The artist I have chosen for my creative research assignment is Kaytranada. His birth name is Louis Kevin Celestin and he was raised in Montreal from a very young age after his family moved from Haiti. The album I have picked is titled “99.9%”, his debut album, released on May 6 2016. The artist is a renowned self-taught DJ, producer and beatmaker. He has gained traction due to his remixes of popular songs released on platforms such as Bandcamp and Soundcloud. The album cover was made by Ricardo Cavolo, a Spanish Montreal based illustrator and graphic designer. He has created two main album covers for “99.9%”, both similar in style. He has also done detailed murals, individual pieces of artwork, a musical diary book, and other album covers. His work is primarily focused on digital art. The album cover that I am referring to is the Canadian version.

 

        In my opinion, the album art strongly connects with the music. The songs on the album convey a feeling of intense euphoria, encapsulating sprouts of groovy elation. It creates a wide range of ecstatic emotions, almost emulating the nature of a rainbow. This feeling is portrayed in the album cover, as one can notice a multitude of bright colours, each contrasting with one another. Moreover, there are plenty of elements scattered all across the 1:1 square. For instance, there are lightning bolts, stars, planes, volcanoes, suns, skulls, firepits, leaves, planets, swords, etc. All of which have a fantasy-like manner, bringing out the utter sense of creativity in the music. An important thing to notice is that this large quantity of elements brings a feeling of consistent chaos. They all compliment one another, in complete cohesiveness.

 

          This blend can be associated with the mix of genres in the album, such as the incorporation of disco, funk, hip-hop and house. In addition, we find a character that takes up a large part of the overall composition, establishing the utter importance of the character. They are on a bike, in bright deep red. This colour usually represents bold emotions, such as love or danger. The bike itself is in neutral tones such as white, grey and black. Yet the character is wearing detailed clothing featuring lightning bolts and a crown. There are also flames of fire behind them. An individual can interpret that all these elements work together to signify the power the character possesses as they move forward in this world of intense and radical themes of life, death, and creativity. I also sense a vivid movement of eager biking and speeding through Montreal, with Kaytranada’s music accompanying this journey of an album cover. Thus, the art and music connect smoothly and accurately together. The artwork oozes imagination and originality, which makes me feel stimulated and inspired everytime I look at it.

 

          As for the music, the lively sound that fuels every track is heavily inspired and rooted in traditional Haitian music and rhythm. Music-wise, the track “Lite Spots” presents powerful and pungent snaps full of spirit, snappy instrumentals, a soulful sample on a loop without sounding redundant, a passionate bassline, and clear drum programming. This exuberant energy showcased in this track translates directly to the cheerful and striking tones on the album cover. It makes me feel both intense and warm like the sun and the fire symbols, as well as airy and free like the clouds and the airplane images. Lyrics wise, the song “Leave Me Alone” parallels the album cover, as the act of “leaving” and wanting to be isolated from a certain person. It is portrayed on the album cover as the character is seen physically moving away from a location with keen expectancy. Moreover, the song reflects themes of heartbreak, and as love is an intricate element that involves so many feelings like pleasure, sacrifice, sadness, trust, happiness, and pain, all these traits can be seen symbolized through the album cover with the love icon, the palm tree, etc.

 

          I connect with the album, because of the exploration of the mundane as well as the more enticing elements that life has to bring. I believe that a variety of emotions and themes helps make the art and the music a lot more relatable since human beings are always cultured hungry, looking for something that will resonate with them on both the surface and the deeper level. This album has the ability to communicate that range in an effective and influential way. I also admire Kaytranada’s creativity and authenticity in every single one of his projects, as well as the Montreal pride coming from both visual and auditory local art.

​

​

Bibliography

 

Estiler, Keith. “Meet Ricardo Cavolo, a Self-Taught Artist Who Creates ‘Fire Artwork’ by Blending Music & Fashion Influences.” HYPEBEAST, HYPEBEAST, 20 June 2017, https://hypebeast.com/2017/6/ricardo-cavolo-mural-festival-2017-interview 

​

KAYTRANADA, “KAYTRANADA - LITE SPOTS.” YouTube, YouTube, 10 May 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZnou4zthz4&ab_channel=KAYTRANADA. 

​

Morgan, Claudia. “Men of Montreal: Kaytranada X Ricardo Cavolo.” THE MODERN RENAISSANCE, THE MODERN RENAISSANCE, 20 June 2019, www.themodernrenaissance.com/culture/2018/7/18/men-of-montreal-kaytranadaxrobertocavolo. 

​

Stisi, Bastien. “Kaytranada x Ricardo Cavolo - 99,9% - Néoprisme.” Néoprisme - Artwork & Music, 19 June 2016, http://neoprisme.com/kaytranada-ricardo-cavolo-99-9/ 

​

XLRecordings, “KAYTRANADA - Leave Me Alone (Ft. Shay Lia)”. YouTube, YouTube, 12 Aug. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGdtbgSvVzw&ab_channel=XLRecordings.