Ambitions
In Prins Thomas’ hands, space disco isn’t so much a fixed genre as an ever-expanding field of pure potential, and on *Ambitions*, the possibilities seem more limitless than ever. Largely eschewing the proggy funk of his early singles, the Norwegian producer deals in slinky downtempo on “XSB” and “Sakral,” moody cuts just begging to soundtrack a Sofia Coppola film, and he delves into heartstring-tugging soul on “Feel the Love,” one of the few vocal songs in his catalog. The ambient techno of “Fra Miami til Chicago” recalls the more meditative moments on 2017’s *Prins Thomas 5*, while the title track and “Urmannen” fuel up with Afro-disco and krautrock, respectively, and fire up their warp drives for distant points unknown. The title is well earned: Prins Thomas’ sixth album dares to dream big.
Ambitions is Prins Thomas’ 6th album and his second solo album for Smalltown Supersound (plus two duo albums with Bjørn Torske and Bugge Wesseltoft). Ambitions (out April 5th) picks up from were he left off with Principe Del Norte. Still ambitious, but the tracks are shorter, more melodic and more concise. Prins Thomas also offers up his first vocal track, lead single "Feel A Love." Or to be precise, it's based around a sample of the track "Feel A Love" by one of the biggest pop-stars in Norway in the 70s and 80s, the late Alex (Naumik). ”The sun rises, the sun sets. This collection of new songs wasn't intended as an album at first. It gathers up loose ideas sketched down on my computer or hummed into my handheld recorder in the last 2 years with a shifting work environment, from hotel rooms in San Francisco, backstage in Osaka, on a plane from Miami to Chicago, my garden patio, and finally my B15 Studios in Asker. The common thread was found later during overdubbing and reworking these sketches under the critical ears of label boss Joakim Haugland. Most of the tracks were finalized in the studio at the same time as my previous collaborative album with Bugge Wesseltoft. Bugge even kindly joins in on the album's closing track "Sakral". Ambitions is my 6th album and I would like to thank the following people for their direct inspiration: Jon Christensen, Jaki Liebezeit, Haroumi Hosono, Daniel Lanois, Eberhard Weber, Shinichi Atobe and Ricardo Villalobos." - Prins Thomas, February 2019
The Norwegian producer rediscovers the simple joy in his space-disco sound on his most cohesive LP in years.
AllMusic provides comprehensive music info including reviews and biographies. Get recommendations for new music to listen to, stream or own.
Since pioneering what many music journalists in the early 2000s referred to as "space disco" with fellow countryman Lindstrøm, Norway's Prin...