Middle Boop Radar : Plant Plants

Not too much is known about Plant Plants, in fact even trying to google their name proves to be a laborious task but what we do know is this: They create absolutely amazing music!

That sort of glitchy, minimal techno that people like Gold Panda and Pantha Du Prince have been famed for recently except much darker than Panda and more raw than Pantha.

The three tracks on their myspace (All demo's) offer us a mere taste into the mostly unknown world of Plant Plants. 'Hands That Sleep' proves the real highlight, with soflty echoed vocals, thundering loops and jangly guitar lines.

Oh yes, these guys are well worth checking out

http://www.myspace.com/pl4ntpl4nts

Middle Boop Single Of The Week - Pantha Du Prince – Lay In a Shimmer (Rough Trade)

‘Lay in a Shimmer’ is the second single from Pantha Du Prince’s fantastic album Black Noise, having already exhausted the obvious single choice of ‘Stick To My Side’ with its star guest vocalist Noah Lennox of Animal Collective. So why, of all the glorious brooding dark techno found on Black Noise release ‘Lay In A Shimmer’? Probably for all the same reasons he chose it to be the opening track on his album. ‘Lay In A Shimmer’ oozes in gracefully, the bass tones form a carpet of noise that is elegantly decorated by the shimmering xylophones that is simply irresistible.

The beat that drives the song is surreptitiously propulsive, so distracting are the xylophones that you may not notice at first that you’re nodding your head unstoppably in rhythm with the song. ‘Lay In A Shimmer’ is the perfect introduction to the world of Pantha Du Prince which is why it was chosen to be the opening track and now that it’s a single it will hopefully attract several others to the glory of Black Noise.

So what of the b-sides? Both ‘Sonnensturm’ and the 9-minute ‘Ursonate 3’ take the same basic ingredients that the songs on Black Noise have, but fail to really conjure up the same unquantifiable magic that resides within that album. Both tracks are worth a listen for people who are Pantha Du Prince fans, but my fear is that if a newcomer to Pantha Du Prince picks up this single they may get the impression from these b-sides that ‘Lay In A Shimmer’ is something of a brilliant anomale in his catalogue, but here’s hoping people have better sense than that.

Words : Rob Hakimian

Pantha du Prince - Black Noise (Rough Trade)

It's amazing what someone truly talented in music can do with electronics. Germany's Pantha du Prince is one such talent and on his latest offering 'Black Noise', his first on Rough Trade, he spoils the listener with a series of different melodies, beats and textures that are entirely engrossing.

From the opening 'Lay In A Shimmer' it is clear that Pantha knows exactly the kind of sound he is aiming for, using chimes and trills to evoke in the mind of the listener the shimmer of the song title. 'Shimmer' is a vibrant and hypnotic opener and leads you to wonder why he decided to name his album 'Black Noise'.

The answer comes shortly after as you are led into a world of brooding beats and otherworldly synths. This music may have its origins in the same areas of electronic music as those played at nightclubs, but the only place you could ever imagine dancing to this is in some dimly lit alien disco in a far off universe; just one of the places your mind will wander to if you let it whilst listening to this album. This is an album rich in depth and is best only semi-concentrated on, allowing yourself to half get lost in the music and simultaneously letting your mind shift through various dimensions guided by the pulsating rhythms and claustrophobic scratching layers that accompany them.

The only true vocal on the album is provided by a guest appearance from Noah Lennox (better known as Animal Collective's Panda Bear) on 'Stick To My Side'. This does feel slightly out of place amidst an album that is otherwise entirely ambient, but nonetheless Pantha du Prince makes it work weaving his sparse electronica around Lennox's nasal voice.

Picking individual songs as highlights on this album is extremely difficult. The very best such as 'A Nomad's Retreat' and 'Satellite Snyper' (or practically any of them) do of course stand up on their own as single songs, but they truly flourish when listened to as part of the entire album. This is a piece of art that Pantha du Prince has created here and one that should be appreciated the way it has been presented; as one homogeneous piece.

The album clocks in at just over an hour, which is admittedly long, especially for an almost entirely ambient record. However, if you truly manage to lose yourself in this record as is intended you will have been transported far and wide and the time will seem to dissolve, and once you've reached the conclusion you'll be wondering where it all went.

By Rob Hakimian