Album review: Grammy-winning Montrealer Kaytranada drops surprise album geared for the dance floor
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.
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