If you’ve been hitting rewind (you know what I did there) on Kelela’s breakout EP’s “Hallucinogen” and “Cut 4 Me” for the past four years, you are about to be delivered. The elusive artist announced the arrival of her debut album “Take Me Apart” – coming October 6 on Warp Records – plus dropped a first single named “LMK” last night and the socials were left aquiver.
“LMK” (Let Me Know) is a sensory overload of a bop that will honestly speak to everyone who has ever gone on a date (“It ain’t that deep by the way, no one’s tryna settle down, all you gotta do is let me know”).
In a statement, Kelela breaks down what we can expect: “Despite it being a personal record, the politics of my identity informs how it sounds and how I choose to articulate my vulnerability and strength. I am a black woman, a second-generation Ethiopian-American, who grew up in the ’burbs listening to R&B, jazz and Björk. All of it comes out in one way or another.” This is going to be suh good. (Speaking of Björk, that Jesse Kanda-shot Dazed cover is pretty much everything, be quick to snatch your copy when it comes out August 3).
All you can do now is Palo Santo your soul and check out the album tracklist while channelling what these titles will sound like, replay LMK endlessly, put on A Seat At The Table’s “Scales” for the honeyed combo of Solo plus Kelela, listen to this playlist and get your life scrolling through Black Twitter.
