John Beltran: Ten Days of Blue

I decided today to showcase an album that came out in 1995 by John Beltran. This album really captures what I loved about the mid-nineties Electro-ambient explosion (look at all the Warp and Astralwerks release during this time frame). The first track "Flex" start with the chorded pad reminiscent of "B-12" and "Black Dog Productions" but with a much more aggressive rhythm along the lines of early "Aphex Twin"/"Autechre" work. The second track "Collapse of Dreams" has a sublime plucked intro with more soft pads and leads from that era. The rest of the album goes along the lines of the second track with plucked synths and gentle pads creating alternating melodies. The most 'dancey' of the tracks here is "Deluge" utilizing the "ambient house" sound made popular by Alex Patterson from "the Orb", though the dance beat is used only sparingly in the middle of the track for only a couple minutes before flowing into ambience. For those looking for some nice relaxing electronic music, this is definitely it. As far as production goes, it is not as innovative as what "Orbital" or "Aphex Twin" was doing at that same time, yet the end result is still a really nice listen and worth checking out.

» album @ emusic
» artist profile @ last.fm