DJ and producer Kaytranada impressed Victoria Park crowds with a spellbinding light show on the first day of All Points East, but the excitement was tough to sustain.
The Canadian musician closed All Points East on Friday (August 16) with an energetic set featuring favourites from 2016 break-out album 99.9% and bold releases from latest 2024 album Timeless.
Long before Kaytranada kicked off on the main stage at 9.40pm, eager crowds had formed, sacrificing spots at other acts to catch a better glimpse of the producer, known for his feel-good hip hop, R&B and dance mixes.
As an avid fan myself, I urged my group to get there an hour before proceedings began and found another ragtag group, who had arrived even earlier, streaming Manchester United v Fulham on the first day of the Premier League season.
It soon became apparent our earlier arrival was necessary to avoid watching Kaytranada on a big screen, and relief swept over our group as we found a tight, yet secure spot, bang in the middle.
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Just after we were shuffled slightly to the left, huddled as darkness fell, Kaytranada launched into his set with stunning visuals and even more emphatic dance moves.
Kaytranada, who won an award for Best Dance/ Electronic Album entitled "Bubba" at the 2021 Grammy's, was delivering from the off, taking full advantage of the festival buzz and striking effects with his most frenetic tracks.
My all time favourite "You're the One" featuring American singer-songwriter Syd had the whole crowd dancing, while "Glowed Up", made with rapper Anderson Paak, maintained a warm, upbeat feel to the night.
At this point not one person we could see was standing still.
The tempo further increased with "Drip Sweat" featuring Compton-based rapper and producer Channel Tres - the group next to us suddenly reenergised, no longer watching Sky Sports punditry, entranced instead by Kaytranada's performance in full flow.
However, more than half-way into the set, the tempo started to dip.
Perhaps it was the fact that Kaytranada played a lot of his most recognisable tracks from 2016 album 99.9% early, but the crowd had lost some of its verve.
As the impact of the visual effects started to wear off, though Kaytranada was no doubt a great choice to headline All Points East, 2021 headliner London Grammar immediately came to mind on what I thought was missing.
The indie pop band had closed the east London festival three years prior with a set that started with slow acoustics and built up to a dramatic, moving end to pulsating dance music.
Kaytranada's set, in my mind, had slightly petered out. Much like the striking visuals on show there had been a resounding impact, but little to sustain the initial excitement to a dramatic conclusion.
We left All Points East, however, satisfied with the early thrill of Kaytranada's set on what had been a wonderful day in east London.
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