Five months ago, Kygo released a new song, “Undeniable” with X Ambassadors. It was okay. But I had some thoughts — read here.
Now, in March 2022, Kygo just headlined the Ultra Music Festival main stage for the first time and I think I can confidently say it’s not what anyone expected. It was dark, it was vibey, it was fun and fresh. It was not the Kygo we’ve known who would play piano (though he did bring it out eventually) and keep the vibes relatively low key.
Of course, there’s something to be said about this not being a typical tour set, especially when you’re headlining the main stage at a festival that typically expects a certain sound. Regardless, most artists wouldn’t simply compromise their sound to this extent for one show unless explicitly billed (think “DNB Set” from house/dubstep artists).
We still have yet to see if this sound translates to his next releases, or even other live sets. But for one night, Kygo completely took our breath away and we’re still listening to it the next morning.