My university’s library is packed, it’s nearly half past eleven and I really should be doing my coursework right now yet I find myself torn between heading over to either Nando’s or McD’s for lunch… For any student reading TBW, trust me when I say that John Roberts will make your days in the library feel less depressing and make you forget how slow time seems to pass by. And in my particular case, make you feel less guilty for eating four cheeseburgers in less than three days. Don’t ask me how but it just does.

In my opinion, instrumental tracks of any kind of genre help a great deal when working on your coursework. It has something to do with the relaxation of certain parts of your brain, though given to my incredibly short attention span you’d just find me staring out the library window most likely daydreaming of being in Courtney Cox’s shoes in The Boss’ Dancing in the Dark music video.

Berlin-based American producer John Roberts stirred up a lot of buzz in the dance music scene when he released his debut album Glass Eights back in October 2010 under Hamburg’s well-respected deep house label Dial Records. Joining the Dial family in 2008, Roberts was the sole non-German act within the group and this naturally made him feel like he was put under a microscope with everyone watching his every move. In the end, John’s hard work paid off: he became a key figure within the record label with the anticipated release of Glass Eights. The Ohio-kid explained how difficult it was for him to finish the LP, continuously working on it for over nine months to the point that he became incredibly obsessed with it. His hard work can be heard throughout the entire album with its haunting yet soothing melodies and mixture of organic and electronic sounds. One of the main challenges behind this album was the foreseeable battle against floor and home listener: which would it please the most? Roberts pointed out in an interview that working within a house framework yet in an album format can be extremely challenging as they, as he claims, ‘sort of have almost inherently opposite goals’. I believe that Glass Eights is most appropriate for a chilled night at home accompanied by a bottle of red or white wine, whichever flows your boat. Either way, once you start listening to Glass Eights there’s no turning back.

Roberts is currently traveling around Europe and is playing a live set at Corsica Studios in London on the 14th of April alongside Jack Savidge (Friendly Fires), Edwin Congreave (Foals), Junior Boys and Will Saul. I am very curious to see how his live performances are like. I don’t know why but I can imagine him being the type that would have some sort of crazy surprise up his sleeve. But more seriously I believe that he’s an act that should not be missed; his talent is too big to be ignored. His future plans? I honestly don’t know but I am hoping for a second album sometime soon.