Kelela on Boundaries, Collaboration, and Her Latest Album, 'New Avatar'
Overview
In a new interview, Kelela opens up about why now felt like the right moment to lean into her indie-rock roots, a shift that marks a departure from the R&B- and club-inflected sound she's best known for. The conversation touches on her collaborations with Fousheé and PinkPantheress on 'New Avatar,' the boundaries she's had to set as her career and sound evolve, and how that musical evolution is reshaping the way she approaches fashion and personal style.
Returning to Her Indie-Rock Roots
Kelela built her reputation on a genre-blurring catalog that moves between R&B, electronic, and club music, with albums like 'Take Me Apart' and 'Raven' earning her a reputation as one of the more sonically adventurous voices in contemporary music. With 'New Avatar,' she describes wanting to return to an earlier, more guitar-driven influence that predates her club-scene associations. That pivot isn't framed as a reinvention for its own sake, but as a return to a version of herself that existed before the sound she became known for took over.
Collaborating with Fousheé and PinkPantheress
The album brings in two artists who share Kelela's instinct for genre-blending: Fousheé, known for moving fluidly between rock, R&B, and alternative textures, and PinkPantheress, whose work draws on UK garage, drum and bass, and pop in equal measure. Kelela frames these collaborations as less about chasing a particular sound and more about finding artists who understand the value of not staying in one lane. The pairing suggests 'New Avatar' will carry the same cross-genre DNA that has defined her catalog, just filtered through a different set of influences this time around.
Setting Boundaries While Evolving in Public
Part of the interview addresses the tension between creative evolution and audience expectation. Kelela speaks to the importance of setting boundaries as an artist whose sound has shifted significantly over the years, resisting pressure to repeat past work simply because it was well received. That theme of boundary-setting runs alongside the collaborative process, suggesting she's approaching this project with more intention about who she works with and why.
How Sound Is Shaping Her Fashion Sense
Kelela also connects her musical shift to how she thinks about style, noting that the textures and energy of indie-rock are influencing her wardrobe choices in ways her earlier, more club-oriented sound didn't. For an artist whose fashion presence has always tracked closely with her music, era, the shift toward rock influences points to a visual identity that may lean grittier and less polished than her previous eras.
FAQ
Q: What is 'New Avatar'?
A: It's Kelela's latest album, marking a stylistic shift toward her indie-rock influences and featuring collaborations with Fousheé and PinkPantheress.
Q: Is this a major genre change for Kelela?
A: It's a shift in emphasis rather than a total reinvention; Kelela has long moved across R&B, electronic, and club sounds, and this album leans into rock influences she says predate her more recognized club-scene work.
Source
Originally published at www.vogue.com.