10 of 2010 (#7): Pantha du Prince – Black Noise

German producer Hendrick Weber’s third album as Pantha du Prince, released in February, saw him continue to hone his quietly cerebral take on melodic, shoegaze-inflected minimal techno. His first album for Rough Trade, featuring contributions from Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear) and Tyler Pope (LCD Soundsystem, !!!), Black Noise is a complex, painstakingly crafted collection.

As the label and guests suggest, Weber moves in some respects towards a more song-based approach than on his preceding two albums. His techno sensibility, however, always underpins things: Black Noise’s sharpness and attention to detail curtail any inclination to reach for the indie-electronica or folktronica tags. While the continuing proliferation of shoegaze influences felt tired on some guitar records this year, Black Noise's layering of reverberating melodies and intricate, delicately animated beats never feels like its head is in the past.

Weber favours the use of metallic, percussive samples – steel drums, zithers, xylophones and vibraphones – scattered alongside teeming, hazy ambient washes; the juxtaposition of these sharply distinct elements gives the music a clarity and precision without rendering the atmosphere cold and clinical.

2010 was another good year for electronica, but not many other records managed to combine the warmth and emotive power of Black Noise with a serious attentiveness to the energy of club music.