Placid Angles was Detroit maestro John Beltran's outlet for lush ambient/breakbeat techno. He debuted the project in 1997 with the well-received album The Cry. Beltran did not revisit the moniker for more than 20 years, and focused instead on releasing music under his given name. Placid Angles made a surprise return in 2019 with First Blue Sky; Touch the Earth followed in 2021.