Kelela puts on a Sephiroth bussdown and releases “idea 1”, as the run-up to album number 3 begins

Kelela put on a brand new white bussdown and released a new music video, which could mean a couple of things. She’s a Sephiroth fan. She’s a fan of Storm from the X-Men. A new album is on the way.

On 8th April, Kelela released “idea 1”, the lead single from her third studio album — which is still untitled at time of posting.

In an official press release and in a tweet, Kelela said this about the song.

“idea 1” is about what it feels like to exist in this climate — the weight of being expected to witness, absorb, and speak truth at a time when the world feels like it’s unraveling. That’s a particular kind of burden Black women know intimately. This song doesn’t offer answers, it just refuses to look away. Co-writing it with my best friend Janiva Ellis, hearing Oscar’s production give it shape, and then watching 91 Rules bring that tension to life visually feels like the beginning of a much larger conversation I’m ready to have.

I’m glad that Kelela shared this. Because listening to the song and having watched the music video, I would not have figured that “idea 1” was about any of this.

Kelela - idea 1 | Warp Records

Kelela hasn’t even dropped her third studio album yet and I am already wondering how “idea 1” will get flipped for the inevitable remix album.

When Kelela spoke to Rolling Stone and was asked about her third studio album, she had said

“[The album will be] going back to something that I kind of started with... If I talk about it, it’s gonna give it away”.

Fans had surmised that the sonics of Kelela’s upcoming album would be a throwback to her early days in the indie rock band Dizzy Spells. And going by “idea 1”, there may be some weight to this theory. Whilst Kelela’s music has always been rooted in dance and R&B, she’s always felt one degree away from rock in some form. My mind regularly goes back to when Kelela was speaking about her Take Me Apart album cut “Onanon” — with her friend listening to the song and saying that the chorus sounded like Evanescence.

Kelela - idea 1 | Warp Records

I like “idea 1”. I wish the song had more of a build and reached a climax. But this style of production and arrangement where a song feels like it could take off, but never quite does is very Kelela. As it stands, “idea 1” reminds me a lot of “Washed Away”, in the sense that it feels like part of something bigger.

“idea 1” is not an obvious choice of song for a lead single, but this is regular Kelela behaviour. Look how she did us for Raven with “Washed Away”. One thing Kelela gon’ do is not give us a typical lead single choice. I bet Kelela’s record label both loves and hates her. Because they know her music is great, but they know she is always gonna wanna lead with a single which has zero hit potential. But I like that Kelela follows her heart when it comes to her choices, and that her lead singles always feel like the best representations of the albums they’re leading. “Washed Away” as the lead single made WAY more sense once Raven dropped. And I imagine I’ll feel similarly about “idea 1” when this third album drops.

It sure would be great to live in a time where songs like “Washed Away” and “idea 1” could be chart contenders though.

Oh. And the video looks amazing — directed by 91 Rules and creative directed by Yasser Abubeker. Yasser Abubeker was the director of the video for “Washed Away”. So it’s no wonder this shit looks so good. This is a prime example of a great director and creative director, each with a clear vision and an [turns and looks into the camera] ✨idea✨ can deliver something that looks rich and polished without an astronomical budget. You don’t need millions of dollars, sound stages, dance routines, a shit tonne of stuff happening and VFX to make a great music video. You just need people with a vision and know how, who also know some people.

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💿 Album reviews: Take Me Apart | TAKE ME A_PART, THE REMIXES | Raven | RAVE:N, The Remixes

🎛️ Random J Mashup: Kelela x Hikaru Utada