KAYTRANADA — Intimidated — EP Review
Electronic | Dance | Soul |Indie
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
As we approach the end of 2021, it stands as no secret that new music would become more scarce. However, Canadian record producer KAYTRANADA seems to be creating a streak of last-minute musical treats for us all.
Namely, we saw KAYTRANADA release their most recent studio album, 2019’s BUBBA. And that record, for many, was the final record to get a review; not only in that year, but in the 2010’s as a whole.
But here we lie now, nearly one fifth into what has been an incredibly unorthodox decade, and the newest release from KAYTRANADA, stands as a small musical helping in the form of a three-track EP. Said EP is given the title of Intimidated.
What is essentially KAYTRANADA’s way of seeing the year off, Intimidated was designed to get listeners through two things. The first, is the harshness of winter, combatting it with warm and soulful tones. The second, is our waiting period for the next full project from the producer; this may perhaps be a little taster of things to come. And if so, I am very much looking forward to what’s to come.
While this EP’s minimal tracklist doesn’t give too much away, I was most certainly immersed in the soundscapes that KAYTRANADA creates with each of these tracks.
The first of these tracks, being the title track, feels like the most emotive of the three tracks, and atmospherically lines up the most neatly with this time of year. I feel like “Intimidated” does a marvellous job of pushing a subtle sense of empowerment through its sound, and especially through the vocals of featured artist H.E.R.
Listeners would be able to see the running theme of what is essentially a featured artist per track. The feature we see on the second track, titled “Be Careful” features none other than Thundercat. I feel like KAYTRANADA successfully caters to Thundercat’s aesthetic and sound to a near-perfect degree, to a point where I could easily imagine this on one of Thundercat’s own projects. “Be Careful” has that unmistakably luminous and quirky sound, that feels synonymous with its guest feature.
The final track that this EP, “$payforhaiti”, is probably the most comparable to the material found on 2019’s BUBBA. Thus, I perceived it as the most “authentic” KAYTRANADA track of the bunch, countered by how it is seemingly the least experimental. Nevertheless, it is still an enjoyable and highly soulful conclusion to this bite-size experience, and compliments the lyrical flow and vocal style of its guest feature Mach-Hommy really well too.
Of course, the most glaring issue I have with this EP is its duration. It may wind up being a similar situation to Turnstile’s TURNSTILE LOVE CONNECTION EP, in which it is a smaller part of something far greater. This I hope, will fair the same for this project. Needless to say, however, the musical content that Intimidated does display, is enjoyable end-to-end. As well as this, KAYTRANADA has succeeded in yet again bring music lovers something to hold on to as we approach the final moments of 2021.
RCA Records
Enjoyment: ★★★★★ | Memorability: ★★★★ | Atmosphere: ★★★★
Uniqueness: ★★★ | Satisfaction: ★★ | Narrative: ★★★
