Reports surfaced in early October that German producer Pantha du Prince would release a new album on Rough Trade early next year. The album’s title (Elements of Light), release date (January 15th), and tracklisting (below) were revealed today, along with album track “Photon“. As that effort shows, the five tracks on Elements of Light highlight synths, percussion, and a bell carillon, which is a concert carillon in this case since it features 50 bronze bells (anything less than 47 has a different name). The three-ton instrument provides extra flavor to Hendrik Weber’s striking electro-induced sound. There’s a sense of foreboding throughout “Photon”, guided by hypnotic bells moving swiftly over whispers of synths and underlying bass.
Weber first discovered the bell carillon in 2010 while in Oslo, Norway. For the album he recruited Lars Petter Hagan to arrange and conduct, while Vegar Sandholt played the carillon. In addition to several other collaborators, Elements of Light is credited to Pantha Du Prince & the Bell Laboratory for that reason. Elements of Light will feature no traditional song breaks, meaning that the five tracks are expected to seamlessly integrate into one another, hopefully creating a sound representative of its elemental light theme. From the sounds of “Photon”, it’s certainly on the right track. Tour dates are below, with more to be announced shortly.
Elements of Light:
1. Wave
2. Particle
3. Photon
4. Spectral Split
5. Quantum
Tour dates:
10/20 Hamburg, Germany – Kampnagel *
10/23 Montreal, QC – La Société des arts technologiques
10/24 Toronto, ON – Wrongbar
10/25 Washington, DC – U Street Music Hall
10/26 Asheville, NC – Moogfest
10/27 New York, NY- Blkmarket
10/30 Miami, FL – Bardot
10/31 San Francisco, CA – 103 Harriet
11/1 Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
11/2 Chicago, IL – Smart Bar
11/3 Vancouver, BC – Venue
11/4 Seattle, WA – Neumos
* with the Bell Laboratory
