Kelela On Jazz, Incubus, & Wearing Her Own Merch

H&M does everything big — and we mean really, really big. Last fall, they shut down Times Square for an exclusive Charli XCX performance, blocked off an entire Soho street for an old-school block party, and threw another Charli XCX rave in London. This year, the events and designer collaborations are extra-promising, with a Glenn Martens linkup on the way. First things first, though, is the Magda Butrym collection, which drops April 24 and features Butrym’s signature floral obsession all over slinky sequin dresses, cozy knit minis, and shiny bomber jackets destined for Instagram feeds and paparazzi shots.

As we know, H&M cannot help themselves but go all out, and in honor of the collaboration, they took over an old bank a stone’s throw away from Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn to show off a 30-foot rose sculpture — and bring out some of our favorite it girls like Chloë Sevigny, Amelia Gray, Nara Aziza Smith, and Gabbriette. Charlotte Lawrence delivered an acoustic-guitar rendition of “Dancing On My Own” before Soo Joo Park DJed, and the last performer of the night was Kelela, whose dynamic, stripped-back set got the girls and the gays excited for spring. The electronic-soul-jazz-R&B (genre-fluid, I should say) singer has thrown many an excellent party in the city, but as she tells NYLON, her “formative party moment didn't happen in New York.”

She recently released In The Blue Light, a 14-minute documentary about the creation of her performances at jazz institution The Blue Note, which also accompany a live album of the same name. Her shape-shifting abilities shows through both her covers — her live album includes a rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Furry Sings the Blues,” and she performed Sade’s “Like a Tattoo” for H&M partygoers — and her chameleonic fashion and beauty choices. For her Blue Note shows, she rocked her shaved blonde hair, but for H&M’s Magda Butrym party, it was a sexy, shaken black bob to complement her ruched rosette minidress and single dangly earring. Ahead, we sat down for a quick chat before she took the stage to talk about her current media diet and her vibe for 2025.

You're working on new music, so I'm curious what you're listening to or reading right now.

I've been reading Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. She’s an incredible novelist and sci-fi writer, and I’ve just started the trilogy. I think she wrote it in ‘93, and it takes place in 2025. It's a post-apocalyptic moment, and there were fires in LA. There's so many elements referenced in this book, and it kind of made me be like, “Oh my God.” I feel like there's nothing I can make right now that wouldn't be contextualized in this hellhole late-stage capitalist moment. This story feels extremely related to what we're seeing, what we're experiencing. It just feels like the volume's turned up.

I've been working on music, so I haven't been listening to music so much right now. In the beginning, I'll listen to a lot of stuff and then I will chill. I've been listening to Morning View, this Incubus record I have loved since I was young.

Your mini-documentary [In The Blue Light] takes you through New York and talks about The Blue Note and how that place was pivotal for you growing up. Were there any other places that were formative for you?

I was clubbing in high school, so honestly, by the time I was 19, 20, I was over. I hadn't entered a deep rave moment yet, but the regular club was something I was deeply familiar with. Right after that period was when I got very deep into jazz. I would say my formative party moment didn't happen in New York: I was coming here to see and listen to jazz music.

Are you recording here in the city?

I'm not revealing anything else about the record. I said something very light one time and now everybody's like, “Oh, wow!” I was like, “I’m not ready yet.”

I’m such a fan, I had to try!

I really appreciate that. It is something I've been wanting to make for a really long time. It's something really clear, and is a part of me people don't necessarily know about. I'm excited about that. If you listen back, you'll hear that clue.

I’ll take that. What are you excited to wear out this summer?

It's hard, I’m so in winter mode... but a bathing suit. I feel like there's a good answer, but it's not coming to me right now.

You’ll find it when you're getting dressed.

Exactly. Honestly, I've been wearing a lot of my own merch. That’s what’s been going on. I made merch that I want to wear, so I've been rocking it.