KAYTRANADA - ‘Timeless’
7th June 2024
Critically acclaimed DJ and producer Kaytranada has little to prove at this point, but he brings us a captivating blend of R&B and electronica on his fourth album. As with previous KAYTRANADA releases, much of the joy of this record is seeing how the vocal features are weaved around the producer’s inventive beats, with guest appearances by Anderson .Paak, Childish Gambino and Don Toliver.
Right away, we are greeted with bobastic chopped horn samples, set to crashing funk beats with ‘Pressure’. Following track ‘Spit It Out’ is a steamy, late night jam with break-neck hi-hats and and an atmopspheric and breathless vocal performance by Rochelle Jordan. ‘Weird’ is a standout track, a scintillating funk blast with layered guitars and groovy bass featuring a fantastic Bootsy Collins-style vocal turn by Durand Bernarr (himself a previous collaborator of both KAYTRANADA and Anderson .Paak).
Another highlight is ‘Feel A Way’, feauturing Don Toliver, a moody and thoughtful jam with swirling synths and processed drums. We’re treated to some upmarket synth-drenched R&B on ‘Video’ (featuring Ravyn Lenae). It would have been great to hear Anderson .Paak on some of the more adventurous instrumentals on here, but alas he turns up on the predictably fitting ‘ …Do 2 Me’ .Paak is an artist seemingly incapable of coming out of his comfort zone, and evidently it will take more than even KAYTRANADA to get him out of it.
The album standout is quite clearly ‘Witchy’, a poppy synth funk number featurng a fantastic vocal from Childish Gambino. The melody is dreamy, hypnotic, the instrumental drifting in and out of low pass filter, the drums crisp and loud.
As with any album that stretches to over twenty songs in length (an unfortunate side-effect of the modern dominance of streaming, as artists try to maximise the earning potential of each new project), the reciord does come across a bit bloated. Tracks like ‘Seemingly’ and ‘Please Babe’ sounding like nothing more than filler. Having said this, the album is extremely consistent, nothing sounds out of place, but a less indulgent length would have allowed more enjoyment of the vibe conjured by KAYTRANADA, rather than it becoming a bit of a slog.