- A group of over 20 underground producers, rappers and vocalists go all out on a remix album that makes a good case for the format.
- Kelela disappeared. Then, all of a sudden, she was everywhere—in the Brooklyn club scene, at least. Only a few songs from her second studio album, Raven, had been released when I saw her on Paragon's mezzanine floor, dancing to her own single being played out during a BEARCAT DJ set. Months later, there were reports of her wearing an almost-disguisable wig at Nowadays. Then, over the summer, long after Raven was out in the world, a friend texted me excitedly after seeing Kelela get her life to house music on the top hill of Fort Greene Park, during one of Soul Summit's outdoor parties. This immersion in the dance music scene comes across on the highly anticipated remix album for Raven, which reinvents her already brilliant LP as a forward-thinking club record.
The producers on RAVE:N, The Remixes include prominent genre representatives from across the global Black electronic music scene. Karen Nyame KG, TYGAPAW, DJ SWISHA and Shygirl all contribute—artists who, much like Kelela, filed many years in their respective underground scenes before developing cult status internationally. Kelela also shows a keen eye for newer, promising artists such as River Moon and KYRUH, who makes her production debut with a thrashing techno remix of "Missed Call."
Part of what makes RAVE:N so unusually monumental is that the producers she enlists understand the significance of being commissioned for a Kelela remix album, and of her music's unique balance between pop and the underground dance floor. On Agazero's remix of the title track, which adds resplendent piano keys, electric guitar and Miami bass 808s, Bbymutha sums up the incentive to go above and beyond nicely. Her rasp is folded into a rare lilt as she admits, "I usually don't be singing / But Kelela hit me up."
RAVE:N's source material is so strong that even boilerplate remixes would have been impressive. But these new tracks show each remixer at the top of their game. DJ SWISHA's version of ambient closer "Far Away" adds an onslaught of juke percussion beneath Kelela's seismic vocal runs, transforming the most emotional moment of Raven into something to jack to. LSDXOXO adds a borderline cheesy Eurodance bassline to the originally slow and gooey "Sorbet" to great hands-in-the-air effect. Karen Nyame KG brings her usual sultry cool to "Contact," laying her signature Afro house drums and flowering pads over the dance floor anthem.
The downtempo renderings of Raven are so creative that sometimes Kelela is pushed to the background in favour of each artist's distinctive imprint. But that's welcome, because RAVE:N also acts as a platform for rising artists to show their stuff. LEECH's "Ambient Queen Remix" of "Fooley" pulls listeners into a serrated soundscape—glitchy arpeggios, erratic screeching, blown-out synths and his sibilant spoken word—while Kelela's delayed chorus makes cameos in between. River Moon speeds up Kelela's thread-like melisma on "On The Run," underpinning it with a sun-kissed melody and bludgeoning kicks. The "Closure" remix, with Flexulant and Bambii on production, adds a sexy enough club beat, but when Brazy hops on the mic, she completely steals the show. The song revs up as she insists, her voice light and brattish, "I just wanna mmm-mmm-mmm-mwah!"
Of course, Kelela shows out, too. Fans will be pleased to hear new vocals on NGUZUNGUZU and DJ GAY-Z's remix of "Let It Go," where new harmonies hang above fidgety Timbaland-esque R&B. The closing SUUTOO remix of "Far Away" is a surprisingly delectable dessert after you thought you were too full. In what is almost an acoustic rendition of the song (almost, because it opens with a maelstrom of distorted guitar), bright piano notes clink, folk guitar briefly twinkles like wind chimes and Ms. Carrie Stacks and Kelela sing intimately to each other, their voices blurring together.
Remix albums, at their worst, can feel like lazy PR attempts to revive interest in the original record. Production from top producers can sometimes sound rushed and lacklustre, and these kinds of remixes, unmemorable, mainly inspire listeners to just revisit the original. RAVE:N, on the other hand, calls back the remix album heyday of the '90s. It pulls out all the stops—freshly recorded vocals, relevant contributors and a perfect song for every hour of the night. And I'm sure we'll be hearing it played out, at the pregame, at the club, at the afters and everywhere in between.
Tracklist01. Raven (Agazero Remix feat. Bbymutha)
02. Contact (Karen Nyame KG Remix)
03. Closure (Flexulant x BAMBII Remix feat. Rahrah Gabor + Brazy)
04. Holier (JD. REID Remix feat. Shygirl)
05. Bruises (SUCIA! Remix)
06. Washed Away (Ethereal Remix feat. Liv.e)
07. Far Away (DJ Swisha Remix)
08. Raven (TYGAPAW Remix feat. Rochelle Jordan)
09. Sorbet (LSDXOXO Remix)
10. Divorce (DJ Manny Remix)
11. Fooley (LEECH Ambient Queen Remix)
12. Missed Call (KYRUH Remix)
13. Happy Ending (A.G Remix)
14. Let It Go (NGUZUNGUZU x DJ GAY-Z Remix)
15. On The Run (River Moon Remix feat. ThugPop)
16. Enough For Love (TAYHANA Remix)
17. Enough For Love (Yaeji heart+beat Remix)
18. Divorce (Loraine James Remix)
19. Far Away (DJ LHC Remix)
20. Far Away (SUUTOO His Eye Is On the Raven Remix feat. Ms. Carrie Stacks)