Pantha du Prince: This Bliss [Dial]

My stab at it, Tim: It's all of a piece as much compositionally as sonically, so you get to really explore his sensibility, and Weber is the kind of artist for whom sensibility is all, rather than a brand identity's, bountiful though that brand identity may be. I find him hard to write about, which is clearly my limitation since what's so attractive is how sumptuous and immersive his music is; a lot of what I pick up on from that album is how completely he's showing off his facets, limited as they are in a strict sense. It's a narrower cohesion than a Total comp but it's also deeper, a portrait rather than a snapshot. Or, simpler: it really works as an album, maaaan.

(This Bliss isn't in my decade Top 10; it's 77th.)

Poke holes in this:

The postpunk/disco-rock/nu-electro axis : Sound of Silver :: Early Kompakt/microminimal : [i]This Bliss

Maybe?

I like that, even if I hesitate to fully endorse it.

My intention, I should note, is more relationship-to than culminating-in.

Yeah I guess all of that makes sense, and I do very much like the album.

I guess the thing that works even better in an "album, maaan" sense for me is mixes, and in my top 100 stuff like 'Hypercity' and 'Immer' and 'Friends' and 'Metawuffmischfelge', each of which attain that "portrait" feel while also being broader in their aims, would push out the space that would otherwise exist for single artist albums such as this. Though the vaguely similar single artist album I'd probably rep first is the MRI debut (which is rather underrated perhaps due to the existence both of 'Hypercity' and the more gregarious 'All That Glitters').

It's not merely the high poll placings though: lots of raves I've read about the album have implied some essential novelty to it, like he's doing things others haven't, whereas I'd say that really what he does is take something that's been done before quite a bit and then does it very intently. Nothing wrong with that, it's a noble aim, but I've wondered if people are hearing stuff than I'm missing.

This is what I said about dude at the time: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10273-this-bliss/

So you found it cold. And yet...

"hope itself becomes too much to hope for in a narrative defined by decay."

This is OTM, and why it's one of my favorite records.

("Disintegration Loops" is also in my top 10, fwiw.)

Friends is my '00s No. 1.

Yeah my issue here was less "why do people like this album so much" and more "gee, if this is number 8 then you better put 'Friends' (or equiv) at number 1!"

xp Mine's Apologies to the Queen Mary, but I should have put Friends higher, considering how often I have listened to it. It's been a go-to since I got it, more than either Immer.

This is why I was careful to give my list bullets and not numbers.

Oh yeah, I agree. Was being too shorthanded above. I think here we run into the semi-conscious (when we're lucky) inner-blocking that a lot of folks have re: "real album" and fake ones like comps and mixes. I don't think it's nearly as widespread in dance (-friendly) circles as outside it, but it occurs.

(xpost to Tim)

Probably true.

It's correct to say, I think, that Pantha Du Prince has really nailed this space as an artist-aesthetic, and I could imagine lots of people warming to it for that as much as anything else.

Esp. in the context of lots of artists in vaguely similar territory going sing-songy or eclectic or moving into a totally different style on their actual artist albums (see Superpitcher, Mathias Schaffhauser, Closer Musik).

One reason the Panda Bear guest spot makes sense to me, besides (narrowly) commercially, is that Weber waited till album 3 to do it. It does seem as if the earlier the guest stars start showing up, the shorter the career.

Ok i have to ask what that Friends album is, seeing as I really like Pantha, I'd love to hear more that sounds like it.

What's makes Pantha Du Prince have more press and recognition than Lawrence, who I like much more. Until Then, Goodbye was one of my favorites from last year, as well as singles like Jill.

I'm assuming Friends is 'Triple R Friends' on Kompakt?
http://www.discogs.com/Triple-R-Friends/release/67137

Or is there another friends?

ok thanks

Jibe have you heard Lawrence's The Absence Of Blight? If you like This Bliss go find it.

Albums
Richard Davis "Details"
Lawrence "The Absence of Blight"
Pantha Du Prince "Diamond Daze"
Gringo Gringer's "Breakfast Included"
Ola Bergman's "The Satellite City"
Fairmont's "Paper Stars"
Kaito, "Special Love"
Superpitcher, "Today"
Michael Mayer, "Immer"
Tobias Thomas, "Please Please Please"
Ada, "Adaptations"

Tracks
Closer Musik's One Two Three (No Gravity)
Ada's Each and Everyone (Blindhouse)
M83's Don't Save Us From The Flames (Superpitcher Remix)
Ghost Cauldron's See What I've Become (Superpitcher Smallville remix)
Margo's La Baumette (Broker Dealer Remix)
Phantom Ghost's Perfect Lovers (Unperfect Love Mix Tobias Thomas & Superpitcher)
Nathan Fake - Outhouse
Duplex's Late Night Cycling
System 7's Big Sky City (High Rise Mix)
Phantom Ghost's Nothing Is Written (Tobias Thomas & Superpitcher Mix)
Raz O'Hara's This' A Beautiful Day (Mathias Schaffhauser Mix)
Quarks' Du Entkommst Mir Nicht (Lawrence Remix)
Chelonis R. Jones' I Don't Know
RJ Project's What Colour Is Love (Red Jerry's Monkeyhouse Mix)
Alexander Kowalski's Lock Me Up (Sascha Funke Mix)
Dennis Desantis's Promotion of Vice (Alexander Kowalski Mix)
Carsten Jost's Uccellini
Gus Gus's Remembrance (neuromantic avant la lettre)
Dextro's Do You Need Help
Extrawelt's Zu Fuss
Miss Kittin's Happy Violentine
Plastikman's I Don't Know
Villalobos's Easy Lee
Dopplereffekt's Myon-Neutrino
Laurent Garnier's Go To Sleep
GusGus' Detention
Alex Smoke's I Don't See The Point
DnTel's This is the Dream of Evan and Chan (Superpitcher Remix)

Ada's Each and Everyone (Blindhouse)
RJ Project's What Colour Is Love (Red Jerry's Monkeyhouse Mix)
Raz O'Hara's This' A Beautiful Day (Mathias Schaffhauser Mix)
Alexander Kowalski's Lock Me Up (Sascha Funke Mix)
Carsten Jost's Uccellini

Cozen, hearting you so much for these choices. Especially the RJ Project track which I've always thought was loved by no one else in the world.

@Jacob Sanders : yeah I've listened to Lawrence too. Quite like Absence of blight, not too hot on his latest one but I didn't pay it much attention. Need to listen to it a bit more before I make up my mind.

Also cowzn, thanks for this list of stuff I need to find and listen!

I think Tim's more or less right. Pantha's not doing anything new, just doing it better. I sort of view This Bliss as a picking up of where Lawrence left off with Absence of Blight type stuff (before he started doing his more contemporary stuff which I think just pales in comparison), and nailing the feeling.

I think a lot of people either forget about or disdain early 00's microhouse, to my total dismay because it's my favourite kind of music.

I'm sure if a lot of people heard friends or the stuff off cozwn's list came out today and got the proper exposure it could do serious damage(Richard Davis might even have the potential to achieve more success and crossover acclaim than Pantha I'd argue. I HAVE to find myself a copy of Details immediately).

cozzie i <3 u

The world does need more moody, Baroque Superpitcher remixes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrZUxN3-KpU

Yup.

But actually I think Pantha is different enough from most of the stuff Cozen lists, in terms of structure if nothing else. They're a lot more direct, more dancefloor-friendly. Pantha's tracks remind a lot of Plaid circa the P-Brane EP, kind of meandering around in abstract plinking before finally arriving at some cute melody for the last couple of minutes. At times it's amazing, at times the whole "let's see what's over here" approach can grate.

i agree re: plaid. anyone remember the hab "mapod" LP.

lawrence owns that techno packaged in images of dead plants thing, doesn't he?

Lawrence's "Along the Wire (Superpitcher remix)" never got quite enough attention - The Night Will Last Forever wasn't the most compelling album, but the Superpitcher mix and the Carsten Jost remix of "Swap" prefigure later Pantha du Prince almost perfectly.

Also interesting comparing Efdemin's career: This Bliss and the Efdemin LP came out at about the same time & felt very similar, but Efdemin seems much more interested in house than in being a crossover.

I was hoping Superpitcher's supposed new album would be a return to form for this genre. I missed this kind of music and perhaps what's missing in Pantha Du Prince for me is the Danciness? Hasn't Richard Davis released an album since Details? How does it compare with Bring Me Closer? Could Gui Boratto's No Turning Back fit cozen's nice list?

Lawrence's "Along the Wire (Superpitcher remix)" never got quite enough attention

don't know about the truth of this statement, but maybe that's because this might be one of my favorite tracks ever.

RJ Project's What Colour Is Love (Red Jerry's Monkeyhouse Mix)

Is this a Terry Callier cover? :o

I don't mind this!

(The new one that is.)

Except for the ones with the crappy vocals which I guess is the guest indie guy?

here's a spotify playlist w/lots of tht stuff on it btw

^ thanks dude!! journey to work just got fun!

Cozen. is that playlist to big to transcribe over here? Spotify is not available in my country and I loved your picks upthread.

it's pretty much just the same stuff above (tracks and albums, incl. three or four other tracks I remembered when putting it together)

K thanks cozen.... here is a tracklist I arranged some months ago with a similar mood:

Gui Boratto - Atol
Mathew Leutwyler - Jovencitas
Sascha Funke - Mango
Ellen Allien & Apparat - Jet
The Rice Twins - for Penny and Alexis
Stephan Bodzin - Kerosene
Pantha du Prince - Asha
The MFA - The difference it makes
Nightguy - Pretty Face
Raz Ohara and the Odd Orchestra - Kisses (Pantha du Prince remix)
Sennh - I am with you
Ellen Allien - Sehnsucht
Lucio Aquilina - Magic M
Moonbeam - Slow Heart
Flying Lotus - Auntie’s Lock / Infinitum
Shigeto - Winter Thaw
Mujuice - Over the Rainbow
Ezekiel Honig - More human than human
Paul Kalkbrenner - Aaron
Son.sine - Upekah
Paul Kalkbrenner - Since 77
Arc Lab - Versions
Four Tet & Burial - Moth
Jesse Somfay - Amo Alucinor
Stimming - The Kiss
Broker/Dealer - Every Other Sunday
Closer Musik - Maria
Booka Shade - Mandarine Girl
Triola - Neuland

I thought this was "just okay" at first, something of a retread... but it's getting more and more awesome with each listen. Probably in my top 3-4 of the year so far, along with Four Tet and a couple other greats.

yeah i really like the broken music box acoustic sounds that pop up seemingly out of nowhere on this record. reminds me a little of anthony collins stuff.

Conveniently, it's on Spotify so I can make up my mind.

and, like This Bliss, sounds even better on vinyl!

http://pitchfork.com/tv/#/musicvideo/4073-pantha-du-prince-stick-to-my-side-rough-trade

ok you bastards this is pretty damn good altho admittedly i have only heard 1 1/2 songs from it thus far

in an hour i will have enjoyed the whole thing

will presumably treat myself to 'this bliss' afterwards

http://roughtraderecords.com/files/sticktomysidefourtetversion_panthaduprince.mp3

Four Tet remixes Pantha Du Prince.