All hail the return of the Canadian king, KAYTRANADA. Since the wiz producer dropped his debut album 99.9% in 2016, KAYTRA has been quiet on the originals front, bar a few throwaway SoundCloud beats. Instead, he’s focused much of his energy in 2018 on remixes for the likes of Anderson .Paak, The Internet and Kelela. Finally, he’s back with a new three-track EP on RCA Records. None of these tracks channel the house vibes that are generally infused into KAYTRA’s tunes. The songs are more influenced by laid-back ‘90s RnB, embodied on the Shay Lia-featured highlight, ‘CHANCES’.
As always, KAYTRA’s production on ‘CHANCES’ is funky, with Shay explaining it best in the pre-chorus, humming “You got the groove.” That’s exactly what this song has got. But, it remains understated, giving way to Shay’s effortlessly elegant vocal delivery. Buoyed by the live-feeling drum rhythm, KAYTRA sprinkles flair with a sharp synth-bass, sparing piano touches and off-kilter sound effects. It’s the perfect time for this track to drop, because ‘CHANCES’ will soundtrack cruises along the coast this summer. And it’ll sound pretty damn sweet when KAYTRA takes the stage at Origin Festival on NYE in Perth.
Image: Lou Phelps