Elements of Light, the latest from German techno mainstay Pantha du Prince (Hendrik Weber) is out today. It’s a collaboration between Weber and a collection of bell musicians being credited here as “The Bell Laboratory.” Read any review of the album–it’s already gotten its fair share of them–and you’ll find the carillon, an instrument at the album’s center, described and almost fetishized. And, weighing in at three metric tons, it’s certainly not the most expected instrument to hear on any techno track.
But the attention being given to the carillon, along with the fact that the album gives equal credit to both Weber and The Bell Laboratory, obscures a simple fact: this is a Pantha du Prince album. It sinks or swims as a Pantha du Prince album, and it doesn’t deviate much from the template set by some of the best tracks from his 2010 album Black Noise, “Lay In A Shimmer,” “Bohemian Forest,” and “Es Schneit.” Elements is not different in kind but in degree, stretching track lengths and deemphasizing beats.
“Spectral Split,” seventeen minutes long, is the centerpiece of the five-track album. In the hands of lesser artists, a track of such length would represent little more than self-indulgence. Here, however, each minute seems essential, and the overall effect is stunning. About eight minutes in, all the track’s suggestions and explorations pull together, suddenly cohering into something dense and dancey (and not unlike Black Noise). A taut synth line percolates, magisterial bells resound, and clinically precise percussion clicks away. The track rides out this cresting wave for another eight minutes, following its natural ebbing and flowing. This is Pantha du Prince at his best; indeed this is techno music at its best. Unfortunately, the entire album doesn’t always tap into such power. Opening track “Wave” and closing track “Quantum” seem little more than new age spa music. Still, they don’t take away much from the three tracks in between, “Particle,” “Photon” and “Spectral Split.” And those tracks make this album a necessary listen.
3.5 / 5 stars
Guest post by Scott B.