Kelela shares new single and video "outta time" - album "new avatar" out 10 July

Today, Kelela releases "outta time," the fourth single from her highly anticipated forthcoming album new avatar, out July 10 via Warp Records. Featuring British singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist A. K. Paul, the single pairs expansive synths with Kelela's raw reflection on a love that can no longer be saved.

"outta time" conveys emotion in a delicate manner, its journey a lesson in patience. "I made it in 2016 during the period when I was writing for Take Me Apart," Kelela explains. "I sat with that song for so long, and it's literally untouched. I waited because I needed to build a house for this song that gives its sound more context." She sings through tender vocals coming to terms with a relationship that has slipped away, as the guitar and spatial synths create even more distance between her and a love she once knew.

There's a timelessness to it, the kind of warm, saturated sound that feels pulled from another era entirely. The accompanying video, directed by Ryosuke Tanzawa, mirrors the song's emotional arc — a single day moving from dark to light and back again, the passing of time made visible as a love slowly slips out of frame. With new avatar, Kelela returns to her roots, threading alternative and indie sounds through the grain of R&B. The result is something visceral and expansive on “outta time” — chorus-saturated guitar and droning bass meeting her signature vocal intimacy, building a sonic landscape that's entirely her own.

In support of new avatar, Kelela will embark on her new avatar live world tour, marking her first full multinational tour in years. The run includes dates across North America, Europe, and the UK, with multiple markets already sold out and additional cities selling quickly.

new avatar live TOUR DATES:

North America

• Sep 8 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox – SOLD OUT
• Sep 9 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
• Sep 13 – Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
• Sep 15 – Austin, TX – Emo's
• Sep 16 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
• Sep 17 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
• Sep 21 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern – SOLD OUT
• Sep 22 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
• Sep 23 – San Diego, CA – The Observatory North Park
• Sep 24 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
• Sep 27 – San Francisco, CA – Portola Music Festival*
• Oct 5 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
• Oct 6 – Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre – SOLD OUT
• Oct 7 – Toronto, ON – The Danforth Music Hall – SOLD OUT
• Oct 9 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount – SOLD OUT
• Oct 10 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount – SOLD OUT
• Oct 11 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts – SOLD OUT
• Oct 13 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring – SOLD OUT
• Oct 14 – Charlotte, NC – The Underground – SOLD OUT
• Oct 15 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre – SOLD OUT
• Oct 16–17 – Miami, FL – III Points*

Europe & UK

• Oct 21 – Lisbon, PT – LAV
• Oct 22 – Madrid, SP – Sala Lab/Wagon
• Oct 23 – Barcelona, SP – La Paloma
• Oct 27 – Paris, FR – Élysée Montmartre
• Oct 28 – Cologne, DE – Stollwerk
• Oct 29 – Berlin, DE – Huxleys Neue Welt
• Oct 31 – Turin, IT – C2C Festival*
• Nov 2 – Brussels, BE – La Madeleine
• Nov 3 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
• Nov 4 – London, UK – O2 Academy Brixton

*Festival Dates

More About Kelela

Throughout her globally revered, boundary-pushing career, Kelela has established a lane of her own in R&B and electronic music. On her long-awaited third album, new avatar, the singer/songwriter (through the versatility of the guitar) challenges perceptions of these genres, while weaving together fragments of lived experiences to shape a world of connection and resilience during times of unrest.

The songs journey through Black femme rage, joy as resistance, Gotham City-esque dystopia, misogynoir, romantic tension, and more. It's anchored by production that demands a broader rethink about alternative, rock and indie music.

Kelela's defiant nature has propelled her so far already — from her hometown of Washington, D.C. to world stages. In 2013, she released her debut mixtape, Cut 4 Me. She continued solidifying her revolutionary R&B sound with 2015's HallucinogenEP, with The New York Times naming its single, "Rewind," one of the "25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music Is Going." By 2017, she released her electric debut album Take Me Apart (followed by 2018's TAKE ME A_PART, THE REMIXES), building upon her intimate storytelling.

After a nearly five-year hiatus, she returned in 2023 with her groundbreaking second album, Raven, and its critically acclaimed counterpart, RAVE:N, The Remixes in 2024. Raven has been hailed as one of the Best Albums of 2023 by Pitchfork, Billboard, Vulture, Variety, and more, while the remixes solidified her as a leader in the dance music space.

In 2025, Kelela showcased yet another innovative side of her artistry with her live album In The Blue Light, which hit #5 on the Contemporary Jazz chart and #20 on the Jazz Albums chart. Now, with new avatar, Kelela displays the masterful intention she puts into forming new sonic cityscapes. But don't confuse it with escapism: "I don't want the music to be a distraction from what's really going on in the world; I want it to help you get into it."