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Kelela announces third album New Avatar, shares single ‘linknb’
Kelela announces New Avatar for July 10 via Warp Records and shares new single 'linknb', produced by Oscar Scheller.
Kelela will release her third album, New Avatar, on July 10 via Warp Records. She has shared a new single from the record, ‘linknb‘. You can pre-order and pre-save the album here.
‘linknb’ is the second preview from New Avatar following ‘idea 1’. The track was produced by Oscar Scheller. Kelela wrote the song during a period of writer’s block; she says it began as a mantra to pull herself back into the work. The lyrics include the lines: ‘It’s not hard to be brave/ Easier to give too much away/ All I know is that I paved the way, underpaid.’
New Avatar is billed as a return to Kelela’s R&B roots. The record pairs distorted guitars with dance music and includes guest appearances from PinkPantheress, A. K. Paul, and Fousheé.
‘This album finds solace in confronting,’ Kelela said. ‘I don’t want the music to be a distraction from what’s really going on in the world; I want it to make sense in this crazy moment while helping people get in touch with the beauty and joy they’re also experiencing.’
Tracklist
- ‘Idea 1
- ‘Point Blank’
- ‘Goin Down’
- ‘Outta Time’ (Feat. A. K. Paul)
- ‘Against Me’
- ‘Crystalize’
- ‘Retaliation Lullaby’
- ‘linknb’
- ‘Don’t Piss Me Off’
- ‘New Life Forms’ (Feat. Fousheé)
- ‘The Bridge’ (Feat. Pinkpantheress)
- ‘If We Meet Again’
Kelela has said the album will reckon with a world ‘coming apart at the seams’ while also acknowledging the humour and joy among her friends. She framed that humour as an expression of clarity rather than a defence mechanism.
New Avatar follows the singer’s 2017 debut, Take Me Apart, and her 2023 album Raven. Raven was reviewed by NME with a four-star rating. The outlet wrote, “In a debut album which was all about breaking down, ‘Raven’ reminds us of what it means to be put back together.”
After Raven, Kelela released RAVE:N, The Remixes, described as “a transcending fusion of mashups and sounds, reimagined from the original ‘Raven’ album alongside her musical partner in crime Asmara.” The remix project featured contributors including Shygirl, Yaeji, Liv.e, BbyMutha, LEECH and others.
