This is so so so good. Im still processing but this album is exactly what I needed right now and its making me emotional this morning.
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Kelela - Raven + RAVE:N, The Remixes
- Thread starter A&E
- Start date
I'm glad y'all set proper expectations with the tempo of the album, Missed Call caught me a little off guard with how up-tempo it was!
I think the artwork conveys the album's sound in a way few works do these days: the sonic landscape feels like floating just below the surface, a sort of focused stillness as the world moves around you. There are gorgeous harmonies slathered all over this album.
It's definitely AOTY right now and I don't foresee it surrendering that title easily as the releases pile up this year.
I think the artwork conveys the album's sound in a way few works do these days: the sonic landscape feels like floating just below the surface, a sort of focused stillness as the world moves around you. There are gorgeous harmonies slathered all over this album.
It's definitely AOTY right now and I don't foresee it surrendering that title easily as the releases pile up this year.
Damn is Kelela stans are eating good today, after being left to starve for so long.
Absolutely worth the wait though. The production is immaculate and her voice has never sounded smoother. I love how it’s an Album. Each song is in its rightful place, it is a cohesive and clear body of work and those transitions!!! I gasped. The production is full of small little details and flourishes that keep each song interesting while ensuring they don’t sound cluttered. It’s spacious. I had high expectations and I feel like she totally went beyond them…I love the vibe, the direction…everything. My only wish is that she had more attention. She deserves budgets. She deserves acclaim. I know none of this is TikTok friendly but stranger things have happened…I’d love for her to get attention because we don’t get many albums like this anymore, where it’s clear that every inch of it has been pored over and it’s crafted with love. Absolutely already in my top ten of the year.
And in general I am loving all these artists of color bring attention to the fact that POC have been integral to dance and electronic music. You can tell she knows her history, and it comes through beautifully on this album.
Absolutely worth the wait though. The production is immaculate and her voice has never sounded smoother. I love how it’s an Album. Each song is in its rightful place, it is a cohesive and clear body of work and those transitions!!! I gasped. The production is full of small little details and flourishes that keep each song interesting while ensuring they don’t sound cluttered. It’s spacious. I had high expectations and I feel like she totally went beyond them…I love the vibe, the direction…everything. My only wish is that she had more attention. She deserves budgets. She deserves acclaim. I know none of this is TikTok friendly but stranger things have happened…I’d love for her to get attention because we don’t get many albums like this anymore, where it’s clear that every inch of it has been pored over and it’s crafted with love. Absolutely already in my top ten of the year.
And in general I am loving all these artists of color bring attention to the fact that POC have been integral to dance and electronic music. You can tell she knows her history, and it comes through beautifully on this album.
I’m having my first listen and I’m floating around in space. I’m just at Let It Go and those harmonies, the production. It’s all so stunning.
Edit: someone here posted about Contact sharing the same DNA as Twilight Realm theme from Zelda Twilight Princess, but oh my god at Closure being cut from the same cloth.
Edit: someone here posted about Contact sharing the same DNA as Twilight Realm theme from Zelda Twilight Princess, but oh my god at Closure being cut from the same cloth.
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I can't even remember what was the last time that i was so blown away listening to an album for the first time. You can't even tell it is 1 hour long because it's such an immersive listen. The singles were already great and somehow they are even more elevated on the tracklist.
He / Him / His
I realise its only been six months but this is the first album since Renaissance for me where every single track feels so essential and purposeful to the overall experience, after just one listen.
I was slightly worried the amount I've been spinning the pre-release singles might dampen my enjoyment but I'm honestly sort of floored by the whole thing.
I was slightly worried the amount I've been spinning the pre-release singles might dampen my enjoyment but I'm honestly sort of floored by the whole thing.
It's an album for the cool girls at the afters, for sure.
Sinking into this now, but I already need to echo everyone's praises on how beautiful this is. It's a perfect marriage of ambient, breakbeat, and R&B. It all sounds so gorgeously textured and expertly arranged. And On the Run? It's already a classic!
Sinking into this now, but I already need to echo everyone's praises on how beautiful this is. It's a perfect marriage of ambient, breakbeat, and R&B. It all sounds so gorgeously textured and expertly arranged. And On the Run? It's already a classic!
I am very excited to listen to this!
I low key ignored the pre-release singles because I wanted to savor the entire album.
Additionally, Take Me Apart was a strange release for me because I knew I loved the album on first listen. But I never got around to intentional relistens, until long after the momentum of the release was over.
This is all to say that this feels like the first time I will be able to properly listen and take in a Kelela album around release time!
I low key ignored the pre-release singles because I wanted to savor the entire album.
Additionally, Take Me Apart was a strange release for me because I knew I loved the album on first listen. But I never got around to intentional relistens, until long after the momentum of the release was over.
This is all to say that this feels like the first time I will be able to properly listen and take in a Kelela album around release time!
2014
Staff member
Amazing for her!
This record is pure vibes throughout, I adore it and want to stay in the world its created forever.
any
When the bass comes in in Let It Go
When the hi-hats come in one verse later
When the hi-hats come in one verse later
Raven to Bruises...its just so perfect.
Fooley is my evening favorite at the moment, its so Burial.
Fooley is my evening favorite at the moment, its so Burial.
The whole album is a consistent vibe, but I'm still gagged at how dark and deep it goes following Contact. The sound evokes the album cover exactly: floating in deep water at night. It's relentless and she clearly cares more about expressing her vision more than tossing us some easy bops. The second half of the album might actually take it for me overall.
he/him
What a ride! Completely immersive. The way her voice glides in and out alongside the production, always sounding like a dream and coasting over the deeper beats is so warm. RENIASSANCE feels like a fair comparison in terms of its transitions. Having to double check which track you were on was exactly what it was like to listen to Beyonce's album for the first time. This is made for the contemplative, cross-faded moments of coming home from the club. Maybe you're alone, maybe not.
I can't even pick favorites, but I do know the title track kicked me in the ass. Sorbet's achingly beautiful too, but I want more time before calling any track a favorite. Like others have mentioned, everything is perfectly placed and intentional. The complete unpredictability of it all is physically thrilling. At any moment a rolling beat, chimes, brass, Janet Jackson-esque backing vocals could completely change the tone. It's a massive creative feat and I hope she's proud.
I can't even pick favorites, but I do know the title track kicked me in the ass. Sorbet's achingly beautiful too, but I want more time before calling any track a favorite. Like others have mentioned, everything is perfectly placed and intentional. The complete unpredictability of it all is physically thrilling. At any moment a rolling beat, chimes, brass, Janet Jackson-esque backing vocals could completely change the tone. It's a massive creative feat and I hope she's proud.
It’s definitely more ambient and atmospheric than I was expecting, but I love that she’s subverted my expectations and completely blown me away in the process.
The sequencing is stunning. Just as it feels like you might drown you’re given a moment to breathe. The uptempo moments help anchor the amorphous nature of the surrounding tracks. The moments of rest (ironic it’s the clubbier songs that feel like a breath of air!) becoming more diffuse and further apart the deeper you go is a trip.
I keep circling back to Missed Call, Raven, Bruises, and Divorce but there’s not a dud or wasted moment in sight.
The sequencing is stunning. Just as it feels like you might drown you’re given a moment to breathe. The uptempo moments help anchor the amorphous nature of the surrounding tracks. The moments of rest (ironic it’s the clubbier songs that feel like a breath of air!) becoming more diffuse and further apart the deeper you go is a trip.
I keep circling back to Missed Call, Raven, Bruises, and Divorce but there’s not a dud or wasted moment in sight.
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He/Him
A modern classic.