It’s been eight years since Hans-Peter Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas released their last collaborative effort, 2009’s proggy and unfocused II. And while there was never a “conscious uncoupling,” the two beardo disco luminaries have since taken to working with others. Lindstrøm has paired with Todds Rundgren and Terje, while Prins Thomas has mostly explored the single life with sprawling solo albums, capped by last year’s ambitious almost-100-minute ambient exploration Principe del Norte.
Square One finds Prins Thomas working with fellow Norwegian and scene legend Bjørn Torske. While Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas garnered the most notice in the West for exporting spacey disco in the mid-’00s, Torske had already been doing dubby disco since the late ’90s and worked closely with the late producer Erot (known for producing Annie’s breakout “The Greatest Hit”). But Prins Thomas and Torske apparently have recordings that stretch back to 1997. That Prins Thomas is influenced by Torske’s work is a given—his tracks have been habitually woven into Prins Thomas’ official mix albums, be it Cosmo Galactic Prism, Live at Robert Johnson, Rainbow Disco Club Vol. 1, or Paradise Goulash—so the two connecting in the studio is sympathetic. Rather than revisit their mischievous nu-disco days, the results of this session are laidback, intuitive, and ideal for drifting deep into space.
“On U” may namecheck Adrian Sherwood’s lacerating punk/dub imprint, but the track itself is built up from a mellow and deceptively simple motorik beat. Almost imperceptibly, the gooey bassline has a conga drum stick to it, soon joined by a ghostly electric organ chord, some guitar glissando, and a sizzling ride cymbal. So loose is the track that the duo appear to perform a nifty trick, making it at once build towards a peak while at the same time seeming to unspool, its groove in ever-widening circles like clay wobbling off of a potter’s wheel.
While all seven tracks feature drums, rarely does a single beat on the album ever rev above 100 bpm. (The lone exception comes on the classical space-disco squiggles of “Kappe tre.”) Rather than offer rhythmic propulsion, the drums primarily serve more as underlying pulse for the layers of analog keys and echo effects. “Arthur” begins as slo-mo disco, but the addition of a hand drum dilates the space between the beats; unidentifiable analog noises flutter in and out of the mix. And while the track only clocks in at seven minutes, its leisurely pacing gives it the feel of one of L&PT’s double digit-length head-trips.
The album’s longest excursion is the nine-minute “12 Volt,” which at times promises to have its rumbling dark bassline coagulate into something more sinister. But Torske and Prins Thomas keep tweaking the track until it starts to resemble the waning minutes of Steve Miller Band’s “Macho City,” all simmering hi-hat, tocking percussion, foreboding bass, and ambience like steam off of hot asphalt. The speed notches up on “K16 Del 1,” as cowbell, thumb piano, and toms give the track a tribal feel; shimmering noises soon swell up and dissipate the rhythmic tension. Bits of space rock, dub, leftfield disco, and post-punk all feed into Square One, but despite the Scandinavian disco pedigree of its two participants, it’s less a dancefloor weapon than a soundtrack for dorm room philosophizing.
