With memories of 2022’s ‘Serendipia’ still at the forefront of many minds, Oath are proud to offer up a fresh perspective on the John Beltran produced LP, with some stellar names featuring that will help the musical love affair continue onwards and upwards…

The art of the remix is certainly alive and well, and is often the final piece of the jigsaw on records where a alternative perspective sits alongside original tunes – a mirrored yet respectful sound that adds to the overall musical narrative. It often helps when the source material has so much to take in, and on ‘Serendipia’ the sonic ideas that John Beltran conjured up are a treasure trove for artists to work with. A breezy, Brazilian love affair, ‘Serendipia’ is the kind of record to take around in your pocket, a sound that nurtures the body and soul with its delicate rhythms and enriching, mellow yet captivating melodic sequences. From the walking pace through to the rhythms of life, Beltran captured something truly extraordinary on this record, such is what we have come to expect from his finger tips. Sunrises, sunsets, orange hued afternoons and deep blue seas, it is a record for the pastoral times, to riding back and soaking up the goodness – music that maintains smiles in abundance, no matter where or when.

The revisit to ‘Serendipia’ saw Oath approach some top notch producers, who provided a bountiful array of alternative styles and takes on the hazy rhythms and gorgeous melodic features of Beltran’s original tracks. In doing so, the artists involved managed to capture the core essence of the original LP, and that is of the broad diversity of feel which Beltran provided, with tracks swinging from genre and style with ease and intuition. What is perhaps handled the best is the balance between the original cuts and the musical personality of the music makers involved, and that makes for a truly feel good experience.

Danilo Plessow’s remix of ‘Sa Coma Blue’ slides into view as the record’s opener. Plessow turbo charges the core melodic drivers of the original, moving the atmosphere into a club environment with high line drumming patterns, driving synth sequences and a firm hand on controlling the shifts in energy and mood. Kareem Ali is up next with his spin on ‘Cachaca’, with a house leaning twist put on this rhythmically enriching palette. Ali draws focus on a piano riff found within the original, which acts as the melodic cornerstone of the track as it weaves and grooves into the night.

Melodiesfonie turns up next with their take on ’Suenos Soleados’, as the light starts to pour in on the dance floor. Slow, sultry and easy going, this track breezes along with a gentle whisper, with plenty of space available for a glorious array of instrumentation. Guitar and keys are given plenty of time to breathe, particularly in those dreamy breakdown moments. Session Victim then present their take on ‘Ask Anlari’, with this reworking spreading out the relatively short original cut and adding a fresh heap of drums whilst incorporating the original melodic density expertly. This one unravels like the freshest sunset going, its one to dip your head into. ‘Em Trancoso’, which lands next, is flipped from sun kissed to night time groover with some class by Em Trancoso. The rhythm and melody is spread out, with a hefty dosage of space added into the blend which creates a rhythmic work of art. Lastly, we have Xique’s remix of ‘Yangu Milele’, which stays true to the original in all the best ways. Similar tempo, similar thuds and a spread of rhythmic notions that will get the heart skipping, a perfect way to see out the record.

‘Serendipia’ provided a rich insight into John Beltran’s musical universe, and this remix record helps to add further to that album’s rich legacy. All the artists involved throw their hats into the ring, providing enlightening and characterful reworkings which are as dynamic as they are diverse. Each track flows into one another, capturing the musical dexterity of the original music and in turn contributing to a wholesome, rewarding musical experience. A record with many moments, and Oath couldn’t be more thrilled to share it with the world. More

Roots Underground kicks off 2024 with a bang, presenting the EP of one of the most fascinating living legends of Detroit techno: John Beltran. Although he has never stopped producing music (luckily for us!), this EP represents a more than welcome return of John Beltran to those more classic techno sounds that have made him one of the most iconic producers of this musical genre in the world.
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John Beltran in proper downtown Detroit mood! Including a remix from the Knight Of The Jaguar man himself Rolando! BIG! More

John Beltran with 2 analog raw and fierce sounding Acid trax! Limited hand stamped copies.. More

Detroit's John Beltran can do no wrong if you ask us, and what he does do is always famously varied, from sound design for TV to melodic techno excellence via ambient beauty. Here for MotorCity Wine he revisits his Back To Bahia series with a third volume that finds him flexing his Afro-Brazilian deep house chops. The 7" opens up with the jazzy boogie of Lsaura' which is steeped in Minneapolis funk and will get cultured dancefloors in a spin. 'As The Sunsets' that appears on the flip and is a superbly emotive sound with wispy late night melodies and glowing harmonies and shuffling Latin grooves. Essential. More

The iconic John Beltran returns once again to Oath to exercise his passionate love affair with all things Balearic, and to say he expanded upon his 22’ EP with style is a severe understatement..

Based purely on his outputs over the years, there is little that seemingly John Beltran cannot do, and the results of his near 30-year long career are there for all to experience, taste, and sample. His music simply speaks differently, touching upon the palette of emotions that make up the human experience, be it the tenderest of sensory affirmations through to the euphoric, emboldening sweeps that get the listener lost deep within themselves – in the most perfected way imaginable. Emerging from the spectrum of sounds that made up that oh-so-referenced decade of the 90s, Beltran stands tall amongst his peers in this sense, with his discography alluding to many differing spheres of influence, a testament to the age-old adage of never standing still – there’s always room to grow, to experience, to nourish. From the sheer dance-laden brilliance of Placid Angles, the experimental grooves of Nostalgic, the techno excellence of Indio, and everything that permeates the music released under his own name, John Beltran continues to reset the goalposts, and we simply have to sit back and watch it all evolve right in front of us.

True to his broad-reaching range of influences, Beltran’s passion for Jazz, Brazilian and Balearic music has shone through in numerous ways within his career. His early 2000s LP releases on Ubiquity and his work with Sol Set are prime examples of how to merge live percussive influences with gorgeous, emotive synth work and vocals, and clearly, these ideals stuck with Beltran as he revitalized the Sol Set project for last year’s ‘Ola de Novo’ on All Good, alongside the magnificent ‘Para Viajeros’ EP. Both records showcased a majesty of instrumentation, a series of moods that are deeply evocative and pleasant to the ears on numerous levels. But there is never a sense of being lost within it all, as all the elements work tirelessly to create a perfected atmosphere of being, a cordial and highly tuned environment that feels so very believable. Its music you want to hold in your hands for the rest of your days, a vessel that transports to that idealised version of life where everything feels just right.

‘Serendipia’, Beltran’s new LP, carries forward the ideals of Sol Set and reignites the quietly evolving flames that were lit last year, and as an elaboration on his craft and its sound it’s really quite something. The title suggests the pleasantry that can be found in pleasant surprises, and whilst we aren’t surprised at the technical application or instrumentation on display (a signature of Beltran throughout his career). Still, we are pleasantly surprised by the display of emotive tools that are used to build up the soundscapes in which we find ourselves. Every tune is given time and space to breathe, and touches upon the lexicon of Balearic language and vibrations, stopping by the coast on multiple occasions to the point which you can feel the sand between your feet. The rhythms are set to the rhythms of life, such as on the tracks ‘Taina’ and ‘Cachaca’, which focus on up-tempo latin and jazz rhythms to get the pace set beautifully. Many of the tracks, such as ‘Em Trancoso’, ‘Sa Coma blue’ (featuring John Arnold), ‘Ask Anlari’, and ‘La Hermosa Vista’ have trance-like qualities to them, with free-flowing pianos and synths evolving expertly over simmering, aquatic rhythms. Towards the business end of the record, ‘Suenos Soleados’ and ‘Mallorca’ take us back to the overlook, basking in the 30 degree heat as the blue hues envelope the senses. To wrap things up, ‘Yangu Milele’ movs us to 5am or so, perhaps, where the rhythm is slowing down but the intensity remains just the same. As journeys go, there’s so much here to fall deep within, to be unravelled both within and out width the mind and body – to be honest, we come to expect nothing less from someone like John Beltran, who’s continual dips into the space between instrumentation and emotion conjure up records like no other.

Closing your eyes for a moment when engaging with this record transports us into a world of vibrancy, interactivity, and colour, where the thoughts and feelings of a thousand experiences transpose themselves onto us, inviting us to part with something of our own. John Beltran has hit a rich vein of form with his recent excursions into this kind of musical environment, but its one he is very familiar with, one he has a true appreciation and understanding of. No wonder his music speaks in such a way, and on this record his expert approach in present and correct – and the music itself, well, let’s just say transformative and majestic might be two ways of describing but a small part of the experience. Summer’s round the corner, time to escape once again… More

After his superlative and rather unexpected foray into Afro and Latin fusion with his Sol Set project, John Beltran returns to more familiar territory with a rendition of his classic mid-90s album 'Ten Days of Blue' recorded at this year's Dekmantel in Amsterdam. We get a real feel for the whole gig experience, from the sound of murmured anticipation and intro tape to the resolution at the outro and the main meat of the music itself - lively, optimistic, groovy but understated and chilled at the same time - sits somewhere between his ambient and harder techno work. Among Beltran's very finest output. More

New album from one of the big legendary Detroit producers. Aesthete is a warm journey into deep timeless electronix sounds, highly recommended! More

Let the sunshine in- John Beltran is back to Brasil for Back To Bahia Vol. 2. Similar to his last foray on MotorCity Wine Recordings Beltran has assembled an all-star cast of characters including John Arnold, Jeremy Ellis, James Simonson, and Kiko Navarro to deliver a slice of bright jazzy deep house heaven. Kiko Navarro's "Motor City Jazz Remix" starts the release with driving live drums and percussion for discerning dance floors. On the flip John's original mix keeps the energy moving, before going to the brilliant Sol Set Collective Rework which blends live energy with driving production for those special dance floor moments. Pressed loud to high quality 12" vinyl in Detroit. More

The always-innovative John Beltran surprises us with his first release on a Romanian label. The circularity of Energy Circle, the beauty of The Cycles EP, sets a typically Beltran soundscape, a melodic mood for this three-pieced beauty. The Sun Also Rises on the flip side, making it the rather bright beast of the release, while the marching B2 – Going Uphill Fast (hope on the horizon) — is a granular techno classic, closing Eufonic Records' first release on a very Detroit note. More

Detroit composer John Beltran returns to Delsin with The Season Series. A collection of subtle and colorful compositions of beautiful synth melodies creating heavenly atmospheres. A blissful walk through breezy spring fields where the gentle sunrays thaw frosty winter scenes. More

Prince of Queens aka Felipe Quiroz lets loose his blissfully rhythms on a four track EP for NYC’s Second Hand Records. From melodic excursions through the realms of house to tougher, percussive, arp laden cuts and atmospheric techy deepness it’s an intelligent and introspective body of work. Toronto’s Ciel then flips the script on the title track, turning it into a glitched out, club ready weapon – the perfect combination to complete the EP. More

With releases on the likes of Nite Grooves, Uzuri, Church and Axe On Wax, DJ Aakmael steps up to the plate for NYC’s Second Hand Records seventh release taking you on a journey through the realms of deep house. Raw, packed with feeling and bursting with musicianship, Aakmael hits with those late night, meditative keys, juiced-up bass lines and MPC-crunched drums to provide three cuts that groove endlessly from dusk till dawn. More

A1 - Get Rite
A2 - Body Language
B1 - Free Thought
B2 – Trysheen

Atalanta’s hotly tipped Stefan Ringer comes correct with a four-track breeze through deep, hazed out, syncopated house for Second Hand Records. Following standout releases on the likes of NDATL, People's Potential Unlimited and Argot and comparisons with the likes of Marcellus Pittman and Kyle Hall, Ringer is a talent you do not want to pass up.

Though never in doubt, 'Side Notes' sets out Ringers stall for all to see. At points MPC crunched samples lay over the top of punchy basslines and echoed ad libs, at others free flowing keys dance around layered drum loops and off kilter percussive hits.

There’s a cut here for everyone - a deft magic, versatility and spark that you need in the bag. More

A1 - Peace Of Mind
A2 - Front & Center
B1 - Cold Sweat
B2 - Cold Sweat (Byron The Aquarius Remix)

Tetrode Music head honcho and Sound Signature affiliate, Specter, lines up the next Second Hand Records NYC release and it’s that deep, soulful goodness you need in your life.

'Peace of Mind' hits right from the needle drop. Made for the dancers! Listen to this on a real sound system for that enhanced feeling.

'Front & Center' keeps the energy flowing, mixing deep chords over dark warehouse bass lines. Big leagues tune!

'Cold Sweat' would fit snuggly against any Larry Heard record, or maybe its just that Chi-town flavor soul music we love! Byron The Aquarius adds another layer of flavor to this already killer cut. Deeeeeeep! More

Deep house for a proper all night party vibes. Baby powder on the dance floor highly recommended. More