Kelela - Hallucinogen

Kelela
Hallucinogen
2015

The combination of electronic music with R&B vocals as of late has become the tool of artists on the vanguard of music. Kelela working out of LA has fully embraced this style, and put together music doing the burgeoning genre a great deal of good. Her silky smooth voice glides of electronic beats and tones but this is not dance music. Instead Kelela is taking electronic and doing something different with it, the bones are all there but her delivery is agressive, off tempo and wild. She approaches music much like FKA twigs in that it should be avante garde rather than catchy. In doing so the sound becomes much more artistic intent on exploration. Her voice then serves as the ground taking whatever odd direction she may go and firmly placing it in the R&B realm. While some people would call what she is doing robot music that soul and that voice never allow the human aspect of what she is doing disappear. The result of all of this is a record that never loses it's artistic integrity yet still manages to connect on a very basic human level, which you can find one or the other happening, but rarely both.

The EP takes on a life of it's own it soars high while keeping a very low profile. Songs like "The High" feature a rumbling base that adds some great depth to the lyrics Kelela sings. It is interesting to think what each these tracks would be if they did not have both the voice and the music because when together they make something really special. There is also a lack of polish on this EP that adds a raw quality you often don't find in electronic music. Kelela is able to take that and transfer it into a live feeling in her music like she is right behind you singing in your ears. Hallucinogen is an interesting and stellar EP, be prepared to hear much more from Kelela in the next few years.

7.2 out of 10