Kaytranada kicks off Igloofest

Kaytranada at Igloofest 2018. Photo by Cindy Lopez

Hometown hero Kaytranada kicked off the 12th edition of Igloofest last night in front of 10,000 adoring fans.

The harsh winter finally subsided a bit, allowing the producer to weave his way through debut 99.9% and a bunch of famous remixes in milder temperatures than we’ve been used to lately. He shouted out his native St-Hubert and all those who came out to the Old Port from the South Shore.

He also dedicated a new track during the encore to what sounded like Pharrell Williams, who seemingly provided vocals on the groovy roller disco song. Kaytra said the song would appear on the next album. One can only hope for more news on that front.

Otherwise, the 90-minute set was really a confirmation that his Juno and Polaris Prize-winning debut record, 99.9%, will go down as a true Montreal classic – likely the defining local release of the last few years. Every other song he played seemed to be a cut from the 2016 album, and without fail each song received a warm response from the packed audience. In a sense, it was a giant crowd dancing to an album we had all likely listened to countless times already – even the visuals projected next to the stage were of the album cover – but it didn’t make the night feel any less momentous. This was a well-deserved homecoming for one of our finest exports.

If anything, it’s pretty remarkable that Kaytra can play a wall-to-wall set of exclusively original material and remixes and not leave people clamouring for something new. His Janet Jackson, Chance the Rapper, Missy Elliott and Teedra Moses remixes were instantly recognizable to the crowd as well. He didn’t play some of his more recent collaborations with Cassie and Craig David.

It was just about as perfect an Igloofest intro as one could’ve hoped for, and should go down as a great Montreal music moment. ■