Photo by Alex De Mora
Benjamin John Power is an experimentally-minded British electronic music composer, who currently operates under the Blanck Mass (2011-present) moniker. Power finds inspiration in nature and prefers isolation while creating music - perhaps this is why he chose to live in a small village close to a Scotch distillery near Edinburgh, leaving all the chaos of London behind. Together with Andrew Hung he co-founded an electro/drone (self-described as ‘rainbow rock’) band Fuck Buttons (2004-present), which has released a number of groundbreaking records on the acclaimed ATP Recordings label.
The gradual sonic shift from his 2011 debut self-titled solo album on Mogwai’s Rock Action label, to the recent “Dumb Flesh” (2015) on Sacred Bones Records, reflects Power’s constantly growing personality and the development of his sound engineering skills. His cathedral-like, classical music inspired soundscapes have become more noisy, industrial, rhythmic, and reminiscent of Fuck Buttons releases. Dense, dynamic, diverse, and efficient electrified sound is a great part of his musical identity. Power’s works are well-known and widely appreciated: Blanck Mass’ “Sundowner” was covered by the London Symphony Orchestra during the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and he’s also opened for Icelandic post-rockers Sigur Rós on their 2013 UK tour and supported Jon Hopkins at the Royal Festival Hall in 2014.
Secret Thirteen Mix 155 is a lively, rhythmic and dance-oriented mix. Blanck Mass smoothly fuses 16 mostly-new records in order to create a continuous and up-to-date experience. Power starts with the opener for his recent Dumb Flesh album, the surreal “Loam”. He then quickly shifts from the experimental to the vibrant and danceable material. Cabaret Voltaire, Legowelt or Pansonic go well together with new names in the electronic music scene, such as Person Of Interest, Tzusing or Slugbug from L.I.E.S.. You will also find a totally exclusive Untitled Blanck Mass track, that hasn't previously been published anywhere else.
The deliberate, accurate and playful long-exposure-mixing demonstrates Power’s devotion to the mix, not to mention the sharpness of his DJ skills. Occasionally-emerging complex 303 patterns, captivating analog percussions and hypnotic melodies make for an exciting listen, and Power’s experimentation with tempo in some parts of the mix adds a lot of color to the whole recording. However, the dark and rhythmless closing piece by PAN’s Helm fully completes the mix’s exemplary sound trajectory and narrative. It is like Gregorio Vardanega’s abstract painting “Vers le Zenit 3” where straightforward shapes become extraordinarily alive through lighting, reflections and shadows.
Benjamin Power describes the recording in the following words
When I usually work on mixes I tend to treat them as I do my own albums, focusing more on the journey aspect with a brooding narrative and a diverse palette. In this mix I wanted to tackle it from a more direct angle and build something with a different purpose when considering the potential listener. This mix is more aimed towards the club, and all tracks were chosen with this space in mind. A backwards way of working for me, but no less enjoyable.
Tracklist:
01. Blanck Mass - Loam [Sacred Bones Records, 2015]
02. Black Zone Myth Chant - Belshazzar [Editions Gravats, 2015]
03. STL - Dark Energy [Something, 2010]
04. Cabaret Voltaire - Kino [Virgin, 1985]
05. Palmbomen II - Samuel Aboah [Beats In Space Records, 2015]
06. Deux - Fam Fam [Minimal Wave, 2012]
07. Person Of Interest - Call This Number [L.I.E.S., 2014]
08. Luke Eargoggle - Temple Train [Heckengäu, 2004]
09. Pansonic - Painovoima [Blast First, 1995]
10. Legowelt - Total Pussy Control [Bunker Records, 2000]
11. Russell Haswell - Chua Rave (Regis Remix) [Downwards, 2012]
12. Tzusing - Frankencense And Myrrh [L.I.E.S., 2015]
13. Slugbug - Control [L.I.E.S., 2015]
14. Cut Hands - Krokodilo Theme [Blackest Ever Black, 2012]
15. Blanck Mass - Untitled [Previously Unreleased, 2015]
16. Helm - Analogues [PAN, 2014]
1 Comment
Thank you!