After winning two Grammy Awards, four Junos and a Polaris, Quebec composer Kaytranada has accomplished what others dream of for a lifetime, and he has only just turned 32. On the eve of the concert he will offer on Saturday at Parc Jean-Drapeau, the musician talks about his dream life, between Los Angeles, where he spends the majority of his time, and Old Montreal, where he has only just come to move in, and looks back on the creation of his most recent album, Timelesspublished last June.
“When I went to Los Angeles in 2021 for the Grammy awards ceremony, I thought I would return to Montreal straight after,” says Louis Kevin Célestin, aka Kaytranada. He left seven months later. “It was in the middle of a pandemic, I had to get out of Montreal — the curfews prevented me from living and finding inspiration to make music. But, above all, I understood there that it was important to be present in this capital of the music industry. I met people who told me: “Ah! but you really exist!” »
Born on the Montreal night scene, then bustling with his illegal parties in out-of-the-way lofts, Kaytranada was hatched under the LA sun thanks to Bubbathe second album, which established him among the most prominent composers of rap, house and the dance genres floating in between.
Today he walks the red carpets, frequents galas populated with stars which he then makes dance duringafter parties — in 2022, he opened for The Weeknd during his After Hours til Dawn Tourthen the after-concert evenings. “DJ during parties by The Weeknd, while he plays the MC on the microphone while I mix, I never thought that would happen one day. »
On his Instagram account, a gallery of images scrolls through where we sometimes see him filming a music video, sometimes wearing Gucci clothes or appearing at Late Show with Stephen Colbert where, three weeks ago, he performed a medley of his recent songs with MC Channel Tres (he will be in Saturday’s concert) and singer Ravyn Lenae. “Yes, I’m enjoying my life, you could say that,” replies Kaytranada. For me, who comes from Saint-Hubert, all that matters. I wouldn’t say that I never thought it would happen, because I always felt that I would achieve this goal, but I don’t take anything for granted, neither the recognition of peers, nor the fame acquired, nor the condo that he has just offered himself in Old Montreal.
Today, I no longer want to make music to please the fans. I just want to express myself, in the most authentic way possible, and “Timeless” is that, a deep cuts album.
Timeless
So, Timeless bears witness to the three years that have passed in the life of the musician with Creole roots since the 61e Grammy awards ceremony. “When I listen to the album again,” says Kaytranada, “I remember what was going on in my life at that time,” he says of Timelessan album full of collaborations with singers and rappers whose compositions aspire more to take the form of pop songs than dance floor bombs like those of Bubba and of 99.9% (his first album for BMG, released in 2016).
“It is, to date, the album that has had the most success, but it is not the favorite of my fans from the start,” he noted, believing that we had “bad Understood [son] musical evolution. “First, I used other instruments than before and new software [de composition et de production musicale]. It’s above all a more authentic album, if I compare it to 99.9%. For this first album, I made a lot of choices to please people — I loved all the sounds I made, but I selected songs with the goal of making an album that would introduce people to my work. »
“Today, I no longer want to make music to please the fans. I just want to express myself, in the most authentic way possible, and Timelessthat’s it, an album of deep cuts », songs which do not seek at all costs to become successes, but which we rediscover each time we listen to them again. “A personal album, a bit like the album that will.i.am [Black Eyed Peas] had gone out for the label BBE. [Le compositeur] Madlib also launched an album on BBE, J Dilla too”, two other inspirations from Quebec. “ Timelessit’s the album I would have made if I had signed with BBE: a personal album, which tells the story of my life in Los Angeles after winning two Grammys. »
And what’s life like in LA? “It’s a lot of opportunities, and that’s why I moved there,” answers Kaytranada. Lots of work, but fun Also. I go out a little, I train a lot. » There are his habits, like brunch at Great White, in West Hollywood, or sushi at Asanebo, on Ventura Boulevard. “It was my manager, Will, who recommended it to me. I didn’t really like sushi before moving to LA, but I discovered what real sushi was — it’s not that you can’t find it in Montreal, but it seems like Moving there made me want to open up to lots of things. »
If I made a whole album on which I sing — which is in the plans — I would sing in concert. We’ll see if that happens one day!
The tour Timeless has just started, Kaytranada will not return to Los Angeles for several weeks, and he will barely have finished emptying the boxes in his Montreal condo. In concert tomorrow with Channel Tres (a duet album is coming, he promises), Kitty Ca$h and his brother, Lou Phelps, he promises a party, but not to sing in his own voice, as he dared do it on this recent album. “I’m not ready for that. Taking the microphone to excite the crowd and interact with the fans, I love that. If I made a whole album on which I sing — which is in the plans — I would sing in concert. We’ll see if that happens one day! »
And what are you dreaming of today, after having already achieved your goal? “Let it continue. This is my life, I really want to enjoy it. I want more success, if possible, otherwise, it doesn’t matter, I don’t need it that much, as long as it continues. And honestly, I would like to make a jazz album one day. I sample a lot of music in my compositions, but I also listen to the source of these samples, rock, jazz, house, things that we don’t necessarily associate with the type of music I make. Making an album with real instruments, I want to lean into that, like Madlib does, which also touches on jazz, but we recognize, behind it, that it’s still him. I would like to have that success. »
Kaytranada will be in concert on September 28 at Parc Jean-Drapeau.