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" I try to make it a sonic experience so that when you put your earbuds in or when you're in your room, it sounds like an enveloping feeling. I think that is the most important thing, that wherever you are, it is wrapping you up and making you feel safe and comfortable. "

Kelela

Think

You

Experience

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" I would say there is a zone of R&B that hadn't been quite innovative. "

" That's pretty much how every song of mine works - I start with gibberish and melody and phrasing. I speak it naturally first. And then I think about lyrics that fit into that. "

" There's definitely a push and a pull to 'legitimize' electronic music live by playing the same way that a band would play. "

" Music in the U.K. is not racialised in the same way as it is in the U.S. In the U.S.. it's more rigid and conservative. And white people in the U.K. have more close proximity with black people and people of colour in general. "

" I was in school studying International Studies and Sociology. I was really into what was going on in school. I was affected by the ideas and engaged as a student, but not disciplined or motivated enough to do the work. That was a fear of mine for a while, that nothing was motivating. "

" I'm just trying to soundtrack your real life. I'm just trying to give you a place to feel safe in all the parts of your experience. "

" Before I collaborate, it's important that I have a conversation about what I care about before we make anything, so that it's very clear. "

" I guess the bottom line is I don't make music that is consumed en masse. "

" In Maryland, I didn't grow up around poor white people. Where I grew up, the white people were middle class or upper-middle class. It's interesting how screwed up it is in reality, because most people who receive assistance from the government are white, but not in my head or in my experience. "

" I have something stupid, like, 12 credits, to graduate. "

Kelela

Stupid

Something

" Popular music was this abstraction - an abstraction that I was relating to immensely but was ultimately far away. "

" Sometimes I learn by someone giving me warnings and giving me advice about what to do next. And other times, a lot of times, I have to put my hand into the fire. "

" I think the Internet is more layered and complex than just hating it or liking it. I find it to be more purposeful to talk about the way that it's conducive for relationships and making connections. "

" As it pertains to my black womanhood, there's just a lot of ground to cover. There's a lot of stuff to say. "

" I spent a lot of time in college. I was just being academic and discovering myself through reason and analysis. "

" I'm interested in bridging and filling in space that hasn't already been filled, so when it comes to making music, I've just always wanted to be able to reference things that producers in the big pop major label context do, without compromising the entire sound of the record. "

" I'd like to change what people expect. I want to evoke something that's not nameable, for people to go, 'Huh?' "

Kelela

Change

Expect

" My music sounds like one synergised thing, one message. "

" Sounding like I have agency in a song is important to me. I want to feel empowered by the music. "

Kelela

Important

Feel

" We are - as artists, we are racialized through genre and called black - without being called black - through genre. "

" I think my worst enemy was myself. It's like I've been in my own way more than anybody else has been. "

" The most rewarding thing for someone like me is for someone else to find solace through my music. "

Kelela

Someone

Through

" Innovating something that is familiar. That's the general approach, and that's what I want to do with the melody as well. It should ring true - you should like every melody sequence without knowing what's happening next. "

" I'm just tryna be honest about all the things that I dig in my music. It's not just this over here, it's also that over there. "

" Even on my most angry song, I'm also still saying, 'Thank you for helping me to learn.' I've always wanted to give voice to that complexity in our experience. "

Kelela

Saying

Experience

" There is this feeling among black artists that you have to be really careful. We're not inclined to talk about this stuff because, if we do, we put ourselves in a position where we're not marketable or where we can't win. "

" I just want to shed light, illuminate and turn the spotlight over to all of the black people who have been being futuristic and innovative since instruments were plugged into a wall. With computers, machines, and music, black people have been contributing to that a great deal for a long time. "

" When it comes to melodies, production, and sound in pop music, people try to be formulaic and solely concerned with what's resonant in a way that is so cheap and ugly. It actually just devolves culture, ultimately. "

" I'm finding out what part of punk culture or white indie culture I actually still want to hold onto - What are the values? What are the contributions that I actually like? - and it not coming from a place of desperation or wanting to be embraced or wanting approval, essentially. "

" Something that I think extends to a lot of African cultures is that the line between performer and audience is blurry. My mom would lead the wedding song regularly, and she isn't a professional singer. Even as an audience member, you're expected to clap and sing the response to the lead. "