John Beltran

Like many of his Detroit techno peers, John Beltran's work ranges between jazz, Latin music and sleek, soulful electronics. Beltran began producing in the early '90s, becoming labelmates with Carl Craig when his debut EP, Earth and Nightfall, was released on the 33rpm Records / Sinewave imprint; releases for Peacefrog and Apollo solidified his reputation as an unusually deep purveyor of ambient techno. The 1996 release Ten Days of Blue, with its shimmering arpeggios and fluid grace, remains an under-appreciated high point for Detroit techno's most melodic phase. Moving in the '00s to labels like Ubiquity and Exceptional, Beltran began delving deeper into soul, jazz and various Latin styles, but despite his ambitions, he never let go of his ability to make music sound unusually liquid, with congas bubbling up beneath waves of Rhodes, horns and voice.