ISSUE #24
Conference of Trees
by Pantha du Prince
Conference of Trees is the sound of suns rising over foggy meadows. Its rays clutching onto the horizon like celestial fingers. It pulls itself up and illuminates the earth before retreating back into darkness.
The German-based minimal techno producer, Hendrik Weber, otherwise known as Pantha du Prince, released his latest LP, Conference of Trees following 2016's The Triad and its subsequent remixed and ambient versions in 2017. Combining his signature methods of production and an array of wooden instruments, some of which are homemade, Weber delivers yet another paradigm of the minimal techno genre. Overall, the album is an atmospheric, slow-burning fuse that, once it reaches the tip of the dynamite, erupts into Pantha du Prince in his true form. It's some of the prettiest electronic music you'll ever hear.
The opening track, Approach in the Breeze, is 10 minutes of atmospheric divinity. It surrounds you like the warmest blanket made of ephemeral synths on the coldest of mornings as you wait for the sunlight to warm your home. Transparent Tickle Shiny Glace follows suit. It is similar to the previous track as far as its ambient dissonance goes, but adds Pantha du Prince's signature bells, xylophones, and chimes to the mix. The third track, Holding the Oak, isn't the most distinctly unique track among these first three. But it is equally as serene.
Hendrik Weber, courtesy of panthaduprince.com
When We Talk is a different story. You hear the drum machine laying down a foundation for the rest of the album. The anticipation is overwhelming. You know that somewhere beyond this tree-lined tunnel lies the signature sounds of Pantha du Prince. The rays of sun peek through leaves and branches as if reaching out to guide you to familiarity.
Roots Making Family begins with a deep bass drum, hi-hats, a wooden xylophone, and eerie vocal samples that take this once hopeful album and transitions into a dark, twisted world. The roots of trees reach out. They wrap themselves around your body forcing you to move to the beat of the drums coming from somewhere else in the forest. It's demented, but in all the right ways as the track ends and The Crown Territory takes over.
Pantha du Prince performing Conference of Trees live. Courtesy of panthaduprince.com
Supernova Space Time Drift (and subsequent Pius in Tacet) is the soundtrack that plays when you come across an abandoned spacecraft in the middle of the woods. It looks decrepit, dilapidated, but you know that this is still the most advanced piece of technology you've laid your eyes on. You step inside as the synth tones spewing out of the jet engines lift you into the void of space. The lack of oxygen makes you feel funny. Loose. Makes you wanna shake your ass.
Then, as if gently landing onto Earth's surface, right outside your home, Lichtung brings the album to a soothing, bittersweet close. It's fantastic and you should throw it on immediately.
Pantha du Prince currently isn't set to hit the US on his current tour, but rest assured we'll be there the second he arrives to the west coast. Make sure to check out the album on spotify and consider purchasing the album!
Also, make sure to check out this cool documentary about Conference of Trees below!
Happy weekend!
💎Mando
Township Rebellion
Artist Spotlight
As huge as a deep-ocean trench and intricate as DNA’s double helix, the sound of Township Rebellion lies somewhere between driving deep house and melodic techno.
Before diving into this German DJ collective, I must disclaim - the music I’m writing about did not come out today. It didn’t come out this week. The most recent single from Township Rebellion arrived in October of 2019 as part of a German compilation album, but trust me when I say - the world needs to know about this.
Chapter 3 occupies the inky space between a cyberpunk car chase, the breathless exploration of a defunct spaceship and that awesome Zion cave rave from the Matrix series. At eight and a half minutes long, this piece perfectly represents the longform, meticulously crafted techno sagas that have garnered Township Rebellion nearly 250,000 monthly listeners. The dystopian track opens onto a sense of anxiety and anticipation, with nuanced mechanical sound design and massive, blaring Bladerunner sirens before dropping into a driving, enormous bassline ornamented with a hardware-shop-worth of ambient synth melodies fading in and out. Your progress through this track is carefully mapped out - peaks and valleys maintaining every ounce of emotional momentum, upping the tension before massively satisfying drops back into the chase.
Image courtesy of Township Rebellion’s Twitter.
While Chapter 3 is absolutely a standout track, the collective’s discography is full of similarly impressive techno numbers that demand movement from your body and imagination from your mind. The Pipe, one of three tracks off of June’s Static EP, exists on top of a slightly slower house beat that is circled by a bass tone that passes over everything like the blood-red gaze of a haunted lighthouse. Magna Terram, released as part of the three-track Memorial EP last August, evokes a bit more wonder, bright synths taking you out of atmosphere before a monolithic drop sucks the air from the room and you’re magnetically slingshot between the stars.
In what feels like fate, Township Rebellion is embarking on their debut US tour next month, hitting Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. If you have the chance, do me a favor and step into the seductive blackness of one of these shows. I guarantee you won’t regret it.
