John Roberts

Glass Eights is the hotly anticipated debut album from John Roberts, a deep house producer originally from Ohio, and the first American to be signed to Hamburg's Dial label. The album represents the quality and attention to detail you expect from the label, leaning marginally more towards house than previous releases. With its lean, reverb-laden production, static-laced samples and percussiveness, it fits right in with Dial's sound, especially Efdemin and Pantha du Prince. On opening track "Lesser," the warm washes and tasteful use of clicks and hand drums open out into expansive, eerie piano. Moments of dark intrigue, such as on "Interlude (Telephone)," are resolved and lightened by the beat. Equal parts Berlin and Chicago, off-key and sometimes dark, the end result is uplifting. Both Roberts and Dial believe in the album format and his debut flows at a perfect pace, one that works equally well on the headphones or in the club.