Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

"On Canada, these defining qualities of Beltran's work reach a new high point, evoking the towering mountain peaks, undulating forests and glacial waterways of Canada's great sprawl in every ascendant synth sequence and reverb swell. There is no one fixed approach — every track has its own distinct qualities that feed into the undulating narrative of the album. The swirling fingerpicked guitar and pointed piano chimes of opening track 'Sainte Anne' might suggest an album of ambient to follow, and certainly there are some decisive forays into beatless composition on the likes of 'Reminds Me Of The Rain' with its cavernous polysynth drones and processed vocals. Likewise 'Sweet Morning Dream' cradles the record's final stretch in a blissful cascade of gated chords.

However, the majority of Canada is driven by rhythm. The title track creates a mesmerising balance of big room boom and dreamy atmospherics with liberal use of reverb, starting as a drums-first workout but steadily building to a glorious peak of symphonic harmony. 'Sun' is a dazzling, angular adventure into rapid-fire drum machine programming backed up with sweeping pads and balmy flute lines. 'Hero' finds its groove in nagging 2-step, offering an alternative vision to the evocative potential locked with UK garage thanks to the snatches of voice and nimble synth lines darting around the mix. 'Hands Of Love' eases into a trip-hop beatdown to set up the album's denouement. 

More than just a solo endeavour, Canada's extensive list of collaborators is testament to the respect Beltran commands across eras and scenes. Emergent Vancouver-based singer Sophia Stel brings a dusky elegance and rainy day pop swerve to the rough Amen breaks and sentimental chord progressions of 'I Want What I Want'. London-based techno explorer Tom VR lends an extra layer of wistful synth to 'Tides Alternate', while Bristol's Yushh lends her intricate programming and future-minded sound design chops to 'Wildfire'. 

The natural fusion of Beltran's sound with this next generation of artists is testament to the evergreen quality of his music. Beltran himself acknowledges the nostalgia bedded into certain sounds he draws for on Canada, but equally it's an album that could only have manifested in the here and now. It's an open-eyed, open-eared, open-hearted expression steeped in past experience while embracing all that is yet to come, delivered by an artist with an especially emotive take on the techno tradition. "