John Roberts - Glass Eights
Pickup available at Holdrons Arcade
Usually ready in 24 hours
John Roberts - Glass Eights
Holdrons Arcade
135A Rye Lane
Unit 11 Holdrons Arcade
London SE15 4ST
United Kingdom
Label: Dial – dial CD 22
Format: CD, Album
Country: Germany
Released: 2010
Genre: Electronic
Style: Deep House
John Roberts became the first American artist on Dial in 2008, and Glass Eights — nearly two years in the making — announced a sound impeccably curated and delicately enigmatic. Where the deep house template had largely relied on synthetic orchestras and digital polish, Roberts approached it with a dusty, orchestral sensibility that opened the genre up to a world of new acoustic possibilities with a flair that hadn't been paralleled since.
The grooves are immaculate and the four-to-the-floor unflinching, but it is Roberts' use of instrumental samples that sets Glass Eights entirely apart. A classical background aids him in crafting subtle violin, piano and cello lines that never resort to the emotionally domineering conventions of the uplifting piano breakdown or the melancholic string sample — instead, these orchestral melodies lend the music an earthiness, a tactile quality of worn materials that stands in sharp contrast to the genre's over-polished productions.
Lesser kicks off with a weathered lope rather than a full-on rush; Navy Blue is underpinned by what sounds like a backmasked violin; Pruned moves with a funereal bass procession; August sends a swift wind across soft autumnal tones. The closing suite is where Roberts truly lifts off — Went replacing the typical beatless synth-noodle with a keening orchestral piece before the title track finally looses the stomp alongside a stylish piano line that shows how brilliantly keys can work outside of conventional major-chord territory. Rendering awkwardness enigmatic and anxiety beautiful, Glass Eights sounds as fresh and singular today as it did on release.
