"His first albums under his own name, 1995's Earth & Nightfall and 1996's cult classic Ten Days of Blue, were blissful-sounding ambient techno records that took the melodic sensibilities of the local scene to their cosmic extremes. Every beep and blip was in harmony with a lush string line, the rhythms less like breakbeats or programmed drums than trance-inducing hammered dulcimers."
"He explored jazz, post-rock, and straight-up ambient, under his own name and others, before circling back to his roots and finally reviving the Placid Angles project (after encouragement from the young UK producer Lone) on 2019's First Blue Sky and 2021's Touch the Earth. While those albums captured much of the project's early spirit and altered little, Canada, the fourth Placid Angles album, feels different."
John Beltran began with blissful ambient techno albums Earth & Nightfall (1995) and Ten Days of Blue (1996), combining melodic Detroit sensibilities with lush string lines and trance-inducing rhythms. By 1997, as Placid Angles, he drifted into new-age sounds with dislodged, hovering beats. He then explored jazz, post-rock, and ambient before reviving Placid Angles on 2019's First Blue Sky and 2021's Touch the Earth. Canada, the fourth Placid Angles album, shifts shape across tracks, moving between lush techno, yearning ambient, and deep house. Young collaborators such as Tom VR and Yushh inject assertive breakbeats and club-ready tensions, adding renewed energy.
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