Rating: NNNN
The idea of an electronic artist like Pantha du Prince (aka Hendrik Weber) collaborating with Norwegian percussion ensemble the Bell Laboratory to compose an album around a 3-ton carillon (aka church bells) isn’t that odd when you consider how integral chiming metallic sounds have been to du Prince’s previous work. Why not take them from the digital world to the physical?
The sonic elements aren’t so new for him, but the arrangements and composition style are, presumably born out of the bells themselves. There are still electronic components, but the focus is clearly on letting the acoustic instruments do the heavy lifting, so the work becomes less about the treatment of a sound and more about the notes themselves.
The results are lonely and cold. The disc’s not actually emotionless, but its themes would be much easier to identify in pop songs about love or hate. The melodies’ stoicism seems to reflect much of the empty, brutal beauty of modern life.
Top track: Spectral Split
