Caleb Cornett produces lush yet wistful deep house under the name
Amtrac. The Kentucky native originally began producing melancholy, indie-leaning dance-pop featuring his own vocals; he made his debut in 2010 with the three-song Why? EP, followed by the 2011 full-length Came Along. However, his remixes for other artists put him on the map. In particular, his 2013 remix of
Kaskade's "Atmosphere" gained him much exposure, and
Amtrac opened for
Kaskade on several stops during his national tour that year.
Amtrac appeared at festivals such as Movement (in Detroit) and the Ultra Music Festival, and toured with
Kygo and
Kastle. He also remixed songs by
Two Door Cinema Club,
Ellie Goulding,
Zhu, and many others. His own tracks became more hypnotic, displaying his disco and house influences more clearly. He used less of his own vocals, instead producing instrumentals or utilizing samples of soul legends like
Marvin Gaye and
Stevie Wonder. In 2014, he began releasing tracks on
Mark Knight's
Toolroom Records. Subsequent releases appeared on labels such as W&O Street Tracks, Openers, and Birds That Fly. ~ Paul Simpson