Oslo electronic music guru Prins Thomas, the man who once helmed the cosmic disco revolution alongside his buddy Lindstrøm, moves in decidedly different directions these days. His upcoming album, Principe Del Norte, which is due out February 19 from the Smalltown Supersound label, is an epic ambient excursion. It was listening to the work of the late Swedish musician Joel Brindefalk that first got Thomas thinking of treading an otherworldly, ambient path. Brindefalk’s music in turn put Thomas in mind of old-school ambient classics by the likes of The KLF and The Orb. It was then that he decided to begin construction on his latest project.
“I set off on the task at hand,” explains Thomas, “making an ‘ambient’ album, leaving conventional drums and drum machines out of the equation.” The result is a lengthy, dreamy expedition that stretches out over four sides in its vinyl iteration, and two discs in the CD version. In true utilitarian fashion, each of the eight pieces is titled for the vinyl side it accompanies: “A,” “B,” “C,” etc. Thomas has even spent some time thinking about the best way to absorb it all. “How you listen to this album is entirely up to you,” he says, “but I’d recommend finding center position in front of your speakers, a comfortable couch or chair and dedicate yourself to the music for a long hour.”