Kelela
Kelela | |
|---|---|
 Kelela performing in April 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kelela Mizanekristos |
| Born | 1983 (age 40–41) Washington, D.C., United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | Fade to Mind, Night Slugs, Cherry Coffee / Warp |
Kelela Mizanekristos (Template:USdict, born 1983), known as Kelela, is an American singer and songwriter. Her 2013 debut mixtape, Cut 4 Me, earned praise from music critics and contemporaries such as Solange Knowles and Björk, and was listed in various publication's year-end lists. Seeking to make the mixtape sound like a remix album,[3] Kelela added her own vocals over instrumental tracks by DJs from Fade to Mind and Night Slugs. In October of 2015, she released an EP, Hallucinogen and is continuing work on a full length album.[4] [5]
Life and career
A first-generation Ethiopian American, Kelela was born in Washington, D.C., grew up in Gaithersburg, Maryland and graduated from Magruder High School in 2001.[6] She has been based in Los Angeles since 2010.[1] After transferring from Montgomery College to American University, Kelela began singing jazz standards at cafés.[7] In 2008, she joined an indie band called Dizzy Spells and tried to sing progressive metal after meeting Tosin Abasi, whom she later dated.[7]
Having moved to Los Angeles, Kelela connected with Teengirl Fantasy and contributed to the group's 2013 album Tracer on the song "EFX", which led her to meet Prince William from the label Fade to Mind.[3] He introduced her to the sound of the record label and its sister imprint from London, Night Slugs, which Spin has described as "one of the most distinctive sounds in U.K. dance music, a mutable hybrid of grime, house, electro, R&B, techno, hip hop, and dubstep."[8] In May 2013, she appeared on Kingdom's "Bank Head", and five months later released her mixtape Cut 4 Me for free.[9] Harriet Gisbone of The Guardian has described the album as "an experiment for the production team, the first time the production crew had used vocals on their club tracks."[1] Her track Go All Night was included on Saint Heron, a compilation album released by Solange Knowles. In March 2014, Kelela was featured in Bok Bok's song "Melba's Call" for his new EP.[10]
On March 3, 2015, Kelela announced the forthcoming release of her Hallucinogen EP with a video for the project lead track "The Message", produced by Arca.[citation needed] The lead track, Rewind, was released in September of 2015 with the rest of Hallucinogen being released in October.[11] Hallucinogen covers the beginning, middle, and end of a relationship in reverse chronological order.[12]
Discography
Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | ||
| Cut 4 Me (Deluxe Edition) |
|
— | — |
EPs
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | ||
| Hallucinogen |
|
— | — |
Mixtapes
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | ||
| Cut 4 Me |
|
— | — |
Promotional singles
| Title | Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Go All Night" | 2013 | Saint Heron | Saint Records |
| "The High" | 2014 | Non-album single | — |
| "OICU"
(with P. Morris & Le1f) | |||
| "Rewind" | 2015 | Hallucinogen EP | Warp / Cherry Coffee Music |
| "A Message" |
As a featured artist
| Title | Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| "EFX"
Teengirl Fantasy ft. Kelela |
2012 | Tracer | True Panther Sounds / R&S Records |
| "Bank Head"
Kingdom ft. Kelela |
2013 | Vertical XL | Fade to Mind |
| "Melba's Call"
Bok Bok ft. Kelela |
2014 | Your Charizmatic Self | Night Slugs |
| "With You"
Kindness ft. Kelela |
2014 | Otherness | Female Energy / Mom + Pop Music |
| "World Restart"
Kindness ft. Kelela & Ade |
2014 | Otherness | Female Energy / Mom + Pop Music |
| "Geneva"
Kindness (Backing Vocal Kelela ) |
2014 | Otherness | Female Energy / Mom + Pop Music |
| "For The Young"
Kindness (Lead Vocal Kelela ) |
2014 | Otherness | Female Energy / Mom + Pop Music |
| "Autumn (Lude I)"
Boots ft. Kelela |
2014 | WinterSpringSummerFall | — |
| "Want It" | 2014 | — | — |
| "Dangerzone"
Future Brown ft. Kelela & Ian Isiah |
2015 | Future Brown | Warp |
| "Soulful Beat", "Weather Any Storm", "Living In The Snow"
Mocky (Backing Vocal Kelela) |
2015 | Key Change | Heavy Sheet Music |
| "Airy"
Obey City ft. Kelela |
2015 | Merlot Sounds | LuckyMe |
References
- ^ a b c Gibsone, Harriet (12 December 2013). "The best albums of 2013: No 7 – Cut 4 Me by Kelela". Music Blog. The Guardian. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ http://www.abeano.com/bok-bok-kelela-grime-vocals/
- ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Kelela: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
- ^ Caramanica, Jon (2015-11-25). "Kelela Continues the Swagger of '90s R&B on 'Hallucinogen'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
- ^ Ester, Dean. "D.C.-bred R&B singer Kelela returns home to U Street Music Hall".
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/kelela-an-randb-star-to-be/2014/04/14/f4681b6a-bb4a-11e3-96ae-f2c36d2b1245_story.html
- ^ a b Richards, Chris (14 April 2014). "Kelela: An R&B star-to-be". Style. The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Sherburne, Philip (February 13, 2013). "Night Slugs' Bok Bok on Grime, Texture, and Moving Beyond 'Bass Music'". Spin. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
- ^ Kellman, Andy. "Cut 4 Me - Kelela". Allmusic. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
- ^ Frank, Alex (5 March 2014). "Video: Bok Bok feat. Kelela, "Melba's Call"". The FADER. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
- ^ Twitter, Kiana Fitzgerald. "Songs We Love: Kelela, 'Rewind'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Album Of The Week: Kelela Hallucinogen". Stereogum. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
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