Kelela always comes with a new sound and perspective whenever she graces the scene with her presence. She switched things up on us with a more dance-forward electronic sound when she dropped her 2023 effort Raven, delved even deeper into it with RAVE:N, The Remixes and then changed things again with her live album In The Blue Light. She’s reinventing things once again as she makes her return with her new single “idea 1.”
Kelela’s sound has always mixed her alt-R&B sensibilities with electronic influences, but this time she’s added some alternative rock in the mix with help from producer Oscar Scheller. Their collaboration brings synths together with the raw buzz of electric guitar, allowing her to express vulnerability with an edge. And the song’s lack of drums only brings the listener in even closer.
The song finds the singer at a crossroads in a relationship that’s falling apart, though it seems that she’s the only one willing to witness its undoing. “Bearing your cross, it’s your loss, now I’m jaded / Know it ain’t right (Don’t you look away),” she sings on the chorus. “Reason to pause, but you make sure to hide it / Are you alive? (I don’t wanna wait).”
The song’s video allows Kelela to exude a quiet power as she stands alone in the clip. She fixes the camera with several long glances as the backdrop gives shimmers at times in tones of silver and others in fiery red. The direct eye contact with the camera and the haunting backdrops give everything an eerie and unguarded vibe that fits the song’s mood.
The meaning of the song could also parallel how many feel about the state of the world. And Kelela seems to relate. “‘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,” she said in a statement. “That’s a particular kind of burden Black women know intimately. This song doesn’t offer answers, it just refuses to look away.”
“idea 1” is yet another experimental turn for Kelela that ultimately works to push her artistry forward and leaves us wondering what’s next to come.
