- West coast DJ/producer John Beltran delivers his second album In Full Color on Ubiquity records, eleven years since his first project on Carl Craig's Retroactive Records.
Beltran returns to his Latin roots and turns out an eclectic mix of Latin jazz, lounge, electronic and percussive house. John Beltran's production skills and experience shine through with tracks like Rain in Shibuya that starts off with a catchy synth line which builds with sharp snare hits, deep baseline, ambient percussive sound and smooth guitar sliding in to change the flavour, a very pleasant pool side manner.
Tracks such as Kissed By The Sun - a mid tempo tune with conga's, tight jazz drumming, lush vocals and piano synth tones definitely bring out Latin/Brazilian vibes heard throughout the album.
Big tunes like Dia Brioso and Azulaje give the album a much more up-beat, thoughts of Jazzanova sound to start the head nodding and the toe tapping.
Smooth and ambient Your Colors stands out with a beautiful vocal chorus, quirky synth that rubs the right way fused with jazz tunes and a double bass that keeps you listening till the end. Subtle chord progressions and a guitar riff that wonders around makes for a title track.
Candela (dubbed a corker by Rainer Trüby (Trüby Trio)) gives it a harder edge, and a great baseline when played loud sounds and feels good but keeps in turn with the rest of the album.
Bongos and acoustic guitar on She's In Hooks. Spoken word thrown into the mix gives a more modern feel and catches the track just right. Keyboard and vocals also features Ayro who has supported such acts as Roy Davis Jr (Ubiquity) and more recently Roy Ayers.
Cracking sticks and a harder, more obvious bassline builds Pica to a vocal piece that give insight into the extent of Beltrans production talent.
Pictures And Indian Summer brings sunny days and early Sundays around, with more of an electronic feel for the album but a smooth moving tune that flows well.
Vocal collaborations and live performances from Partner/vocalist Elsa (Stateless, Swell Session) and fellow Detroit guitarist/producer
John Arnold work with Beltram to create a laid back musical affair that's definitely easy on the ears.
Beltran's definitely in full colour.