Kelela in Conversation: RAVEN era, staying offline, building community

Electronic Beats Weekly

As a queer, black, female artist working with everyone from Solange to PinkPantheress, Swarovski to Ferragamo, Kelela has been pushing boundaries on representation in music and fashion since the early 2010s. After disappearing from the public and taking an extended social media hiatus, Kelela reemerged in 2023 with the critically acclaimed album RAVEN. Her sound dances at the intersection of R&B and electronic dance music. However, her work remains unapologetic in the way it honors the black roots of club music and culture.

In conversation with The Week host Kikelomo, Kelela dives into her approach of educating and reading, her RAVEN era, the possibility of building worlds and communities –and the importance of staying offline sometimes.

Follow Kelela on Instagram.

Find Kikelomo on Instagram.

Check out Kelela’s Tiny Desk Concert and more of her music.

Read the books “Blues People: Negro Music in White America” by Amiri Baraka, and “The Musical Human: A History of Life on Earth” by Michael Spitzer. And watch “The Last Angel of History” by John Akomfrah.

The Week is a production by Telekom Electronic Beats and ACB Stories.

Host: Kikelomo

Producer: Carlos Steurer

Editing and Sound Design: Marc Übel

Executive Producer: Isabel Woop

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