Pantha Du Prince

As Pantha du Prince, German electronic producer Hendrik Weber first explored dreamlike minimal techno before expanding his range to include deeper textures and a wider instrumentation. Over a span of output that began in the early 2000s, the project evolved from the downcast, bell-adorned techno of 2007′s This Bliss to the more colorful arrangements and expanded lineup of later work, reflecting on themes of nature with albums like 2020′s Conference of Trees and 2022′s Garden Gaia.
Weber recorded under numerous monikers over the years, including Glühen 4 and Panthel, but he began working as Pantha du Prince in 2002 when he aligned with Hamburg-based experimental techno label Dial. The debut Pantha du Prince release was a four-track 12″, Nowhere (2002), followed a couple years later by a full-length CD/double LP, Diamond Daze (2004). The album garnered considerable acclaim, with some critics gleefully pointing out Weber’s affinity for late-’80s British shoegaze bands such as Slowdive, Moose, Ride, and My Bloody Valentine. The influence of Detroit techno (à la Carl Craig) and minimal techno (Chain Reaction) was evident as well.
Following a remix 12″ (Butterfly Girl Versions, 2005) and a one-off 12″ of new material (Lichten/Walden, 2006), Weber released his second Pantha du Prince full-length, This Bliss (2007), which again garnered considerable acclaim. For instance, Spex and Groove (both German techno magazines) crowned This Bliss with their Record of the Month awards, while indie tastemaker Pitchfork gave the album a favorable review stateside. Weber switched to Rough Trade for Black Noise (2010), featuring guest appearances from Tyler Pope (!!!) and Noah Lennox (Animal Collective). The likes of Four Tet, Hieroglyphic Being, and Animal Collective provided remixes for XI Versions of Black Noise, which arrived the following year. In 2013, Pantha du Prince released his fourth album, Elements of Light — a collaboration with Norway’s Bell Laboratory.
Three years later, he returned with the single “The Winter Hymn.” The track was the lead cut to his fifth album, The Triad, which was released by Rough Trade in May 2016. It was the first Pantha du Prince album to feature an extended lineup of Scott Mou (aka Queens) and the Bell Laboratory’s Bendik Kjeldsberg. In 2020, Weber returned on his own with sixth album Conference of Trees, a lush collection of layered electro-acoustic ambience that combined organic instruments and mellow electronics. Conference of Trees had a thematic focus on Earth and the natural world, which was reflected both in the album’s song titles and its more organic sound palette. In 2021, Weber released 429 HZ Formen Von Stille under his own name, a collection of work that was more ambient and neo-classical than his beat-driven Pantha du Prince material. He returned under the Pantha du Prince moniker in 2022 with the album Garden Gaia, continuing the reflections on nature and Earth’s ecosystem that began on Conference of Trees. ~ Jason Birchmeier