Kelela has put a date and shape to her next era. The New York-based artist will release her third album, new avatar, on July 10, and she has shared the new single "linknb" with an official video directed by Mischa Notcutt.
The album's Bandcamp page is live, and Pitchfork and Consequence both report Warp as the label. The 12-song tracklist includes guest appearances from A. K. Paul on "outta time," Fousheé on "new life forms," and PinkPantheress on "the bridge."
Kelela has always made club music feel like architecture: pressure, air, glass, and shadow arranged around a voice that rarely needs to oversell the feeling. "linknb" keeps that precision but roughs up the surface. Consequence notes that Oscar Scheller produced the track, and the single's guitar figure gives the song a restless edge without pulling it away from Kelela's cool, controlled center.
In the announcement, Kelela says, "This album finds solace in confronting. I don't want the music to be a distraction from what's really going on in the world; I want it to make sense in this crazy moment while helping people get in touch with the beauty and joy they're also experiencing."
This album finds solace in confronting.
The record follows Raven, Kelela's 2023 album, and its remix companion. If "idea 1" opened the door quietly, "linknb" makes the new album feel less like a return to a fixed lane than a widening of the whole map: R&B, electronic music, guitar haze, and art-pop unease all rubbing against each other without losing the pulse.
new avatar tracklist
1. idea 1
2. point blank
3. goin down
4. outta time (feat. A. K. Paul)
5. against me
6. crystalize
7. retaliation lullaby
8. linknb
9. don't piss me off
10. new life forms (feat. Fousheé)
11. the bridge (feat. PinkPantheress)
12. if we meet again