“You will never have everything”. Is what Giegling posted on Facebook upon releasing ‘8’, Prince of Denmark‘s latest album. Most likely referring to the multiple versions of the album, where certain tracks appear to have an alternate version. The eight-piece long collection boasts content heard from existing podcasts, ranging from dubby club pieces to stretched out soundscapes.
The LP starts off light, with an intro and opening dance, and get’s dubbier straight away with ‘Neoclassicaldub’. The LP progresses into late club hours through steady kicks and experimental sounds, with minimal change yet enough to keep the tracks exciting. After passing personal favourites ‘Tool 517’ and ‘Squidcall’, the record arrives at what I’d like to call the third act.
The third, deepest, and darkest act begins with ‘GS’, appearing in the Prince’s Smoke Machine Podcast and heard throughout clubs around the world for quite some time, finally available in high yet eroded quality. Through a sample lent from PeteBlas’ remix of Substak – Confusion (who’s to say Prince of Denmark isn’t either of the two, though), an organ is used to create a dark and intense vibe. As the track progresses, a choir adds drama as the organ keeps breathing.
Yet this is only the beginning of the third act. The LP warps through ways of ‘Ambient 004’ into a more subtle record, where kicks are no longer the centre of attention, yet present. Driven by long and pulsing basslines, the record progresses alongside drone-like choirs, synths and the record-defining noise. As hi-hats haven’t been on the foreground for quite some time, the listener is bound to arrive in a dreamlike state, before being awoken by a strange, yet compelling melody in ‘88888888’. The album comes to conclusion in a beautiful melancholy, via a nameless song.
8 is best listened in a long sitting, as the order of the tracks greatly contributes to the entirety of the LP and I’ll come full circle by saying the minimalistic and noisey album will surely not be for everyone, but alas, you will never have everything.
Tracklist
01. Intro
02. Opening Dance
03. Neoclassicaldub
04. Desire
05. Neurobell
06. Latenightjam
07. Tool 517
08. 0R6145
09. Interlude
10. Darkspirit Cut
11. Cut 06
12. Miseri
13. Once With A Smile
14. Mentalbeam
15. Squidcall
16. GS
17. Ambient 004
18. Peace
19. Pulsierendes Leben
20. 8
21. Planet Uterus
22. 88888888
23. Untitled