“Hot girls listen to Kelela” was the general consensus on TikTok last week when a clip of Solange singing along at one of the US singer’s gigs went viral. Following her performance at HERE at Outernet last Friday night (and having witnessed said crowd), I can confirm: hot girls do in fact listen to Kelela.
For the London leg of her world tour, 39-year-old LA-based Kelela emerged on stage wearing a backless leather gown from London designer ASAI’s autumn/winter 2023 collection, complete with nunchucks and long, leather gloves. “This sh*t sold-out in one day. I feel like I’m really with people who f*ck with me” she told the crowd, getting emotional as she thanked them for keeping faith in her following a six year break, “I’ve been gone for a minute, I dipped out and dipped back in.”
Following the release of her second album, Raven earlier this year, the singer took us on a journey through the album that danced between soothing, melodic vocals and addictive drum and bass. With no backing singers, band or dancers, Kelela set Outernet alight with nothing but her breathy, siren-like voice and backing track. Hits from the album On the Run and Enough for Love were met with screams of excitement, but the biggest cheer of all went to 2015 single Rewind - proving that fans these fans had been with her from the start. Her encore was received with cheers equally as loud, reappearing onstage to perform All the Way Down from the same 2015 EP, Hallucinogen.
She didn’t say much during the set, allowing one song to bleed into the next without interruption, making moments of speech even more personal: “I wanted it to be intimate and connected. You have expressed faith in me as a person and an artist. It’s a pleasure being able to witness the community I’ve created”. From start to end, Kelela created an atmosphere so sensual that those who came with friends were shooting glances at strangers from across the room, whilst couples got so close that they merged together as one. Kelela herself is well aware of the mood she creates at her shows, leaving us with words of encouragement before disappearing into the night: “the connection rate at the Kelela show… if you see something, say something.”
