Blank Banshee

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Blank Banshee
The logo used at the top of Blank Banshee's album covers
The logo used at the top of Blank Banshee's album covers
Background information
Birth namePatrick Driscoll
Born (1987-06-28) June 28, 1987 (age 34)
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Genres
Years active2009–present
LabelsHologram Bay
Websiteblankbanshee.com

Patrick Driscoll (born June 28, 1987), known professionally as Blank Banshee, is a Canadian artist, musician and producer from Saint John, New Brunswick. He rose to popularity in 2012 with his album Blank Banshee 0, which combined traditional elements of vaporwave with trap music, a style now known as vaportrap. Blank Banshee's music has been described as a "balance of abstract ambience and dance-able trap".[1]

Career[]

Blank Banshee 0[]

In 2010, Driscoll began performing live as "Blank Banshees" (formerly Shinjuku MAD) along with collaborator Curtis "Cormorant" Ferguson.[2] In April 2011, Blank Banshees were featured performers on the Electro East Stage of the 2011 East Coast Music Awards.[2] In the summer of 2012, Driscoll moved from his hometown to the Canadian west coast[3] where he released his debut album Blank Banshee 0 as the solo artist "Blank Banshee".[4][5] The production style helped bring the vaporwave sub-genre dubbed "vaportrap" to prominence in the latter half of 2012.[6] The track "Teen Pregnancy" appeared in a 2016 viral video associated with Simpsonwave[7] and again in a 2020 TikTok trend.[8]

Blank Banshee 1[]

Following the release of Blank Banshee 0, Driscoll began work on his second album, Blank Banshee 1, released October 20, 2013.[9] The Fader called Blank Banshee 1 "a masterwork of the new digital psychedelia"[9] and a "definitive document of the vaporwave era".[10] Beginning on the eve of the album's release, a series of six self-produced computer animated music videos were uploaded to the official Blank Banshee YouTube channel.[11] A 2016 Esquire article cited Blank Banshee's musical style as an example of the "direction that vaporwave has moved in, where the trap beat is emphasized and the political edge blunted".[4]

MEGA[]

In 2014, Driscoll began work on his third studio album, Mega, in Vancouver where he is based as of 2016.[12] The album was released October 20, 2016.[13] COMPLEX named Mega the "best release from the project yet".[14] He completed an accompanying tour spanning Europe and North America called "The Mega Tour" in 2017.[15]

Metamorphosis[]

On January 1, 2019, Driscoll announced new music was coming.[16] After embarking on a 15 date European tour in May, referred to as the Metamorphosis Tour,[17] he released an 18-minute "extended single" by the same name.[18] Metamorphosis was released on all major streaming platforms on June 20, 2019. It received a limited run on cassette tape.

In addition to its original format, a download only version featuring 15 individual tracks called 'Metamorphosis: Extracted' was released.[19] The same 15 tracks were also released as a collection of MIDI files called 'MIDImorphosis'.[20]

GAIA[]

On January 1, 2020, Driscoll announced the upcoming release of his 4th studio album via Twitter.[21] On October 20, he tweeted a short promotional video[22] subsequently confirming Gaia's November 30 release date.[23][24] A dedicated webpage was introduced for the new album containing additional media.[25]

Gaia was released on vinyl, cassette and all major streaming platforms on November 30, 2020. A music video for the track ‘Escape’ was released on January 1, 2021.[26]

Discography[]

Albums

EPs

  • Metamorphosis (2019)

Non-album tracks ("MISSINGNOs")

  • Cormorant (2011)
  • Equinox (2011)
  • Zenesis (2012)
  • Chlorophyl (2012)
  • Marble Bust (2015)
  • Home (2020)
  • Memorization (2020)

References[]

  1. ^ Chandler, Simon (October 17, 2016). "After a Three-Year Hiatus, Blank Banshee Breaks His Silence with "MEGA"". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Electro East Stage for the 2011 ECMA's - Get to know the artists". Noisography. April 12, 2011.
  3. ^ MacDonald-Dupuis, Natasha. "The Exodus of the Maritimes' Creative Class Is Hurting Its Electronic Music Scene". Vice.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "How Vaporwave Was Created Then Destroyed by the Internet [An exploration of the anti-consumerism music that died the way it lived.]". Esquire Magazine. August 18, 2016.
  5. ^ "Blank Banshee - Official Website". Blank Banshee. Archived from the original on 2016-08-12.
  6. ^ "Genre As Method: The Vaporwave Family Tree, From Eccojams to Hardvapour". Bandcamp Daily. November 21, 2016.
  7. ^ "What the Hell Is Simpsonwave?". Pitchfork. June 14, 2016.
  8. ^ Twersky, Carolyn (May 19, 2020). "Charli D'Amelio Just Posted and Deleted a Heartbreaking TikTok About All the Online Hate She Receives". Seventeen.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "System Focus: The Evolution of the Voice in the Digital Landscape". The Fader.
  10. ^ "Blank Banshee Returns With New Album MEGA". The Fader. Oct 10, 2016.
  11. ^ "Blank Banshee - B:/ Infinite Login [1/6]". October 19, 2013.
  12. ^ Chandler, Simon (October 17, 2016). "[Interview] After a Three-Year Hiatus, Blank Banshee Breaks His Silence with "MEGA"".
  13. ^ Bowman, Paige (November 9, 2016). "Blank Banshee: The Anonymous Internet Sensation in Our Vicinity [Interview]". Rendrd Magazine.
  14. ^ "Blank Banshee Returns with New Album 'Mega'". COMPLEX.
  15. ^ "Blank Banshee Official Facebook page [Mega Tour announcement]". July 28, 2017.
  16. ^ Driscoll, Patrick (January 1, 2019). "Blank Banshee on Twitter".
  17. ^ Driscoll, Patrick (March 15, 2019). "Blank Banshee on Twitter".
  18. ^ Driscoll, Patrick (June 20, 2019). "Metamorphosis, Bandcamp".
  19. ^ "Blank Banshee - Metamorphosis". Blank Banshee. June 20, 2019.
  20. ^ "Midimorphosis". Blank Banshee. Jan 1, 2020.
  21. ^ Driscoll, Patrick (January 1, 2020). "Blank Banshee on Twitter".
  22. ^ Driscoll, Patrick (October 20, 2020). "Blank Banshee on Twitter".
  23. ^ Driscoll, Patrick. "MissingNos webpage".
  24. ^ Driscoll, Patrick. "Memorization on YouTube".
  25. ^ Driscoll, Patrick. "Blank Banshee on Twitter".
  26. ^ "Blank Banshee - Escape". YouTube. Jan 1, 2021.
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