At long last, Kelela has returned with new music. Her new single, “Washed Away” is her first release in five years, on which, she sings with her signature calming, silky vocals over a hypnotic instrumental.
“I love a banger, but for the first point of contact out of my hiatus, it felt more honest to lead with an ambient heart-check,” Kelela said in a statement.
On the song, she sings, “The mist, the light, the dust that settles, the night / The hope, the longing, fade away, blurry-eyed / Riding out on metal waves / Moving on, a change of pace.”
The song is accompanied by a music video, which was directed by Yasser Abubeke, in which Kelela is seen in the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia, standing in solitude as she feels the sun beaming onto her. Elsewhere in the video, she swims in the Danakil waters.
“I specifically want to speak to marginalized Black folk and highlight the work we do to find renewal in a world that’s built to make us feel inadequate,” She said. “This song is the soundtrack to the relief we find after going inward.”
While this song is more of a downtempo track, Kelela took to Twitter upon the song’s release to assure fans “the bangers are on the way.”
A BITCH IS BACK and feeling v
after my hiatus. please TRUST the bangers are on the way. but first: how’s your heart? ‘Washed Away’ video out now!https://t.co/dcOrP2taPe pic.twitter.com/rBk93xVvPV
— Kelela (@kelelam) September 13, 2022
Check out “Washed Away” above.