''Take Me Apart'' is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter

Kelela Kelela Mizanekristos (, , ) (born June 4, 1983) is an American singer. She made her debut in the music industry with the release of her 2013 mixtape ''Cut 4 Me.'' In 2015, she released ''Hallucinogen'', an EP which deals with the beginning, m ...

. It was released on October 6, 2017, through

Warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a D ...

. Combining

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

and R&B, the album was noted for its futuristic sound and its incorporation of various musical styles. Kelela worked on the album for four years with producers she had previously collaborated with on her previous releases, ''

Cut 4 Me ''Cut 4 Me'' is the debut mixtape by American singer and songwriter Kelela. It was released on October 1, 2013, by Fade to Mind for free download on SoundCloud. Seeking to make the mixtape sound like a remix album, Kelela sang over instrumental ...

'' (2013) and ''

Hallucinogen Hallucinogens, also known as psychedelics, entheogens, or historically as psychotomimetics, are a large and diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, mo ...

'' (2015). The album received widespread acclaim from music critics, many of whom commended its innovative production and Kelela's sharp songwriting and vocal delivery. It appeared on several publications' lists of the year's best albums. The album was supported by the singles "

LMK "LMK" (initialism for "Let Me Know") is a song by American singer and songwriter Kelela. It was released on August 1, 2017 through Warp (record label), Warp Records as the lead single from her debut studio album, ''Take Me Apart'' (2017). Compo ...

", "Frontline", "Waitin" and "Blue Light".

Development and production

Kelela worked on ''Take Me Apart'' for four years, alongside Arca and

Jam City Jack Latham is a British electronic music producer and DJ who performs under the alias Jam City. He has been active since 2010 and records on the label Night Slugs. He has released four full-length albums: 2012's '' Classical Curves'', 2015's ...

, whom she had previously worked with on ''

'' and ''

'' respectively. She stated that they "anchored" the album and produced the bulk of it. On February 18, 2016, Kelela featured on a short film by ''

Dazed ''Dazed'' (''Dazed & Confused'' until February 2014) is a quarterly British lifestyle magazine founded in 1991. It covers music, fashion, film, art, and literature. ''Dazed'' is published by Dazed Media, an independent media group known for produ ...

'' named "Interlude", which contained new material that would later turn out to be snippets of tracks included in the album. In a press release, Kelela explained that the album expresses "an honest vision of how we navigate dissolving ties with each other and yet remain sanguine for the next chance at love," continuing: "despite it being a personal record, the politics of my identity informs how it sounds and how I choose to articulate my vulnerability and strength. I am a black woman, a second-generation

Ethiopian-American Ethiopian Americans are Americans of Ethiopian descent, as well as individuals of American and Ethiopian ancestry. The largest Ethiopian American community is in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, with some estimates claiming a population of ...

, who grew up in the 'burbs listening to R&B,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

. All of it comes out in one way or another."

Composition

The music of ''Take Me Apart'' was described as electro-R&B and

alternative R&B Alternative R&B (also referred to as alt-R&B, indie R&B, and originally known as PBR&B, hipster R&B, emo R&B, or R-Neg-B) is a term used by music journalists to describe a stylistic alternative to contemporary R&B that began in the mid 2000s and ...

, with several critics noting its incorporation of various other musical styles, including

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house and jungle production methods, but also incorporates elements from ...

and

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' described the album as " glitchy R&B", while also stating that the album offers "tracks that are both pop-minded and gratifyingly future-facing." '' Clash'' labeled it as "cavernous,

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

R&B that moves the body and heals the broken heart." ''

Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

'' called the album "a genre-melding journey," and said it has "a subtle, playful Afro-futurist vision." '' DIY'' noted the usage of "glacial synths" and "trap beats," in contrast to ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...

'' who commended the producers for "their refusal to use trap as a crutch." '' The Skinny'' added that the album differs from the "heavy, industrial beats" from Kelela's previous releases, despite many of the same producers appearing on this album. The album was also said to evoke the music of

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

and

, whom Kelela named as influences. Lyrically, the album deals with various themes, such as love, romance, sex, impatience, vulnerability, the rewards and pitfalls of relationships, and "the complicated things that can happen when complicated people try to understand each other." The album's tracks were produced by a number of different producers including

, Arca,

Bok Bok Alex Sushon, known by his stage name Bok Bok, is an English music producer (music), producer, artist, and founder of the UK record label Night Slugs. Night Slugs Sushon is the founder and label manager of London-based record label Night Slugs ...

, Kingdom, Dubbel Dutch,

Al Shux Alexander Shuckburgh, better known by his stage name Al Shux, is a British record producer and songwriter from London, England. He is perhaps best known for his production work on Jay-Z's 2009 single, " Empire State of Mind", which peaked atop ...

and

Ariel Rechtshaid Ariel Rechtshaid ( ;) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixing engineer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. His accolades include three Grammy Awards for music production. Rechtshaid was the lead singer and guitarist of the ska ...

. All tracks were mixed by Kwes, and vocals were recorded and engineered by Chris Kasych.

Release and promotion

The title of the album was announced on July 14, 2017. The cover art was revealed two weeks later, with the album being made available for pre-order the following day alongside the release of "LMK". A tour in support of the album was announced later that month. It kicked off in September and includes dates in North America and Europe, as well as three dates in Australia with

the xx The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), ...

and

Earl Sweatshirt Thebe Neruda Kgositsile (born February 24, 1994), known professionally as Earl Sweatshirt, is an American rapper and record producer. Kgositsile was originally known by the moniker Sly Tendencies when he began rapping in 2008, but changed his na ...

in January 2018. On October 27, 2017, Kelela shared a trailer of an upcoming film in support of the album titled "All It Took", directed and produced by

Wu Tsang Wu Tsang (born 1982 in Worcester, Massachusetts) is a filmmaker, artist and performer based in New York and Berlin, whose work is concerned with hidden histories, marginalized narratives, and the act of performing itself. In 2018, Tsang received a ...

Singles

The lead single, "

", was released on August 1, alongside the pre-order of the album. The song premiered on

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

show. "Frontline" was premiered on September 4 on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series ''

Insecure Insecure may refer to: * Lack of security, in an objective sense: ** Risk ** Data security ** Computer security * Food insecurity * Insecurity (emotion), lack of confidence or self esteem Media * ''Insecure'' (TV series), a television series on ...

'', and was later released for digital download and streaming services as the album's second single. ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

'' said that in the song Kelela is "leaving behind someone who was holding her back, and she's not looking to apologize. It's not a cold track, though, but one about how certain significant decisions can be made easier with a strong knowledge of self-worth." An animated music video for the song was released on February 28, 2018. "Waitin" was released as the third single on October 3, and "Blue Light" was released the following day as the fourth single. A music video for the song was released on November 7.

''Take Me a_Part, the Remixes''

On September 12, 2018, announced a

remix album A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson ('' Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 200 ...

titled ''

Take Me a_Part, the Remixes ''Take Me a_Part, the Remixes'' (stylized in all caps) is a remix album by American singer and songwriter Kelela, released on October 5, 2018. The album consists of reworkings of songs from Kelela's debut studio album, ''Take Me Apart'' (2017), fr ...

'' alongside the "LMK (What's Really Good)" remix featuring

Princess Nokia Destiny Nicole Frasqueri (born June 14, 1992), known professionally as Princess Nokia, is an American rapper and songwriter. She released her debut studio album, ''Metallic Butterfly'', in 2014, followed by the 2015 mixtape ''Honeysuckle''. As P ...

Junglepussy Shayna McHayle (born October 31, 1991), known professionally by her stage name Junglepussy, is an American rapper and actress from New York City. Her first mixtape ''Satisfaction Guaranteed'' was released in 2014. She has received recognition fro ...

Cupcakke Elizabeth Eden Harris (born May 31, 1997), known professionally as Cupcakke (often stylized as cupcakKe; pronounced "cupcake"), is an American rapper and singer-songwriter known for her Sexualization, hypersexualized, brazen, and often comical ...

Linn da Quebrada Linn da Quebrada (Double entendre in Portuguese, in English: ''Linn from the Hood'' or "Broken Beauty") is the stage name of Lina Pereira dos Santos, a Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter, and television personality. Life Lina Pereira w ...

and Ms. Boogie. The album was released on October 5, making it one year since the release of ''Take Me Apart''. It features contributions from

Kaytranada Louis Kevin Celestin (born August 25, 1992), known professionally as Kaytranada (stylized as KAYTRANADA, shortened as KAYTRA), is a Haitian-Canadian music producer, rapper, singer and DJ. Celestin rose to prominence after releasing a series of m ...

Rare Essence Rare Essence is a Washington, D.C.–based go-go band formed in 1976. Rare Essence has been amongst the most prominent musicians of the D.C. music scene, producing numerous hit songs in the local D.C. market and several hits nationwide, incl ...

Serpentwithfeet Jonathan Josiah Wise (born July 9, 1988), known professionally as serpentwithfeet, is an R&B singer based in Brooklyn, New York City. Wise signed with the English record label Tri Angle (record label), Tri Angle to release his debut extended pl ...

and more.

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a

normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

score of 84, based on 23 reviews, indicating "widespread critical acclaim". ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' awarded it as their album of the week, with Tom Breihan deeming it as "a towering achievement of an album." ''Treble Zine'' also labeled it as the album of the week, with Jackie Im stating: "Underlying is a desire to privilege her own voice, which is a lot of what makes Kelela's music so urgent." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' critic

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''. Kyle Mullin of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' praised the album, stating that "''Take Me Apart'' is a subtle, sexy LP from a woman who knows what she wants, and clearly aims to write anthems for fans feeling the same way."

Maura Johnston Maura K. Johnston (born May 28, 1975) is a writer, editor and music critic. A member of Boston College's journalism faculty, she has written for ''Rolling Stone'', ''The Boston Globe'', ''Pitchfork'', ''The Awl'', ''The New York Times'', ''Spin' ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' described the album as "forward-thinking R&B," and called it "restlessly innovative." ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''s Nick Levine said "nothing about this lush and accomplished album suggests Kelela is an artist who wants to repeat herself." Julianne Escobedo Shepherd of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' said that Kelela "might be singing about different partners, but it's the value and dignity she gives to her feelings that provides the true backdrop on ''Take Me Apart''. In the process of setting out to solidify her own sound, Kelela has finally fallen for herself." '' The Skinny''s Nadia Younes wrote, "''Take Me Apart'' may not appear as immediately interesting and unique as her previous work but there are layers upon layers of elements to be explored, digested and, ironically enough, taken apart." Rachel Aroesti from ''

'' said "Kelela's vocal stops ''Take Me Apart'' ending up as a fragmented series of sounds: consistently exquisite as it dances between lovesick confusion and shrewd sensuality." ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

''s Brian Josephs wrote, "Kelela proudly stands within the genre's tradition. For the most part, she avoids making any grandstanding romantic or political statements, but ''Take Me Apart'' finds its purpose within the subdued complexities."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Andy Kellman compared it favorably to its predecessor, claiming "Like ''

'', ''Take Me Apart'' is predominantly electronic and progressive R&B, one moment as dreamlike and fevered as an intense courtship, then as startling and chilling as a breakup. It's more composed, less pieced together, with mixtape and EP collaborators

, and Arca primary among a comparatively supplemental and mostly new crew of associates. This also comes across more as a work of in-person interaction than one of distanced communication." In his rave review for ''Spectrum Culture'', Jake Cole wrote Kelela "gave the impression of immediately finding her groove with cutting edge electronic backing, sharp songwriting and a powerful voice. Yet the leap from ''Cut 4 Me'' and ''Hallucinogen'' to ''Take Me Apart'' is as impressive in its own way as the growth toward ''

Homogenic ''Homogenic'' is the third studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 22 September 1997 by One Little Indian Records. Produced by Björk, Mark Bell (British musician), Mark Bell, Guy Sigsworth, Howie B, and Markus Dra ...

''. Though technically Kelela's full-length debut, the album feels like a next step, proof that her striking sound was no mere gimmick but instead the foundation for one of the most advanced, daring artists in contemporary pop. By the time her emotional journey crests with the hopeful closer "Altadena," Kelela gives the impression not only of being more secure in love but in her own skin, firmly on the same wavelength with her collaborators, more capable than ever of pushing boundaries with her work."

Accolades

Track listing

Notes * signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Take Me Apart''. *

– vocals, executive production *

– production , additional production , executive production * Arca – production , additional production *

– production , executive production * Jessica Chambliss – background vocal arrangement and vocal production , background vocals *

Kwes Kwesi Sey, professionally known as Kwes (; sometimes stylised as ''kwes'', ''kwes.'', ''Kwes.'' or '' =o'' ) is a British music producer, composer and artist from London, England. Kwes is also currently signed to Warp as a solo artist and rel ...

– mixing, additional production and instrumentation *

– production , additional production * Dubbel Dutch – production * Kingdom – production *

Mocky Dominic Salole (born October 7, 1974), known professionally as Mocky, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. Biography Mocky was born in Saskatchewan, Canada. He later moved to Ottawa and Toront ...

– production * Aaron David Ross – production *

– production * Asma Maroof – additional production * Loric Sih – additional production * Terror Danjah – additional production * Nick Weiss – additional production * Kelsey Lu – cello * Alex Hayes – percussion engineering * Matt Mysko – assistant engineering * Marta Salogni – additional mixing *

Dave Kutch Dave Kutch is the owner of the Mastering Palace and an American mastering engineer who has been nominated for 14 Grammy Awards. He has worked with international artists including Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, Alicia Keys, Blackpink, Karol G, Zara ...

– mastering * Mischa Notcutt – art direction * Kit Mason – design *

Daniel Sannwald Daniel Sannwald (born 1979) is a German photographer and director based in London. Education Sannwald studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Career Sannwald regularly contributes to fashion publications such as ''032c'', ''1 ...

– photography

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2017 debut albums Albums produced by Arca (musician) Albums produced by Ariel Rechtshaid Albums produced by Jam City Albums produced by Kwes Kelela albums Warp Records albums