Black Noise

If you’re unfamiliar with German electronic musician Hendrik Weber and his work under the name of Pantha du Prince, Black Noise is as strong a starting point as any. His much lauded previous works, Diamond Daze and This Bliss, show an artist confidently making a name for himself in the realm of soothing, soundscapist electronica, and along the way, working with artists like Bloc Party and Animal Collective (that’s A.C.’s Noah Lennox singing on “Stick to My Side”).  From the bucolic, sunrise vibe of “Lay In a Shimmer” right through to album closer “Es Schneit” (“It’s Snowing,” a children’s winter chant/nursery rhyme), Weber shows his gift for synching up sounds that mimic cracking ice, percussive bamboo, forest footsteps, and weathered bells with handclaps and beats propelled by the gentlest of forces. Like the pastoral cover art, the music within is light and buoyant, calming and restorative, even when the pace picks up and the edges become a bit sharper (“A Nomad’s Retreat,” “Behind the Stars”). An ambient gauze wraps much of the collection (especially “Welt am Draht” and “Im Bann”), giving Black Noise its appealing, subdued timbre.