After nearly a six-year hiatus, singer Kelela returns with her sophomore album, RAVEN. It’s the follow-up to her 2017 debut LP, Take Me Apart.
Much of the album was produced by the Berlin duo OCA, composed of Yo van Lenz and Florian T M Zeisig. It includes additional contributions from Bambii, LSDXOXO, Kaytranada and more.
All 15 tracks were co-written and arranged by Kelela.
RAVEN includes the previously shared songs “Washed Away,” “Happy Ending,” “On the Run,” “Contact,” and most recently, “Enough for Love.”
The latter, bass-heavy track was released as RAVEN’s fifth and final single earlier this week. She described “Enough for Love” as a “soft banger” in an Instagram caption.
Of the new album, Kelela said, “I started this process from the feeling of isolation and alienation I’ve always had as a black femme in dance music, despite its black origins.”
“RAVEN is my first breath taken in the dark, an affirmation of black femme perspective in the midst of systemic erasure and the sound of our vulnerability turned to power.”
Kelela’s new album RAVEN is available on more than just streaming platforms and at digital retailers. It’s also available on vinyl and CD on kelela.warp.net.
RAVEN is available in two color options on double vinyl: black and limited-edition clear. The price is $32.99.
Meanwhile, the CD, packaged in a four-panel gatefold wallet with an album booklet, is priced at $15.99.
Kelela will support RAVEN on her headlining RAVE:N Tour. The brief tour, already sold out, kicks off March 16 at Terminal West in Atlanta, Georgia.
However, due to demand, it’s now extended until April 11 with the last show at Huxleys Neue Welt in Berlin.
Listen to RAVEN by Kelela below.
