Blank Banshee 0
The album artwork was designed by Blank Banshee and features a 3D model of a female head rendered over an indigo blue gradient background
Studio album by
Blank Banshee
ReleasedSeptember 1, 2012
Recorded2010–2012
(Saint John, Canada)[1]
Genre
Length33:03
LabelHologram Bay
ProducerPatrick Driscoll
Blank Banshee chronology
Blank Banshee 0
(2012) 		Blank Banshee 1
(2013)

Blank Banshee 0 is the debut studio album by Canadian artist and producer Blank Banshee. It was released for free via Bandcamp on September 1, 2012.

Background and composition

In 2010 Patrick Driscoll and Curtis "Cormorant" Ferguson began performing live as Blank Banshees (previously Shinjuku MAD) which consisted of "predominantly instrumental" compositions.[2] By 2012 the duo had become a solo act, with Driscoll continuing to release instrumental music under the pseudonym Blank Banshee and Ferguson appearing as a recurrent guest vocalist.

Blank Banshee 0 was produced between 2011 and 2012 in Driscoll's hometown, Saint John, Canada.[3]

In the summer of 2012 Driscoll made a move for the West Coast, seeking to escape the "bubble of economic and demographic slump" plaguing the creative industry of his Maritimes hometown at the time;[4] he relocated to Vancouver, Canada, releasing Blank Banshee 0 shortly thereafter.[5]

The album was released as a pay what you want digital download via Bandcamp on September 1, 2012.

Blank Banshee 0 was composed with an Akai MPD26 using Ableton Live.[6] The album consists of largely 1980s and 1990s sourced samples layered over original beats, instrumentation and vocals. Several aspects of the album including song titles allude to computer technology. Many tracks blend trap style beats with elements of seapunk and vaporwave, such as OS start-up sounds and 1990s-era video game music.[7][1] Exclaim magazine named "Teen Pregnancy" among notable songs featuring samples inspired by The Message by Grand Master Flash and The Furious Five.[8] Commenting on his use of sampling, Driscoll states it "stemmed from a desire to separate myself from the guitar driven music I was making and listening to at the time."[9]

Many songs on the album feature vocal and lyrical contributions by Cormorant, the stage name accredited to Curtis Ferguson.[5] The song "Dreamcast" features a vocal melody by Ferguson from a Shinjuku MAD song originally released in 2010.[10]

Blank Banshee 0 has been released on cassette tape, compact disc, vinyl, and USB flash drive independently through the online store Hologram Bay.

Reception

Blank Banshee 0's "vaportrap" production style helped popularize vaporwave in the 2010s. The album's influence has since been attributed to a shift in the direction of the genre.[11][12][13]

Esquire calls it "more approachable" than other vaporwave subgenres while building "on the basic premise".[14] In 2016 The Fader called Blank Banshee 0 a "definitive document of the vaporwave era."[15] Bandcamp Daily called the album "a progressive record, abandoning the often dissonant nature of vaporwave but emphasizing the more accessible elements, and incorporating beats characteristic of trap music."[1]

In popular culture

"Teen Pregnancy" became part of a viral video trend in 2016 called Simpsonwave.[16][17]

Track listing

Adapted from official liner notes.[3]

No.TitleLength
1."B:/ Start Up"1:09
2."Wavestep"2:43
3."Bathsalts"2:49
4."Ammonia Clouds"2:43
5."Venus Death Trap"2:14
6."Hyper Object"2:45
7."Photosynthesis"2:51
8."Deep Space"2:17
9."Dreamcast"2:02
10."Cyber Zodiac"2:21
11."Teen Pregnancy"2:57
12."Purity Boys"1:42
13."Visualization"1:47
14."World Vision"1:54
15."B:/ Shut Down/Depression"0:52
Total length:33:00

Notes

References

  1. ^ a b c Editorial (2016-11-21). "Genre As Method: The Vaporwave Family Tree, From Eccojams to Hardvapour". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
  2. ^ "Electro East Stage for the 2011 ECMA's - Get to know the artists". Noisography. April 12, 2011.
  3. ^ a b "BB0-Information". Archived from the original on 2017-01-07. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
  4. ^ MacDonald-Dupuis, Natasha (16 June 2015). "The Exodus of the Maritimes' Creative Class Is Hurting Its Electronic Music Scene". Vice.
  5. ^ a b "Blank Banshee - Official Website". Blank Banshee. Archived from the original on 2016-08-12.
  6. ^ "The New Wave: An In-Depth Look at Live 10's Wavetable". ableton.com/blog.
  7. ^ "Blank Banshee - Blank Banshee 0". Sputnik Music.
  8. ^ Gregory, Allie (January 15, 2021). "Duke Bootee — Co-Writer of Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" — Dead at 69". Exclaim! Canada. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  9. ^ Paige, Bowman. "Blank Banshee: The Anonymous Internet Sensation in Our Vicinity [Interview]". Rendrd. Archived from the original on 2018-05-01.
  10. ^ "Shinjuku Mad - Dreamcast (Youtube)". Youtube. Jun 23, 2010.
  11. ^ Editorial (2016-10-17). "After a Three-Year Hiatus, Blank Banshee Breaks His Silence with "MEGA"". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
  12. ^ "System Focus: The Evolution of the Voice in the Digital Landscape". The FADER. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
  13. ^ Editorial (2016-08-23). "Music of the Spectacle: Alienation, Irony and the Politics of Vaporwave". Bandcamp Daily. Archived from the original on 2019-10-31. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
  14. ^ "How Vaporwave Was Created Then Destroyed by the Internet". Esquire. Aug 18, 2016.
  15. ^ "Blank Banshee Returns With New Album MEGA". The Fader. Oct 10, 2016.
  16. ^ "What the Hell Is Simpsonwave? | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  17. ^ Song, Sandra (2016-06-06). "What Is Simpsonwave? A Brief Introduction Via the Microgenre's Lucien Hughes". PAPERMAG. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
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