- Ethereal house and downtempo.
- There's someone like Robert Steenkamer in every city. They've been DJing for years and quietly go about making great tracks, never getting caught up in, or benefiting from, hype. It's easy to overlook these artists, who don't hustle for gigs or pop off on Twitter—they just go to their day job and hit the studio every spare moment. This quiet graft has paid off on Steenkamer's latest EP, Glass Road, an impeccably crafted set of ethereal house and downtempo.
Last time I checked in with Steenkamer, he was in the midst of a prolific year. (The Toronto artist had a hand in five EPs in 2016.) It's been quiet since. On Glass Road, he picks up where he left off, refining the analog style of previous releases. "Swizik" and "Remember When" are playful disco-house tracks that bring Morgan Geist's recent records to mind. Steenkamer, like the Metro Area cofounder, is a mixdown don—every kick sits perfectly in the mix, each delay meticulously timed.
A drawing on the cover of Glass Road depicts a Lamborghini cruising down a road flanked by massive jewels, and the title track lives up to this luxurious, otherworldly scene. The 85-BPM "Glass Road" is replete with '80s-style gated snares and lush synth leads. Though just three minutes long, it's one of Steenkamer's best. Sensing the track's epic potential, Flørist goes for a cosmic garage-house style on his superb "Pressure Mix." He stutters the bassline like Kerri Chandler, providing a sturdy base for rave pianos and wordless vocals swirling in effects.
TracklistA1 Inner Rhythm
A2 Swizik
A3 Glass Road
B1 Glass Road (Flørist Pressure Mix)
B2 Remember When