Placid Angels Canada

With over 20 albums under his belt, John Beltran returns to his much loved Placid Angles project with one of his strongest albums to date. Years of experience have brought a deep focus and awareness of textures, space and emotion that now reveal a producer at the top of his game. From the sound of slowly moving mountains that is the title track “Canada” (also the first single) to the breakbeat-laden cut “Hero BK" and stand out collaborations with Vancouver-based vocalist Sophia Stel, London producer Tom VR and Bristolian Yussh it’s easy to hear why this album is special. We’d be amiss too if we didn’t mention John’s influence on producers like Lone, Four Tet, Skee Mask and Priori who notes “John’s music feels both fragile and unbreakable. Raw emotion wrapped in quiet strength.”
There were rumors that John Beltran’s new Placid Angles release would be the last for this special project but he notes “I thought it might be the last. At least for a while. But the fans of the moniker show so much love towards the project that I can't just take it away from them!”. No surprise there. Beltran started his career under the alias - his first release was the highly appreciated and inspirational single “Aquatic” released on Carl Craig’s Retroactive imprint. He notes at the time “big inspirations were 808 State, Mr. Fingers and Baby Ford. I loved the square bass and jazz chords.” But also notes it was the release of “The Cry” album for the UK Peacefrog label that really set the tone for the Placid Angles project. Looking back John observes that “The Cry” was an extension of his “Earth and Nightfall” album for R&S. “I implemented some of the sampling techniques and elements of that album but looked to create a much more nuanced and ethereal sound. Not so perfectly mixed for the dance floor. A home listening experience. Full of emotion and ambience.”
But then the project went dormant until producer Lone tracked him down to do a Placid Angles album for his imprint Magic Wire in 2019. At first Beltran really didn't want to do it. He recalls “I had kind of moved on from the sound but more and more folks had been mentioning the first album on my travels. I was intrigued with their interest so I eventually got my head around resurrecting the project.” This also led to the labels Figure and Ad 93 according to John “snoopin' around!” for further Placid Angles releases in 2021 and 2022.
The new album is called “Canada” because he was inspired by “traveling in Canada last year as he was finishing up the album. He elaborates - “Everything from the scenery to the people just made sense so I decided to dedicate this record to them and that beautiful country.”
He adds “I think you'll hear a little bit of all of the Placid records in this one. I think I encapsulated what the project has always been and will continue to be moving forward.” Asked about his love of breakbeats. Something other producers always ask about - he’s still clearly enamored “They are a mythical thing to me at this point. Samples of a past life. Snippets of a simpler time. Total nostalgia. That's what Placid Angles is. A peak back into that wonderful era of music.” On “Canada” the past is present in a joyous way but this is also an album very much connected to the now though collaborations with the next generation and John’s own ability to make an album worth coming back to over and over again. He quietly noted in conversation that he considers Placid Angles to be music sketches of the feminine. This is what makes Placid Angles releases different to his other work. Time to tune in.