Many in the dance music world know John Summit, the new-generation club king whose unfiltered social media portrays a man who’s turned his career into one never-ending party. But few know John Schuster, the self-described introvert behind the John Summit persona. Summit reconciles the two on his debut album, Comfort in Chaos, revealing that he’s equally capable of showing vulnerability and restraint as he is bashing out dance-floor stompers. “EAT THE BASS”, whose engulfing low end and relentless drums merit its all-caps title, pulses with the rowdy tech-house energy of hits such as Summit’s 2020 breakout “Deep End”. Though much of the album can similarly be slotted into DJ sets, it’s more rooted in the soaring melodies and songwriting—“something that really hits your emotions, your soul,” as he once put it on Apple Music’s danceXL Radio show—that have defined his current evolution. Singer HAYLA makes longing euphoric on “Where You Are”, and the aching resolve of “Shiver” (“And I feel it now/Want this forever”) equally applies to love and Summit reflecting on his whirlwind rise. Even as Kaskade collaboration “Resonate” ups the BPM into driving melodic techno, its swirling vocals pierce the shadowy soundscape with their celebration of spiritual connection. Comfort in Chaos also finds Summit stepping outside of his comfort zone. “Go Back” with Sub Focus is a union of house and drum ’n’ bass that unexpectedly morphs from the former style to the latter, and “Stay With Me” is measured in its breaks-filled approach. Closing track “palm of my hands”, a dreamy, liquid drum ’n’ bass song, isn’t even really made for the dance floor. Still, it best sums up the producer’s expanded outlook on the music he can make: “No shits are given/It’s my life, I’ma live it/I don’t need your permission...Where I end up, only Heaven knows/I’ve got the world in the palm of my hands.”