Kelela gives us another vibe to immerse ourselves in with “Contact”, the fourth single off her highly anticipated album Raven, dropping on February 10th. With each song, I find myself lost in a dark, crowded room with Kelela’s hypotonic sounds blaring through the speakers. The Take Me Apart songstress has mastered the art of making dance music that offers the listeners a sanctuary to escape. “Contact” commands your full attention as Kelela’s silky vocals embrace the relentless house beat produced by LSDXOXO.

Kelela announced her second studio album Raven back in September setting the tone for a project that’s meant to provide space for the Black femme queer collective to love, heal, scream, learn, dance and feel every emotion as we empower ourselves in spite of a system that succeeds when we’re at our lowest. In an interview with Dazed, Kelela highlights the inspirations and personal work that was the catalyst for creating this body of work and the dedication can be felt in these initial glimpses of a project five years in the making. Kelela helped usher in a wave of Black women that deserve to be honored for their musical contributions. Her debut album Take Me Apart that dropped in 2017 still sounds like the future and is the foundation for the genre blurring that’s happening with artists like Ravyn Lenae, Mahalia, NAO and Amber Mark to name a few. These artists carry the torch of genre bending Black artists that can never be placed in a box. It’s so satisfying to see an artist fully in her element create music that heals.

Kelela's production, layered storytelling and atmospheric feel of each record is a breath of fresh air and a reminder there shouldn’t be a rush to drop music that’s meant to be lived with and potentially become timeless. “Contact” reminds me of my early days in New York anticipating a moment to escape in packed gay clubs around the city. Dancing to distract myself from whatever problem was prevalent at the time. Basking in a moment with someone special that made a crowded dance floor feel intimate. Mentally preparing for the rest of Raven to become my soundtrack for 2023.