KAYTRANADA has thrown himself into the reigns as a true house and dance music king, and his most recent release continues this seemingly endless rise.
Louis Kevin Celestin was born in Haiti but mainly grew up in our northern neighbor’s city of Montreal. After finding success with some mixtapes released under the alias Kaytradamus, he garnered enough attention to get signed by XL Recordings.
The Sublime Discography of KAYTRANDA
His debut album, “99.9%”, released in 2016, continues to get praise to this day, with unique sampling, amazing features, and an extremely memorable album cover established KAYTRANADA as a household name, with the album having a cult classic status.
“Bubba”, released in 2019, followed, got a little more experimental with the sound KAYTRANDA wanted to produce. The album won KAYTRANDA his first Grammys, one for Best Dance/Electronic Album, and another for Best Dance Recording for the bumping and grooving “10%”, featuring the amazing Kali Uchis.
How would KAYTRANDA follow up a two-time Grammy-winning album? Well, after a brief collab album with Aminé called “KAYTRAMINÉ”, he would release his first solo album since, “TIMELESS”.
KAYTRANADA’s Job as a Modern DJ
Being a DJ, it is not surprising to suspect an energized, grooving, jittery album from KAYTRANADA. The production does seem somewhat tamer compared to the rest of his impressive discography but that does not take away anything from the quality present.
Synths are doing so much on here. KAYTRANADA is a wizard casting different synth spells. “Feel A Way” featuring the always relaxed Don Toliver has slightly distorted synths shifting in tones underneath Toliver’s swaying verses. “Hold On” has these whirring synths that trickle down creating a true dream landscape under Dawn Richard’s angelic-high-pitched vocals.
A DJ needs to have control of their percussion and beat, and KAYTRANADA remains in full control of the album. Some of the most impressive tracks in KAYTRANADA albums are the ones with no features, and “Please Babe” pays homage to this. The track immediately sets a groove with a distinct cowbell and a constant kick drum, before layering in synths and a baseline, with the cowbell still remaining the true driving force in the song.
“Spit It Out” goes for a more simple hi-hat, clap, and kick drum setup, but that opens so many more opportunities for the rest of the mix to be spotlighted. Rochelle Jordan’s vocals are clear and direct and the guitar coming in and out with a small interjection creates this living collection of sounds, sounds that are still supported by the simple drums.
The Never Ending Catalogue of KAYTRANADA’s Collaborations
As you can already tell, there are a large number of collaborations on this album, but that is not surprising, knowing KAYTRANADA. Some features are dreamy R&B singers like Charlotte Day Wilson, some are other aspiring DJ and dance artists like Channel Tres, and some are indie starlets with huge house influences like PinkPantheress.
The two most astounding features are some of the last tracks on the first disc, being the insanely talented artists Anderson .Paak and Childish Gambino. This is the first time Gambino and KAYTRANADA have collaborated on a track together, and being much anticipated, they both delivered on “Witchy”. Gambino intertwines himself instantly with the swelling synths and cymbal-heavy drum pattern. Matching the hit of the chorus with an ethereal falsetto, Gambino understands what KAYTRANADA is trying to do.
Paak and KAYTRANADA have collaborated a couple of times already. They had their first song on “99.9%” with the grimy “GLOWED UP” and followed that with a 2022 grandiose single, “Twin Flame”. On “Do 2 Me”, they keep this insane run of amazing collabs going with a throbbing and heavily layered mix, including a moving-jingly drum pattern, a rising and falling synth run, and a slowly emerging trumpet. And of course, Paak rides the beat masterfully, with his signature grainy voice being a combo from heaven combined with KAYTRANADA’s production.
KAYTRANADA creates a perfect summer dance album with “TIMELESS”, shaping himself for more Grammy wins in the future. The collaborations are perfect, the beats are clean and smooth, the instrumentation is simple but luscious, and it hits all of the areas it needs to, possibly timeless.
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