Charlotte Cardin, Kaytranada to be honoured at francophone SOCAN gala
Gala SOCAN says a glitzy bash set for May 4 in Montreal will present songwriting awards to Cardin and her writing partner Jason Brando, as well as producers Banx & Ranx, while Kaytranada is in line for the International Achievement Award.
WATCH | The official music video for Kaytranada's track Witchy feat. Childish Gambino:
Séguin will be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame for "his immense contribution to 'la chanson québécoise,'" while songwriter Diane Juster is getting the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The White Lotus composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer will receive the award for screen composer of the year, and rap group Muzion will get the award for cultural impact for its anthem La vi ti nèg, the first hip-hop song to get this prize in the gala's 34-year history.
More than 100 trophies in 29 categories will be awarded for achievements over the past two years.
The gala is the francophone equivalent of the SOCAN Awards, set for later this fall in Toronto to honour music creators and publishers working primarily in English.
Other categories presented May 4 will celebrate genres including country, electronic, hip-hop, jazz and R&B.
Special achievement award winners will receive "The SOCAN" — a trophy that is also a musical instrument made up of five tuned metal disks known as crotales.
In this edition, the crotales will be tuned to play the first five notes of Muzion's La vi ti nèg melody.
WATCH | The official video for La vi ti nèg by Muzion:
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CBC
5 days ago
- CBC
Kaytranada samples Barry White, TLC, the Neptunes and more on his new album
Kaytranada's fourth solo album, Ain't No Damn Way!, is a return to his roots. Before the Janet Jackson edits and hits with vocalists including Syd, H.E.R., Tinashe and Kali Uchis, Kaytranada was a crate-digging teen splicing up beats in his family's Montreal basement. And the new album is heavy on beats: it's mostly instrumental save a handful of chopped-up vocal samples, as he shared in an Instagram story: "Letting y'all know that this album is strictly for workouts, dancing and studying and for my people that love beats." Of course, the bedrock of any good Kaytranada tune is the production and his inspired use of samples, so even though there's no sing-along choruses à la 10% or You're the One on this record, the groove remains undeniable. Kaytranada's previous album, Timeless, was released last summer and included a whole host of guest appearances from Childish Gambino, Anderson .Paak, Charlotte Day Wilson, Rochelle Jordan, Tinashe, Kaytranada's brother, Lou Phelps, and more. The collaborators on Ain't No Damn Way! are less obvious: acclaimed jazz drummer Karriem Riggins is credited on Good Luck, and Alex Sowinski of Toronto experimental jazz band BadBadNotGood is credited on Home. On Ain't No Damn Way!, Kaytranada samples '70s soul icon Barry White, R&B-rap trio TLC, superproducer duo the Neptunes and many more — but it's hard to catch them all on first listen. Below we breakdown the exciting and unexpected samples on the Montreal producer's new album. Young, Fresh n' New, Kelis The album opener, Space Invader, samples this explosive 2001 Kelis track, produced by the Neptunes (Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams). It was the lead single from the rapper's second album, Wanderland, but less known than her ubiquitous hit Milkshake, which came two years later. Kaytranada rarely samples an artist's most recognizable tunes, and it would be easy to not realize that breathy chant of "gotta get away sometimes" is Kelis's vocal. What's particularly interesting is that Kelis never says those words in that order in her song — Kaytranada broke down the vocal stems and rearranged the lyrics for his track. Love on a Real Train, Tangerine Dream On Championship, Kaytranada sampled this Tangerine Dream song, originally composed for the Risky Business soundtrack. Kaytranada borrows the German trio's spacey synths and gives them a soulful zhuzh on the atmospheric track. The members of Tangerine Dream have changed many times over the decades, but in 1984 when this song was released, the group consisted of founder Edgar Froese, Christophe Franke and Johannes Schmoelling. Things Fall Apart, Steve Monite Steve Monite's 1984 Afro-boogie song Things Fall Apart provides the bones for Kaytranada's vibey Things. The song starts off with an echo of Monite singing, "Things are getting so bad," before stabbing synths come in. Kaytranada takes a quick moment at the 2:20 mark of the original track and loops it repeatedly as the percussive core of his new creation. And this is not the first time the producer has sampled this particular song: older fans will recognize the bright synths at the 1:48 mark because he used them in the 2018 Lou Phelps and Jazz Cartier track, Come Inside. Black Boy, Cappadonna Shine Your Light For We is rooted by a vocal sample from Black Boy, the 1998 track from Cappadonna, a member of Wu-Tang Clan. Specifically, Kaytranada samples the chorus, sung by Tekitha Washington: "Black boy in the ghetto streets/ Black boy, no more suffering/ Black boy, shine your light for we." The track contains some sampling inception: Cappadonna, née Darryl Hill, samples his father, Barry White, on Black Boy, using White's 1976 song You, I Adore, and the celestial strings pop up in the melody of Shine Your Light For We. Let's Do it Again, TLC On the final track on the album, Kaytranada flips TLC's CrazySexyCool cut Let's Do it Again, produced by Babyface and Jon-John Robinson. Swinging drum kicks that have become the producer's signature ring out on Do It! (Again!) as T-Boz and Chilli's pitched-up and sped-up vocals accentuate the groove. The original 1994 song is a sultry R&B slow burn, but Kaytranada takes the pleading bridge and turns things up a notch for a dance-floor heater.
Montreal Gazette
6 days ago
- Montreal Gazette
Album review: Grammy-winning Montrealer Kaytranada drops surprise album geared for the dance floor
Entertainment And Life By Montreal Gazette Kaytranada knows how to throw a party. In his opening slot for The Weeknd's two packed concerts at Parc Jean-Drapeau in July, the Montrealer got people moving with an up-tempo set featuring many of his own hits. Far from the reserved DJ-producer, he danced up a storm behind the consoles, occasionally grabbing the mic to hype the crowd. In October, he embarks on a co-headlining arena tour with French electro duo Justice, which sadly won't be stopping in our city. But first he's back with a late-summer surprise: Ain't No Damn Way!, a new album of instrumental jams geared for the dance floor, released a week and change before his 33rd birthday. 'Letting y'all know that this album is strictly for workouts, dancing and studying and for my people that love beats,' he said in an Instagram story this week. It's the follow-up to his Grammy-nominated 2024 album Timeless and double-Grammy-winning 2019 release Bubba. His debut 99% won the 2016 Polaris Music Prize for best Canadian album. Along the way, Kaytranada, born Louis Kevin Celestin in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and raised on Montreal's South Shore, has opened for Madonna, remixed Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey and collaborated with Kali Uchis, Pharrell Williams, Anderson .Paak, Snoop Dogg, Childish Gambino, H.E.R., and Pink Pantheress, among others. There are no guests on Ain't No Damn Way!, just Kaytranada doing his thing: pulling together disparate influences to craft singular grooves that stimulate the senses and move bodies in mysterious ways. That's not to say he doesn't have company. The quintessential crate-digger, he borrows textures from an impressive array of sources that showcase both his musical curiosity and intuitive ability to weave bits and pieces into a unified and never overworked whole. First single Space Invader pops with an old-school hip-hop beat and samples Kelis's Neptunes-produced 2001 track Young, Fresh N' New, turning the rejuvenated result into a soulful, scintillating club jam that feels like a lost Michael Jackson recording crossed with a '90s house track. Championship, next, borrows from 1970s German electronic music pioneers Tangerine Dream to mystical effect. Home grabs a head-bobbing beat from drummer Alex Sowinski of Toronto's Badbadnotgood, while the entrancing Things incorporates echoes of a hook from '80s Nigerian Afro-boogie artist Steve Monite over bongos and synth loops. The twinkling Good Luck is based on a staggered breakbeat by drummer Karriem Riggins, who has worked with Chicago rapper Common and the late, great producer and Kaytranada inspiration J Dilla (who is sampled on the salvational Don't Worry Babe / I Got You Babe). The dreamy interlude lasts a mere 1:47, making it the shortest of 12 songs on an album that clocks in just under the 35-minute mark. Shine Your Light For We matches Barry White instrumental snippets — not that you would know, without reading the credits — with soulful vocals from Wu-Tang Clan rapper Cappadonna's inspirational 1998 jam Black Boy. And closing track Do It! (Again!) (feat. TLC), grabs from the R&B trio's 1994 song Let's Do It Again while giving it the Kaytranada makeover — i.e. turning it into another bumping, gently percolating club jam, the title inviting us to do as we're told and put this addictive album on repeat. A decade into his recording career proper, Kaytranada shows no signs of relenting, and no lack of inspiration. The guy has so many ideas, he has to keep putting out new music. While he has been flirting with mainstream status for a while — his Spotify page shows several tracks with over 100 million streams — it's only a matter of time before he breaks through for real. Until then, it's a treat to watch Kaytranada continue to build his rock-solid reputation as one of the most tasteful and inventive producers around, with an infectious and instantly identifiable sound.
CBC
28-07-2025
- CBC
Abel Tesfaye returns to Toronto to kill The Weeknd
Social Sharing Unlike Taylor Swift's meteorite-like crash landing in the sweaty city of Toronto, there were no friendship bead-wearing police horses at The Weeknd's first showing in the Six. Instead, a more subdued air surrounded Rogers Centre as fans funnelled in: Low-key Starboy tracks warbling into the 30 C drippingly-wet air blanketing the stadium in the heart of The Weeknd's hometown. But that doesn't mean a lack of excitement, despite the weather. "God damn, it's hot," Canadian producer and DJ Kaytranada even exclaimed, towelling himself off onstage during a well-done if not earth-shattering opening. That was as sweltering fans at the first of four sold-out nights in the 50,000-seat venue braved the heat in requisitely dark clothes to match the R&B superstar infamously dark music. Just a day before, Mayor Olivia Chow dubbed the preceding days "The Weeknd weekend." That was because, she said, "Abel (The Weeknd) Tesfaye represents the best of our city." The Scarborough-raised artist also received a key to the city. And it was all just before audience members, eager to experience what is often still described as a once-in-a-lifetime concert experience, were uncharacteristically chatty with journalists — throwing themselves into on-camera interviews instead of waiting for the insistent coaxing of harried producers. "Everyone here, we are The Weeknd," a fan named Perry told CBC News. "He represents Canada." But as Tesfaye took the stage, the seemingly incongruous mix of emotions instantly made sense. Decked in a black robe encrusted with glittering gold rhinestones and a golden half-mask, you could see he embodied that caustic mix of the charismatic and subdued that, for anyone else, would not fit in the same person at the same time. As he has proven since releasing anonymous and unsettling dance-themed mixtapes in the 2010s all the way to this seemingly last tour under The Weeknd moniker, this is the space where Tesfaye thrives. While not retiring from music, he plans to no longer perform under the name he has become famous for. A return home Quickly barrelling through classic tracks The Abyss to Wake Me Up to After Hours, he was flanked by similarly masked, enrobed backup dancers — moving in unison around a slowly spinning golden statue of a giant, nude woman (imagine a female Oscars statuette, but with visible nipples). They stood beneath large gold rings, in front of a mocked up golden skyline of a crumbling city. Even Tesfaye's microphone was gold, a particularly heavy-handed metaphor that, early on, he stumbled chaotically toward. While roughly 30 women walked in sync around the statue and then behind to him, and as jets of fire shot up 20 feet into the air, Tesfaye held his hands up to the mic as if in prayer. None of them had to dance or even move much to earn the deafening applause that came next, as Tesfaye revealed the tiniest bit of his face, slightly peaking over the top of the mask. "Well that's a warm welcome home, isn't it?" he asked to another roar. It wasn't the last call out to his hometown. Later, he remarked the stadium is where he used to come to watch Blue Jays games "as a little baby," let out a long and extended "Toronto" in the middle of his track Sacrifice and managed to sneak both CN Tower and Rogers Centre references into São Paulo. But the focus was the gold, the ceremony and the performative reverence of it. The effect is impressive if eerie. A consummate musical professional with four Grammys under his belt and more Junos than anyone but Anne Murray, Tesfaye knows how to set a scene. He also knows how to sing, and — more than that — perform. He never failed to lead the tens of thousands of cheering attendants in song or just rapturous applause. It all gives the impression of some club-themed religious ceremony: A gigantic and enormously budgeted cultic worship service, except here the god is hedonism, sex and all the more outrageous scenes of Wolf of Wall Street. Of course, this is by design — both why The Weeknd can define himself as a generational sex symbol without gyrating or even revealing a sliver of his body under baggy robes and ostensibly why he's choosing to leave the schtick behind after this tour. In his shows and music, he's playing a club kid, fame-obsessed semi-satirical character invented way back in his debut mixtape House of Balloons days — itself a mask, Tesfaye explained in a 2013 Reddit AMA, he chose in order to hide his name and, by extension, himself. Vanity and nihilism In person, it all comes together like a magic trick. At a Weeknd concert, we're both sick of materialism, and sick of being sick of it. We're letting go of every inhibition, forgetting love, revelling in sex and giving up on self-control. It's all a statement about nihilism, you see. Or maybe, it's not. "It seems exorbitant when it all ends. A pointless, uncomfortable exercise from an artist who believes vanity means no stone of excess can be left unturned," music journalist Hanif Abdurraqib wrote of a 2013 Weeknd show in his book They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us. "The Weeknd tells the same tale: It's never about love, but then again, how can it be about anything but love, even if the love is just the love you have for your own ravenous desires." How much the separate entity of The Weeknd exists for Tesfaye to explore and mock his most self-destructive tendencies — instead of just revelling in them — isn't exactly clear. You would've been hard pressed to find any hints of displeasure from the seemingly ecstatic Tesfaye on Sunday. He hit hits old and new out of the park, and was grinning ear-to-ear as he held the microphone to nearly fainting fans, screaming out the ad libs of Out of Time. Still, it's perhaps a strange message to brand, as Chow did, the best of the city — and a strange one to have drawn as many barely five-foot middle-schoolers as Sunday's all-ages show did. At the same time, it's a theme that has offered diminishing returns. There was the 2022 Los Angeles concert in which Tesfaye infamously lost his voice due to stress. Then the ill-fated series The Idol, a Tesfaye-fronted series about the relentless pursuit of fame that was widely panned by critics and even The Weeknd himself. And then there was Hurry Up Tomorrow, the absurdly, incomprehensibly stupid filmic tie-in of his most recent album. Intended to further explore his falling-out-of-love with The Weeknd after the L.A. show, instead it only managed to compete with Megalopolis as the most offensively boring movie to premiere in the last 12 months. But perhaps these failures were because Tesfaye was performing to the wrong crowd, on the wrong stage. His messy, introspective and vague metaphors work better in song lyrics than dialogue; better sung in front of a stunning pyrotechnic flame and fireworks show than on a film screen. If Sunday's show proved anything, it was that. And even if on the inside he's done with The Weeknd, it proved he can certainly still fake it.
