Photograph courtesy of Alex De Mora
There’s no place like home, Ben Power, aka Blanck Mass, has discovered. Finding a place to “be with your thoughts” has only strengthened the creative process of a pioneering thinker. For Power this meant finding a new home and, six months ago, he moved to the countryside just outside Edinburgh, and the change of scenery already seems to have paid off.
He completely overhauled his album for the second time after he moved to Edinburgh, finally finding a mix he was happy with for what would become the third Blanck Mass album.
Like all of his work, both solo and with Andy Hung as Fuck Buttons, Dumb Flesh is “the soundtrack to a film I see in my head”. The common thread that runs through his selection is a “cinematic quality”, with many of his selections soundtracking real films, as well as the visuals Power crafts in his imagination for his others.
He wants the listener to do the same for his new album, though he has a clear vision for how he understands Dumb Flesh. “There’s a very strong theme on the record, regarding human beings and our humanity,” he says. “Or maybe what we dwindle down to. It’s a little more morose. It’s a realisation that as human beings, we’re decaying matter from the day we’re born.”
Charming, but Power is at pains to point that there’s nothing to be feared from engaging with such feelings. Sadness is “a very human feeling,” Power says. “Sometimes it’s better to form a relationship with it and deconstruct it than have it completely consume you.”
And not all of Power’s 13 albums serve such a morose purpose. There’s music in the list for optimistic times, for nostalgic times and for looking to the future – click on his image below to begin scrolling through Ben’s choices.
Dumb Flesh is out now on Sacred Bones Records. Blanck Mass plays the Quietus’ stage at The Great Escape festival this Friday, May 15, before touring; head here for full details and tickets
