Did Kaytranada Drop The Album of the Summer?
Kaytranada, a Haitian-Canadian producer, is calling out everyone to the dance floor this summer with the release of his third album "Timeless" on June 7th, 2024. Kaytranada won a Grammy for his second album "Bubba" in 2019, marking him the first Black producer and the first openly gay producer to be awarded as well. The producer's most recent work was "Kaytraminé" with the musician AMINE, which was released last year. With Timeless, Kaytranada returns to provide us with the summer soundtrack that we all needed.
The title being TIMELESS is very ironic considering the record sounds precisely that. There was tons of house inspiration, old-school hip-hop, and R&B throughout the entire 17-track compilation. Every song felt as if it could be played at the same party without sounding redundant. The production is heavily nightclub-inspired and summertime-coded, featuring a full album collection of vibes.
Many notable performers appear throughout, including Childish Gambino, Durand Bernarr, Don Toliver, Channel Tres, Anderson Paak & SIR, and many others. While sampling is still prevalent, it must be done intentionally and correctly, as Kaytranda displayed by sampling tunes from the 1970s and early 2000s. The opening track 'Pressure' is a rendition of Thelma Houston's "Pressure Cooker". Anderson Paak and Sir's song’s chorus is an interpolation of Biggie's song “Nasty Girl”. "Drip Sweat" adopts Lyn Collins' song "Think (About It). And Track 16 "Witchy" references Barry White's"Standing in the Shadows Love".
Certain people have complained that the album is a touch too long, but in this day and age, where there is a lack of well-produced, high-quality music, I believe the duration and caliber of the work should be highly valued. There were also a few instrumentals with recurring lyrics that felt like interludes that allowed Kaytranada to emphasize the instrumentation, and they fit wonderfully with the album, being just as upbeat and fun to dance to as the other songs on the project.
Kaytranada added four more tracks to the project as disc 2. This led some fans to wonder about the reasoning. The producer responded to a comment under one of his Instagram posts saying, “You ever watched a movie and there’s just like more scenes to have a slightly different experience? Yeah.” Thundercat and Pink Pantheress appeared on the bonus tracks, as did Chanel Tres with a second song on this project. Kaytranada stated in an interview with Zane Lowe that he’s been working on an EP with Chanel Tres that he hopes can be released at some point. The fourth tune featured Mariah The Scientist, which appeared on her most recent album "To Be Eaten Alive".
"TIMELESS" is a stunning collection of music that connects the past and present with unforgettable harmonies and hard-hitting baselines. Kaytranada delivers more outstanding production, allowing the performers to shine while also signaling the formal start of summer.