FADER Mix: Blanck Mass

There's a tactile quality to the music of Blanck Mass, the solo side project of Fuck Buttons' Benjamin John Power. He treads a line between crushing noise and tender ambience, pressing the one up against the other with both curiosity and care. This week he released his new album, Dumb Flesh, via Sacred Bones, and if you haven't yet listened then I really recommend you do: there's plenty to feed your soul. To celebrate its release, Mr Power has made us a FADER Mix with plenty of bite, featuring a handful of electronic adventurers including Norway's data-obsessed TCF and industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle. Listen below and scroll down for both tracklist and tour dates—catch him in Brooklyn in June.

Where are you right now? Describe your surroundings. I'm in my living room, surrounded by bits of Pelican case foam, trying to arrange my equipment baggage for my first live set of new material. Less specifically I am in my new home just outside of Edinburgh. The sky is currently a light grey but there's a lot of green so it's fair compromise.

Tell us a bit about this mix—what do you imagine people doing while listening to it? This is a little more of a departure from the usual type of mix I tend to do. It's a little less fractured, perhaps. More "club friendly." So perhaps that's what the listener would be doing. Dancing. Or driving. Probably not reading a book.

Your new album, Dumb Flesh, treads a line between grinding intensity and compelling sensuality. Was that intentional and, if so, why? The initial intention when I start work on any project is to experiment on a blank canvas. I never have any idea of where the process will take me and what the finished outcome will be. Therefore, it's pretty difficult to pre-empt the result. But I like it that way. Keeps me on my toes.

What did you learn in the making of it? I learned a hell of a lot regarding production techniques for myself and for production work outside of my own projects. Going back and re-producing the whole record three times meant that I could really get inside this project and gained a wealth of knowledge from doing so.

What's the last book that you read that had a big impact on you, and why? The Da Vinci Code and it made me never want to read another book again. Just kidding, I'm sure it's a riot. Games Primates Play by Dario Maestripieri is a case study on the evolution of our human relationships which explains things like why we french kiss and why we act the way we do in the workplace, etc. It's based on our primate ancestors and it's as much an eye opener as it is a sad realization of human nature.

What's your favorite dish to cook and how to you make it? Avocado on rye bread with chilli flakes, cracked black pepper, Cholula hot sauce, and a little Liquid Aminos. It's self-explanatory—and pretty much just avocado on toast—but it's really amazing with all the extras mentioned here. Highly recommended.

Tracklist:

TCF - 54 C6 05 1C 13 CC 72 E9 CC DC 84 F2 A3 FF CC 38 1E 94 0D C0 50 5C 3E E8
Egyptrixx - Discipline 1982
Vegyn - Cancel Cancel
Silent Servant - Cut Unconscious
Das Ding - H.S.T.A.
Cut Hands - Damballah 58
Steve Moore - Bayern Kurve
Throbbing Gristle - Hot On The Heels Of Love (Carl Craig Re-Version)
Pain Jerk & John Wiese - Palms

Tour dates:

5/15 - Brighton, UK - The Great Escape Festival
6/04 - Copenhagen, DK - Jazzhouse
6/11 - London, UK - ATP Pop Up Venue
6/13 - Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus
6/14 - Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw w/ Zola Jesus & Container
6/19 - Hilvarenbeek, NL - Best Kept Secret Festival
7/24 - Sheffield, UK - Tramlines Festival
8/21 - Bristol, UK - ArcTanGent
8/29 - Thornhill, UK - Electric Fields
9/25 - Liverpool, UK - International Festival of Psychedelia