London and the rest of the world were treated to a vast and grandiose display of good, old-fashioned British eccentricity last Friday night, in the form of Danny Boyle’s Olympic Opening Ceremony (complete with a parachuting Queen, giant puppets, and a hoard of flying Mary Poppins). Alongside the visual craziness sat a soundtrack that showcased some of the most iconic tracks from our great music-loving nation. There were also a couple of surprises in the set-list, with appearances from experimental electronic outfit F*ck Buttons and Blanck Mass (a side-project from F*ck Buttons’ Ben Powers).
F*ck Buttons’ “Surf Solar” and “Olympians” (both taken from their 2009 LP Tarot Sport on ATP Recordings) were featured, along with both the original version of Blanck Mass’s “Sundowner” (taken from his self-titled 2011 LP on MRI/Rock Action) and a cover performed by the London Symphony Orchestra – who were also featured multiple times throughout the course of the evening. It’s a real credit to Boyle and his appointed musical directors for the ceremony, Underworld, to have given representation to these fantastic artists — it really makes you proud doesn’t it?
As if that wasn’t enough, Blanck Mass also has a record coming out August 21st on Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never) and Joel Ford’s Software imprint, entitled White Math. Fans of sprawling analog techno jams should be sure to check that out!
