Pantha du Prince and The Bell Laboratories – Elements of Light

A beautiful collaboration between Hendrik Weber AKA Pantha du Prince and The Bell Laboratories that pushes the boundaries of experimental electronic music in novel and interesting ways, Elements of Light takes thematic influence from light-theory and translates it to ambient, almost perfectly harmonious micro-house music. Heavy Neoclassical undertones and a well-exercised use of alternative percussion anchor the release in the traditional style of Du Prince, while the addition of the sounds of the Bell Laboratory and the overall experimental feel of the release really give the Elements of Light EP its own distinct flavor; the whole album falls somewhere between du Prince’s track, ‘The Splendor’ and his tune, ‘Saturn Strobe,’ taking a much more ambient route than we’re used to- even with Pantha du Prince, and creating masterful and exciting EP. There are very few people making music like Pantha du Prince does, and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone else who could do it near so well.

We got the chance to see Pantha du Prince perform at San Francisco’s 1015 Folsom Street not too long ago where we watched him rock the house with similar sounds to those found on this new EP; in retrospect, we might have predicted that this was the sort of direction that this masterful enigma of his art was aiming for- in truth, we were just too busy dancing. Our bad!

In any case, Elements of Light is a masterful work of sonic art, and has received, like much of the du Prince’s work, a somewhat mixed reception. Still, reviews unsurprisingly have erred on the positive side, as most of those who listen to this eclectic producer do so almost expecting this kind of experimental and ambient vibe. It’s what many (I, for one), have come to love about Pantha du Prince’s music, or have loved from the start.

Though each track is definitely capable of standing alone as a work of music and of art, Elements of Light is definitely best listened to as a one-pass experience. Every tune on the album blends seamlessly with the next, steadily building this ambient beast of a mix that never ceases to surprise and impress. While tracks, Wave and Quantum serve as a nice beginning and end to the EP, respectively, its the third and fourth tracks on the album, Photon and Spectral Split, that stand out the most to us.

So the overall verdict? Elements of Light is a really good EP. Its not the same as Pantha du Prince favorites Black Noise and The Bliss, but it’s not supposed to be. This lively mix is an eclectic and engaging EP for any audiophile’s collection, and I highly recommend it to old fans and musical nomads alike.

Pantha du Prince – Photon

Pantha du Prince – Spectral Split