appreciates her fans for not only fucking with her music but fucking with her as a person.
Raven is mature and sophisticated, Kelela has grown not only in her wisdom but also in her artistry, shes moved into a different form of herself. An even more pronounced version of herself. It's clear that Kelela has used this period of time to further develop her sound and its meaning in the real world. Kelela states “ Ultimately I’m working to be in alignment with myself ” which highlights the depths to her levels of introspection in context to the recent happenings within the world. Relating to the Black Lives Matter uprising after 2020, Kelela made sure to be proactive in working and surrounding herself with more black people and black queer artists. You can really see the difference in her own artistic confidence and the importance of restructuring her surroundings and professional environment that allowed her to create an album with layers to it.
The first single ‘On the run’ is a slow paced dancehall groove that is a disguised sad song but doesn't allow you to sit and dwell but rather get up and move. Completing her more fine tuned sound were producers like Nguzunguzu, LSDXOXO, Bambii, Kaytranada, Junglepussy and more.It's important to emphasise their importance to the shaping of this new project as these producers brought in the likes of jungle to garage and back to further strains of Black electronic music which is what Kelela wanted in her sound.
The sensual single ‘Contact’ is brilliantly detailed in its production, singing over a distorted jungle beat that is made to be played at the end of a night out. Contact is sexy and lust filled, bringing back the welcomed desires of having a new crush.
I couldn't finish this article without talking about Kelela’s use of the forms of water to add more texture to her album.This album is linked through the forms of water, whether it be the sound of a crashing wave or the trickling of tears.This album is imperative in helping us understand what reinvention was happening behind the scenes for the past few years that Kelela had gone ghost. It's all about how death creates new life and the symbolism of this paradox. Clearly stated in the self titled ‘Raven’ she sings “Through all the labour/ A raven is reborn,” stressing the aforementioned theme of reinvention.
Kelela is an artist that's success was catalysed by her ability to let herself go. That's what everyone should do, take time to get to know yourself fully and do the best with what you've got. Might get you somewhere.
Fatima <3
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