A decade on from his breakthrough Boiler Room DJ set, Canadian producer Kaytranada has cemented himself as a dance music powerhouse. His work blends the worlds of underground digital sounds and mainstream, chart-topping R&B and hip hop, getting him collaboration requests from the likes of Drake and dealing with Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar. Later this summer time, he’ll headline an enormous out of doors present London’s All Factors East.
‘Timeless’ is his first full size launch since 2023’s collaborative album ‘Kaytraminé’, made with rapper Aminé, nevertheless it seems like a melting pot of one of the best concepts from every of his earlier releases and acts as a marker of his musical evolution. Immediately this album is met with the allure of his 2016 debut ‘99.9%’ – two step rhythms, groovy keys and body-moving drums information ‘Spit It Out’ (made with long-timer collaborator Rochelle Jordan) and ‘Name U Up’ (made with Kaytra’s personal youthful brother Lou Phelps).
His tastefully chosen collaborations is what offers this album additional brownie factors, sustaining Kaytra’s masterful curatorship seen on ‘Bubba’, his Grammy-winning 2019 album. ‘Timeless’ options the likes of Tinashe (‘Extra Than A Little Bit’), Infantile Gambino (‘Witchy’), PinkPantheress (‘Snap My Finger’), Thundercat (‘Stuntin’). Kaytra is at his greatest when he makes use of the strengths of his collaborator’s vocals – whether or not pairing sharp supply with a catchy percussive line (‘Do 2 Me’ with Andersoon.Paak and SiR) or utilizing a voice to mark a key change and alter the tempo of the monitor (‘Drip Sweat’ with Channel Tres).
The solo tracks are the place we see his dexterous manufacturing expertise sparkle. Opener ‘Stress’ sounds straight out of a retro futuristic sci-fi movie, with blazing synths and cinematic jazz instrumentation. For the primary time we additionally hear Kaytra’s personal vocals in ‘Stepped On’, marking a major change in how we perceive him; he’s not only a gifted producer but additionally a considerate vocalist.
Timeless’ proves he has mastered the artwork of chopping and augmenting samples creatively – which he informed Rolling Stone was AI-aided. ‘Dance Dance Dance’ is funky and euphoric, led by disco-style keys and a deeply soulful bassline. It makes use of a cut-up pattern of the whirling synths heard in Grandmaster Flash & The Livid 5’s ‘The Message’, giving the in any other case nostalgic sounding monitor a futuristic twist. ‘Seemingly’ is a home music-style banger sampling Don Blackman’s craving ballad ‘Holding You, Loving You’ – making ample room for like to be felt on the dancefloor, the pure house of lots of the tracks on ‘Timeless’.
Having such a longtime sound and musical identification, particularly solely 8 years after a breakthrough debut album, is a formidable feat. But each monitor being identifiable as a textbook Kaytranada anthem is each the album’s best power and solely notable weak point – giving the venture delicate predictability. Whereas his signature soulful chord progressions, heavy basslines, style mixing, and the occasional cowbell is agreeable to the ear, and the inclusion of his personal vocal work doesn’t go unnoticed, there may be area for higher experimentation.
But ‘Timeless’ lives as much as its title by proving Kaytranada’s music certainly stands the check of time. This album acts as a bookmark of his inventive evolution, and its polished manufacturing work makes it a great illustration of his musical identification up to now.
Particulars
- Launch date: June 7, 2024
- Document label: RCA
