Kelela - New Avatar

On October 29, 2026, Kelela brings her New Avatar Live to Berlin, to the Neue Welt. The Washington, D.C.–born singer of Ethiopian descent has been developing her own voice since the early 2010s, positioned between alternative R&B, electronic textures, and influences from British club cultures. With the mixtape Cut 4 Me (2013) she emerged in the orbit of Fade to Mind; her precise vocals there meet grime, bass, and R&G rhythms. This was followed by the EP Hallucinogen (2015) and the album Take Me Apart (2017) on Warp, where soulful melodies, fragmented structures, and cool soundscapes come together. She continued in this vein with Raven (2023) and the remix project Rave:N, the Remixes (2024), before the live album In the Blue Light appeared in 2025. Along the way she has collaborated with Solange, Danny Brown, Gorillaz, Clams Casino, and PinkPantheress. Live, Kelela weaves vocals, polyrhythmic detail, and club-adjacent tensions into a concentrated set — here with the new Avatar at the center.