Kaytranada is a dance music powerhouse, having blended underground electronic sounds with mainstream chart-topping R&B and hip hop. Drake, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar are just a few of the big names he’s collaborated with. This summer, he will headline London’s All Points East. His latest album, ‘Timeless’, is his first full-length release since 2023’s collaborative album ‘Kaytraminé’ with rapper Aminé, but it presents itself as a melting pot of the best ideas from each of his previous releases, which serves as a marker of his musical evolution.
‘Timeless’ is met with the charm of his 2016 debut ‘99.9%’. Kaytranada’s masterful curatorship is evident in his tastefully selected collaborations. The album features Tinashe, Childish Gambino, PinkPantheress, and Thundercat. Kaytra is at his best when he uses the strengths of his collaborators’ vocals, such as ‘Do 2 Me’ with Andersoon.Paak and SiR, or using a voice to mark a key change and change the pace of the track, as heard in ‘Drip Sweat’ with Channel Tres.
On ‘Timeless’, Kaytranada employs his dexterous production skills, which is shown in opener ‘Pressure.’ The song has the sound of a retro futuristic sci-fi film, complete with blazing synths and cinematic jazz instrumentation. ‘Stepped On’ is the first track where we hear Kaytra’s own vocals, marking a significant change in how we understand him. He proves he has mastered the art of chopping and augmenting samples creatively. ‘Dance Dance Dance’ is a funky and euphoric track led by disco-style keys and a deeply soulful bassline. Kaytra also adds a futuristic twist to the track by using a cut-up sample of the whirling synths heard in Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s ‘The Message.’ ‘Seemingly,’ a house music-style banger, uses a cut-up sample of Don Blackman’s yearning ballad ‘Holding You, Loving You,’ making ample room for love to be felt on the dancefloor.
Overall, ‘Timeless’ proves that Kaytranada’s music stands the test of time. While his signature traits are pleasing to the ear, the album’s predictable sound gives the project subtle predictability. Regardless, the polished production work acts as a bookmark of his creative evolution and serves as a good representation of his musical identity thus far
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