KAYTRANADA Supporting The Weeknd

MJL VISIONS produced a strong slate of visuals for KAYTRANADA’s pulsating opening show on The Weeknd’s recent world tour.

Over 2022 and 2023, Grammy-winning DJ-producer KAYTRANADA has supported The Weeknd’s After Hours til Dawn Tour, opening shows across its North American, European, and South American legs. MJL VISIONS produced all visual elements of KAYTRANADA’s slot, taking audiences on a semi-surreal journey through ‘60s and ‘70s nostalgia leading up to The Weeknd’s ‘80s new wave sound.

The team studied filmic techniques, visual palettes, and stylistic elements of their chosen era, which resulted in something warmer and looser in keeping with KAYTRANADA’s signature playful bleeps and bloops as a foil to the Weeknd’s icier style.

From there, the creative team built a cohesive group of effects, incorporating infinite feedback, point cloud outlines, and slow shutter movements. As Notch Designer Chase O’Black explained, “It was really uncomplicated, and with the amount of parameters we had, we were able to dial in the details perfectly.”

They built it all out on a Sager laptop and delivered it as a standalone application, with Notch’s Web GUI allowing them to adjust specific parameters during the live show. They also found the Virtual Background feature helpful for removing everything but KAYTRANADA and cloning the artist’s image to use in their feedback effect. After Hours til Dawn has broken venue records in four different countries, with Varsity hailing the opening as “mesmerising” and “entrancing.”