As R&B music continues to evolve and take new shapes thanks to a plethora of incredibly talented artists, the genre takes an ethereal, electronic, and alternative twist within “Take Me Apart”, the critically acclaimed 2017 album by the incredibly talented Kelela. This album tells the story of the artist’s experiences with relationships, sexuality, queerness, love, and intrapersonal connection, all encompassed within 14 melodic and soothing R&B tracks.

            

            As an artist, Kelela has shown quite an evolution in her personal music style, while maintaining a variety of elements as she carries them throughout her artistic evolution. When it comes to large-scale projects, her musical arsenal contains two mixtapes, entitled “Cut 4 Me” and “Hallucinogen”, as well as her debut album “Take Me Apart”. Alongside all these projects, remixed versions have also been made, containing the works of many of Kelela's friends and collaborators in the industry. Her genre can best be classified as electronic, but her sound has continued to venture into R&B throughout her projects (Wikipedia). Her first mixtape, ‘Cut 4 Me’, which was released in 2013, embraces a heavy electronic presence through its entirety. Her singing style bounces back and forth between pop and R&B, all while a variety of beats and electronic stylings accompany her. The same can be said about her 2015 mixtape “Hallucinogen”, but with a few differences. The electronic elements are slightly scaled back, but still play a major role in the mixtape. Her storyline for this mixtape details the beginning, duration, and end of a relationship, opening the gate for further storytelling in future projects. In “Take Me Apart”, she fully embraces her role as a narrator, guiding an audience through two different relationships, all while embracing more of an R&B sound with only a slight addition of electronic music. Some of my personal favourite songs from this album are ‘Frontline’, ‘Waitin’, Onanon’, ‘Blue Light’, ‘Take Me Apart’, and ‘Bluff’.

 

            Besides the music, another exceptional facet of this album is the accompanying artwork. The album cover for “Take Me Apart” was taken by famous German photographer Daniel Sannwald, who has photographed many celebrities including Travis Scott, Rihanna, John Legend, and others (Wikipedia). As for this specific album cover, the visual tells us a lot about the album. Kelela is sitting on a burnt sienna-coloured curtain, fully naked and cross-legged, while her floor-length dreadlocks adorned with pearls and beads cover her from chest to waist. In the bottom right corner, her name is written in Amharic, an homage to her Ethiopian background. What can be derived from this cover is that she is embracing vulnerability, opening herself up to not only herself and her romantic partners, but to an audience peering into her life through her art. The tones of the cover are incredibly warm, which I feel is very reflective within the music. I think that the fact that she is naked on the cover, only covered by her hair, is a reflection of the importance she places on physicality and connection throughout the piece. By the way of this album artwork, we as an audience are front-row spectators to an immersive experience, detailing Kelela’s journey through romance, sexuality, and self-love.

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             As I have mentioned, all these complex themes that are present in the art carry themselves effortlessly into the music throughout “Take Me Apart”. What is important to consider is that this album tells a story of two relationships, highs and lows included, meaning that although the moods and vibes of the songs vary, they all connect to the artwork and genre. Firstly, a song I think encapsulates the artwork well is ‘Truth or Dare’ (YouTube). This track, as Kelela describes it, is all about flirtation and intimacy, but in a sense of a new fling that has no prior baggage. The sound is quite catchy and Janet Jackson-inspired, including lyrics like “Here comes another/Dare you to go under/You're my favorite lover/Take your time and get it right”. This song connects with the artwork because it is about renewal, the formation of connections, and exploring intimacy. Secondly, another song that contributes to the atmosphere of the album artwork is ‘Take Me Apart’, the track after which the album is named (YouTube). This song in particular talks about a reconnection with a former lover and the duality between knowing that something is not beneficial to your wellbeing but understanding the fragmented weight of your relationship with that partner, and therefore engaging with them one final time as a means of officially ending things. The song connects with the artwork because it is about vulnerability, sexuality, and reconnection, all themes present in the art (iHeartRadio).

 

            Overall, Kelela has crafted a spectacular R&B album and was able to tell a story through visuals and sounds, making “Take Me Apart” a truly immersive experience. I feel connected to this album because many of the lessons imbedded within this album have helped me love myself more and open up about feelings, emotions, and connection.

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Truth or Dare by Kelela: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dhVsvXODhc

Take Me Apart by Kelela: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNjQs66Ebx8