How Kaytranada Brought Groove Back
Prepare to dance all summer to new Kaytranada tunes.
It’s 11PM on a warm summer weekend night and you’re feeling GOOD. You’re a couple of drinks and a good meal in. Ready to dance the night away in a new city with friends that you just met at the bar. That’s the feeling Kaytranda gives to so many people. And he’s been doing so for the past decade; in a way that few artists of this generation have.
The producer from Montreal, Canada has perfected blending the worlds of House, R&B/Soul and Hip-Hop in a way that creates instantly infectious grooves.
“I really studied Dilla,” he said to Rolling Stone. “Instead of studying for school, I studied his music — him and Madlib were producers where I was just trying to understand how they would chop a sample. Dilla would do those micro-chops that don’t make any sense but sound like a big beautiful collage. I got so inspired by that.”
His studying paid off because we can’t get enough of it now. Kaytranada works with artists like Tinashe, Victoria Monét, Anderson .Paak, Rochelle Jordan and Durand Bernarr to create feel-good music that is the perfect bridge between the past, present, and future.
With Kaytranada, you can tell that the music itself is more important than anything else when crafting his version of a perfect record. And as it should be. But in 2024, that’s often not the case. We’re often presented with songs crafted solely for the purpose of “charting” or “streaming.” Record labels pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for features that don’t make sense sonically, but may help their artist reach a wider audience.
Kaytranada doesn’t care about that.
On his new album ‘TIMELESS’, he calls on the likes of Dawn Richard, Charlotte Day Wilson, Ravyn Lenae, Thundercat and his brother Lou Phelps to provide a progressive new soundtrack to summer nights out and brunch day parties.
These collaborators are artists who often go overlooked when it comes to winning awards, charting on Billboard, or being accepted by “the masses.” But that doesn’t mean immense levels of talent aren’t there.
The best song often isn’t the single. The best artist often isn’t the one at the top of the charts. And Kaytranada knows that. He has an ear for who (and what) works, and his music benefits from that freedom and willingness to collaborate.
Kaytranada rose to fame in the early 2010s by releasing dance edits and remixes on SoundCloud. Some of his most popular work includes his Janet Jackson “If” remix and his Teedra Moses “Be Your Girl” remix. He’s always been a big fan and advocate for the women of R&B – both popular and underrated. And for that, we thank him.
Now come catch a groove to ‘TIMELESS’ with us!