Songstress KELELA Performs At NPR’s Tiny Desk!

 

Songstress KELELA Performs At NPR’s Tiny Desk!

Off the heels of her latest release, RAVE:N, The Remixes, Kelela continues to share new facets of herself as a musician and artist. Undoubtedly a performance many fans have been waiting for, Kelela storms NPR’s Tiny Desk as the most recent canvas for her artistry to flourish and she doesn’t disappoint. Accompanied by a  keyboardist alternating between synths, rhodes and piano, a harpist, two background vocalists and a drummer, Kelela showcases new arrangements of her classics while stripping her music down to its melodic core. This small army of musicians proved to be the perfect ensemble to transport us into a universe only she could create.

CREDITS:

Briley Harris: Keys

Ahya Simone: Harp

Alayna Rodgers: Vocals

Brittney Mills: Vocals

Brandon Donald: Drums

Music Director: Daniel Aged

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Producer: Bobby Carter

Director/Editor: Kara Frame

Audio Technical Director: Hannah Gluvna

Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Alanté Serene

Audio Engineer: Neil Tevault

Production Assistant: Elle Mannion

Photographer: Elizabeth Gillis

Tiny Desk Team: Ashley Pointer, Hazel Cills

Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson

VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

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About Kelela:

Raven was met with glowing reviews upon release and has been hailed one of the ‘Best Albums of 2023’ by Pitchfork, Billboard, Vulture, Variety and more. 2023 has been an incredible year for Kelela, with the release of Raven, celebrated by a performance of “Enough for Love” on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, and a successful sold-out North American and European, RAVE:N Tour in the spring. 

Kelela has something new to say. Or rather, new ways to express what people really think, but too often, dare not say. In February 2023’s RAVEN, the singer-songwriter  delivered 15 new songs and imploring listeners to go even deeper into themselves. Vulnerability and radical surrender are the tentpoles of love, romantic or otherwise. Kelela knows this well and is ready to further articulate this to her eager audience.  

The process of crafting RAVEN has been deeply intentional, both sonically and in terms of the meaning being produced. On the album, the singer oscillates between the improvisational aspect of jazz, the pulsing tempo of dance/electronic music and the openness of traditional R&B. Many of the album's tracks bleed into each other, creating a continuous mix that flows through the different terrains of dance music. From the hazy atmospherics of "Fooley" to the playful breakbeats of "Happy Ending," Kelela is adept and commanding in each environment. 

RAVEN is executive produced by Kelela and co-executive produced by Asmara. Kelela also wrote and arranged all of the album’s tracks. Yo Van Lenz and Florian T M Zeisig (members of ambient duo OCA) and LSDXOXO serve as the main producers throughout the album, with additional production from Bambii.