Kelsey Lu Releases New Music in Celebration of Juneteenth

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Kelsey Lu AnOther Magazine Craig McDean S/S20
Embroidered silk and tulle blouse with puffed sleeves, rhodoid and brass flower brooch and silk belt by Louis Vuitton. Turtleneck as beforeAnOther Magazine S/S20 Photography by Craig McDean, Styling by Nell Kalonji

Kelsey Lu has launched a third episode of HYDROHARMONIA, proceeds of which will be donated to organisations dedicated to empowering BIPOC women

At the beginning of May, musician Kelsey Lu debuted a new series entitled HYDROHARMONIA, episodes of which span music, natural soundscapes and lo-fi film footage. “For many years I’ve found that creating reactionary music that’s in harmony with what I’m experiencing on a visual level to be extremely therapeutic, and I’m very happy to have created these series for you to share in them as well,” the AnOther Magazine cover star said on Instagram of how she conceived HYDROHARMONIA while working on her next album in the Cayman Islands. “Some will be more calm than others, and that is life. Chaotic.” After two instalments – the first episode launched on May 3, and the second three weeks later – Lu presents HYDROHARMONIA III today, as many African American communities around America celebrate Juneteenth, a holiday which marks the emancipation of the remaining slaves in Texas after the Civil War in 1865.

Lu describes this new episode of HYDROHARMONIA, which is entitled 432, as a “meditational sound bath tuned to the frequency of the universe (432 Hz)”. The original score is interspersed with the poem Black Joy by Aja Monet, a poem Lu has felt “resurrected by” in recent weeks. “HYDROHARMONIA represents a space of creative freedoms; of dealing and of healing,” she says. “Juneteenth marks a day of Cel-Liberation, and I invite you to take this opportunity to show solidarity to the leaders fighting for sustainability of life.”

100 per cent of proceeds from 432 will be donated to five charities, organisations and initiatives which empower and work with BIPOC women: ​FEMPOWER, Poetry For The People, #freeblackmamas Fellowship, Black Trans Femmes in the Arts and Herbal Mutual Aid Network. “Womxn, particularly BIPOC, have historically proven to be the central voices and leaders in abolition, revolution, hope and love,” explains Lu. “Through the consistency of these waves, in the electricity of the awakening, we must continue to take care of and love on ourselves and each other. 432 is a tool for that purpose.”

432 is out now.