It may be a Kelela summer.
The always essential Raven singer has released an immersive indie rock burner, "idea 1" — her first release since 2025's unplugged album In The Blue Light.
The song, paired with a 91 Rules-directed music video, is a slow moving, guitar driven track that creates a lush sonic environment for Kelela's always deeply effecting vocals. Notably, the track was produced by Oscar Scheller, who is having a busy year after producing Pinkpatheress's "Stateside" remix featuring Zara Larsson.
"'idea 1' is about what it feels like to exist in this climate — the weight of being expected to witness, absorb, and speak truth at a time when the world feels like it's unraveling," Kelela shared on Instagram. "That's a particular kind of burden Black women know intimately. This song doesn't offer answers, it just refuses to look away." She also shared that the song was written while she read Octavia Butler's seminal dystopian sci-fi novel Parable of the Sower, which explores themes of ecological breakdown, inequality, and resilience.
The song and video was first shared with a select crop of fans at an exclusive listening event in SoHo on Monday, April 6. Now that the full song and video have been released to the public, some fans are speculating if her forthcoming era is going to be a full exploration of rock and shoe gaze —a possible nod to her musical roots in the rock band, Dizzy Spells.
Stay tuned with The FADER for more information on Kelela's forthcoming releases and announcements.
