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Kelela Explains The Delay Behind Her Upcoming EP

Kendrick, Kelela, FKA Twigs + More ring off at Pitchfork 2014 [photos by Gretchen Villaluna Baria]

R&B shapeshifter Kelela was supposed to be bolstering our libraries this week with the release of her new Hallucinogen EP. That, however, was not the case, and in a recent interview the L.A.-based vocalist and songwriter explained in detail what it is about her musical approach that convinced her to push back the drop date.

Speaking with New York Magazine, Kelela admitted that it was her perfectionist's knack for fine details that pushed back the new EP.

Hallucinogen as supposed to arrive this week, but her perfectionist approach obliterated those plans. “It’s just not there yet, for me,” she told the magazine. “But when I tweeted about that the other night, I felt so fortified by how much support is out there. It was really cool to experience that so immediately. It touched me.”

In her short but sweet interview, Kelela went on to divulge the difficulty of performing her highly-electronic music in a live setting, noting that "It's tricky. Basically I'm trying to figure out how to play my stuff live without it sounding like a band...But there are an infinite number of cool setups that are possible, so I'm trying to figure out how to take it to the next level live without compromising."

As she continued the vocalist revealed a deep appreciation for Icelandic enigmatic artist Bjork, and admitted that her eclectic tastes will need some time in order to manifest themselves on future records. For the immediate future, however, Hallucinogen will feature a more hip-hop-oriented approach and benefit from the benefit of DJ Dahhi, whose work you might recognize from Kendrick Lamar's "Monday Trees." The entire interview is an excellent glimpse at what makes Kelela tick--read it in full over at New York Magazine.