Kelela - Cut 4 Me

this is rad! crazy - i kept seeing her name popping up here and there and thought "hey i remember a really cool girl i met in college named kelela" but i'm not really a huge R&B dude so i didn't look into it to see if it was her. what are the chances right? but holy fuck i looked into this morning and it's her! she was cool as fuck too, really super friendly and warm, easy going and chill. we had some mutual friends, a jazz musician i knew and also a girl i dated and eventually became good friends with. kelela was really into jazz at the time (so was i) so we talked about jazz a lot. she was part of this whole crew that hung out at the student-run coffee shop like all day, a group of us just kind of dominated that place. rad!

but yea anyways this album is good

This song with Kindness is faboo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVs4P4lSB6w

Arca + Kelela, wowowow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4-9mYrbXVI&feature=youtu.be

ehh bjork worked with arca w/o sounding like she was trying to ride twigs' coattails

oh yeah it's super Twigsy, but more memorable than most Kelela jams imo.

thought this was awesome

i really like "rewind" -- it's as pandering as anything she's ever done but the lyrical concept really works for me. the chorus also feels like a wind up toy kinda which is something i like about good bass songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?t=240&v=py6PgXq0yDM

b/w this & the jessy lanza/dj spinn record feel like it's been a lil bit of a comeback year for consciously cool hipster R&B

have you heard the abra record j0rdan?

it's on my list of things to listen to

I'm always very happy to come across a song from Cut 4 Me but have somehow unwittingly avoided anything else she's done.

i dig cut 4 me but i tend to listen in chunks rather than straight through

"a message" is outstanding i think

YO REWIND IS FLAAAAMES

i am really, really digging the hallucinogen ep

title track is awesome

this is cool: http://songexploder.net/kelela

Really regretting sleeping on this and missing her when she came to town. Hallucinogen is so good all the way through, but especially "A Message."

newish trailer, I guess:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZBnWO3UUh4

sounds like the new stuff is coming from a more loved-up place. her bf directed.

Listening to Hallucinogen EP now - great.

yesss very excited for the lp

love this ep

Her "debut album" is coming out in October and the lead single is huge: https://open.spotify.com/album/5FEEH1krjffTBOsf7xgvw6

Super exciting day in music announcements for me between this and the new Circuit Des Yeux

Really looking forward to this album. Also she is insanely good looking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePi5BLJogyA

album out

??????

album NOW out and v good

last 3 tracks in particular have absolutely destroyed me

So good.

Very excited for this.

I found her past stuff a little underwhelming. How does this compare?

it's better

I wish Lex were still around to goad me into listening to this :(

Bank head extended mix was one of my favourite tracks from its respective year. Can't wait to hear the new one

First impression - most of the best songs are in the second half. Sign of a confident artist.

'The High' was my favourite off the Hallucinogen EP. Does her latest expand on that facet of her sound at all or maintain it at the very least? Or has she embraced more conventional pop structures?

i think structurally this is very much still boundary pushing for a dance/R&B hybrid, but there are songs like "LMK" and "Waitin" that I suppose that have more conventional mechanics

"Waiting" and "Onanon" are practically Janet songs.

fuck me "frontline" is amazing

only two listens in on album so far and there's a lot to digest but so far it's pretty great

I've been listening non-stop. The best ballads remind me of Velvet Rope-era Janet.

Great performance on Jools Holland (hopefully available to non-UKers)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKML5psaCs8

New LP is FIRE, good lawd. Probably end up my AOTY

this was a really good read https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/2524

really enjoyed this, especially "frontline"

lovely cover of Sade's "Like A Tattoo" on BBCR1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqVxMDwGtBo

I really wish I could hear what you guys are hearing in this. There's a few nice production touches but Kelela herself doesn't bring much except a technical competency. It all feels like it's trudging along at the same pace and lacking personality.

Why are publications that wouldn't normally touch an r&b album fawning over this? What is it that lends this a greater sense of... legitimacy?

It’s on Warp.

I liked ‘Cut 4 Me’ but haven’t gotten around to checking out the album.

Label Warp
Producer
Kelela (exec.) Ariel Rechtshaid (also exec.) Jam City (also exec.) Arca Bok Bok Dubbel Dutch Kingdom Kwes Asma Maroof Mocky Aaron David Ross Al Shux Loric Sih Terror Danjah Nick Weiss

I really wish I could hear what you guys are hearing in this. There's a few nice production touches but Kelela herself doesn't bring much except a technical competency. It all feels like it's trudging along at the same pace and lacking personality.

She's good at writing about confusing sex, and she can sing about it too. This and Kehlani's album are among my favorite R&B albums of the year.