Kelela’s “New Avatar” Marks a Rapid Return to Indie-Rock Roots

On Friday, July 10, 2024, Kelela Mizanekristos released her third studio album, New Avatar, through Warp Records. The 12-track record blends her signature electro-R&B style with indie-rock and alternative influences and was assembled in under a year—a pace Kelela describes as “astronomically fast.” Oscar Scheller, known for work with PinkPantheress and Lily Allen, served as the album’s primary collaborator, handling most of the production.

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Kelela, now 43, traces the album’s aesthetic to her formative years in Washington, D.C., where she first performed with the band Dizzy Spells in a “punk house” called the Crab’s Claw in 2010. After moving to Los Angeles that same year, she joined the Fade to Mind and Night Slugs collectives, releasing the 2013 mixtape Cut 4 Me that paired R&B vocals with club beats. Subsequent projects—including the 2015 Hallucinogen EP, 2017’s Take Me Apart, and 2023’s Raven—expanded her sound, but “New Avatar” deliberately revisits the experimental freedom of her early indie scene.

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Unlike earlier albums that involved multiple producers and extensive layering, Kelela worked closely with Scheller in a Brooklyn studio, allowing takes to remain “fine, babes” rather than being endlessly re-edited. This streamlined process accelerated completion and fostered a more spontaneous sound, aligning with Kelela’s desire to “dismantle…structures” that confine Black American musical contributions.

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Kelela frames the record as a “new page” in her career, emphasizing that age-related industry bias—particularly for women over 35—once threatened her confidence. She notes that the album’s collaborations with newer artists such as PinkPantheress and Fousheé reflect a reciprocal learning dynamic. A fall tour is slated to showcase the album’s blend of guitar-forward arrangements and dance-floor energy.

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• “That’s, for me, astronomically fast,” — Kelela Mizanekristos, musician

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• “It’s not about being perfect. It’s about f---ing up a little bit and people being more interested in the experiment rather than the execution,” — Kelela Mizanekristos

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• “I feel endlessly motivated to build the tapestry on the outside of me that I see on the inside of me,” — Kelela Mizanekristos

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• “I’ve never felt jaded because I didn’t even get to do it until I was 30,” — Kelela Mizanekristos

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• “I’m just very excited about doing these songs live and being able to weave between the guitar-forward stuff and the dance music,” — Kelela Mizanekristos

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