Kelela’s ‘new avatar’ Is a Deliberate Reset Across Genre Lines

Kelela has never been one to repeat herself. Across Cut 4 Me, Take Me Apart, and Raven, she reshaped R&B by pulling from club culture, ambient texture, and fractured electronics. Her third album, new avatar (out today on Warp Records), treats each of those past moves less as a foundation and more as permission to start again.

Guitars sit next to disjointed electronic production. Club rhythms dissolve into whispered intimacy. The record feels sonically varied but emotionally direct. It’s a deliberate step away from anything that could be called a blueprint.

This week’s final preview, “the bridge,” is a second collaboration with PinkPantheress. Built around hushed vocals, syncopated percussion, and moody synths, the track draws from Kelela’s memories of crossing Williamsburg Bridge after Bushwick nights. Elsewhere, A.K. Paul appears on “outta time,” while Fousheé guests on “new life forms.”

Lyrically, transformation, desire, and resilience run through new avatar. Kelela remains clear about her relationship to genre. “So much of what we compartmentalise isn’t natural; it’s something institutions and structures impose on us,” she says. “My goal as an artist is to express what feels true to me regardless of whether or not it fits into those boundaries.” She also notes: “I need everyone to put some respect on R&B’s name — it being as foundational as it is expansive, and to rethink what alternative and rock music can be.”

The album will be supported by Kelela’s first full multinational tour in years, including a headline show at London’s O2 Academy Brixton on 4 November. new avatar is out now.