What to take from kelela’s ‘Aquaphoria’

Moving through the fifty-one minutes and thirty seconds of this non-stop mixtape titled, ‘Aquaphoria, curated by Washington D.C’s Kelela, proves itself to be an immersive, mist-covered experience. Pulling from artists like Aphex Twin, Biosphere, and Takashi Kokubo (and many more), this piece encompasses a range of textures, environments, and colors. Through the whole experience, the title Aquaphoria is conveyed by the liquid texture and blue tone that is kept consistent throughout its entirety. 

In her past work, Kelela moved through the genres of electronic and R&B, blending them, but this piece stands out by its’ ambient core and abstract electronic style. A clear exploration of textures is obvious by the intro to the album, sounds of crisp water running while chimes, nostalgic synths, and Kelela’s smooth voice carries the listener into the environment created. Like a leaf down a stream, the album ebbs and flows into each track as a river would, enchanting Topped off by ethereal vocals, the expert world-building by the curated producers creates a swallowing experience that leaves a serene afterglow for the audience. Ranging from engrossing synths to fluid lullabies, Aquaphoria is all-encompassing. Around the seventeen minute mark, the piece takes a somewhat emotional turn, pristinely moving into the next track. This song stood out because of its’ melancholic synths, rising and falling, casting a blue shade over the created environment. The crescendo of the album takes place around the thirty-two-minute mark where a rainstorm of synths assists Kelela in her emotional questioning of being better. Post these few songs, the last remaining half the listener is plunged into an ocean of ambiance, swimming beneath sound, and finally crashing onto the shore like a wave, closing this water drizzled, blue-tinted, piece.

What I can take for myself from this album is its exploration of texture, which is ultimately liquid. Aquaphoria brings together an emotional environment of a blue shade that portrays a perfect example of ambient excellence. Kelela takes old pieces of work and imbues them with new meaning inside a new world of her curation. As a student in sound, I can benefit from the way that color, texture, and environment are created through strictly sound. The concept of creating euphoria through water as a source and inspiration is unique and gives me a new perspective of sound and concepts meeting as one. Using ambiance as a tool to create worlds and textures is something I wish to learn myself, and this piece is a prime example to draw from.

2019 Kelela Aquaphoria Album SoundCloud