Review: Kaytranada ‘99.9%’ (2016)

Kaytranada
99.9%
XL Recordings (2016)
Good for: Keeping your DD (designated driver) alert and the rest of the carpool party awake on the way to late-night post-night out Burger King

Rating: 9.1 / 10

99.9% is the existential and introspective debut of Montreal’s DJ Kaytranada. It is trippy and dense IDM (intelligent dance music)-level funk that self reflects on what it is to be a Black artist within the club scene today.

The closest comparison musically would be You’re Dead! by FlyLo, with You’re Dead! being the jazz version of what 99.9% is doing with funk. Essentially, both You’re Dead! and 99.9% feel less like DJ sets, and more like real memories from the past or even intense drug trip experiences. With the listening of records like these, there’s a musicality (a word I stole from 99.9% track “Leave Me Alone” and its use of one of many self-referencing interview samples) that is not able to be pinned down as to what the music is or where the music is going to go.

To any curious and brave listener, this is a true beast of a listening experience.

-Niru Sivakumar