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Fuck Buttons was an electronic music duo formed in Bristol in 2004 by Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power.


Biography


Origins (2004–2008)

Hung and Power grew up in Worcester.Interview: Fuck Buttons
. Retrieved 5 December 2009
Santoro, Gene (2008)

, ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'', 28 March 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2009
Hung was influenced by
Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...
, while Power was a fan of Mogwai. They developed a friendship in 2004 while attending art school in Bristol, and began working together, initially to create the soundtrack to a film made by Hung. Immediately after forming, they played live whenever possible, and soon gathered a cult following. The duo use a variety of instruments including Casiotone keyboards and children's toys such as a
Fisher-Price Fisher-Price is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York, East Aurora, New York (state), New York. The company was founded in 1930 during the Great Depressio ...
karaoke machine. Their name was chosen to sound "playful and abrasive". ''Time Out'' magazine described the band's live sound as an "adrenaline pumping, ear purging slab of towering, pristine noise". The duo signed to All Tomorrow's Parties-affiliated ATP Recordings in 2007, and released a limited-edition 7" single named "Bright Tomorrow",Kellman, Andy " Fuck Buttons Biography, AllMusic, Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 22 November 2009 which received complimentary reviews from such sources as ''
Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...
'', '' Pitchfork'' (who described it as "something like the sun rising over the ocean... then going supernova"), ''
Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...
'' (it became their No. 1 Mojo Playlist Single for that month) and
Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...
. Combined with an upsurge in reviews of their live performances at the Supersonic, Truck and Portishead-curated ATP festivals in the second half of 2007, this attention resulted in Fuck Buttons being included in many end of year newspaper, magazine and online articles predicting them as a 'Hot Tip' for 2008. These included New-Noise, who said that "rarely have two men sounded so much like the end of the world" and British newspaper '' The Observer'', which called their sound "a joyous racket of swirling atmospherics and percussive gunfire" in an article highlighting them in a new wave of intelligent, literate British pop music.


''Street Horrrsing'' (2008–2009)

They started the year with a tour of slightly larger UK venues, supported by label-mate Alexander Tucker. This was done to build anticipation for their debut album, ''
Street Horrrsing ''Street Horrrsing'' is the debut studio album by Fuck Buttons, released on 17 March 2008. It peaked at number 23 on the UK Independent Albums Chart. Critical reception At Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggreg ...
'', which was released on 17 March. Produced by John Cummings of Mogwai and mastered by Bob Weston of Shellac, it was promoted through festival appearances (including a slot at the ''ATP vs Pitchfork'' festival) and a North American tour with
Caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
. Early reviews of ''Street Horrrsing'' were very positive; it was named ''Underground Album of the Month'' by ''
Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...
'' Magazine, who called it "a 50-minute melange of iridescent synths, psychedelic drone, distorted vocals and tribal rhythm". '' Pitchfork'' awarded it with an 8.6 out of 10 rating which placed it in their "best new music" section. Positive reviews also featured in '' The Times'', '' The Observer'', '' The Wire'', '' NME'', '' Rock Sound'', '' Kerrang!'', ''
Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'', ''
Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...
'', and many other music publications and websites. It was also chosen for the shortlist of '' The Guardian''s First Album awards.


''Tarot Sport'' (2009–2013)

In 2009, the band appeared at the Australian All Tomorrow's Parties event. They released their second album, ''
Tarot Sport ''Tarot Sport'' is the second studio album by Fuck Buttons, produced by Andrew Weatherall. It was released on 14 October 2009 in the UK and on 20 October in the US. It peaked at number 79 on the UK Albums Chart. Critical reception ''Tarot Sport ...
'' in October 2009. It has been well received, with ''Rock Sound'' giving it an 8 out of 10 rating and hailing its consistency ("the continuity gluing them together confirms a genuine full-length article to brandish at all those gun-jumping 'The album is dead' doomsayers"), while AllMusic gave it a 4-star rating, describing it as "an impressive step forward for Fuck Buttons".Phares, Heather " ''Tarot Sport'' Review, AllMusic, Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 22 November 2009 Discussing it with ''
Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...
'' magazine, the band admitted that "direction is not something we are conscious about because it doesn't fit into our creative process. We just want to keep being content and surprising ourselves". "Surf Solar" and "Olympians" featured separately during the
2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 27 July 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London, during which the Games were formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the pr ...
on 27 July 2012. "Sundowner" from Power's solo venture Blanck Mass was covered by the London Symphony Orchestra during the raising of the Union Jack.


''Slow Focus'' (2013–present)

Fuck Buttons released their third album '' Slow Focus'' on 22 July 2013. A new track recorded with electronic musician Jean Michel Jarre entitled "Immortals" was released on the Jarre album '' Electronica 1: The Time Machine'' on 16 October 2015. The band are currently on hiatus.


Solo activities and side projects


Andrew Hung

In 2012 Andrew Hung founded a new project called ''Dawn Hunger'' with vocalist Claire Inglis and musician Matthew de Pulford. He also released his solo debut EP called ''Rave Cave'' in 2015. Hung released his first solo debut LP ''Realisationship (Lex Records)'' on 6 October 2017. Hung is furthermore working as a producer. In 2016 he co-wrote & co-produced Beth Orton's new album ''Kidsticks''. 2020 saw the release of the debut album by Aimeé Osbourne under the name ARO, Hung co-wrote and produced three of the tracks on the album. Hung has also been working on soundtrack composition. Working with Director Jim Hosking on cult film '' The Greasy Strangler, An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn'' and the series ''
Tropical Cop Tales ''Tropical Cop Tales'' is an American comedy television series created by Jim Hosking and Toby Harvard for Adult Swim. The show revolves around two burned-out city cops, Keymarion "Primetime" Weeyums and Demetrius "Meechie" Franks, who have both ...
'' for Adult Swim.


Benjamin John Power

Power founded his solo project Blanck Mass in 2011. He has been on tour with
Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fron ...
and the track "Sundowner" was used at key points during the
Opening Ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.
of the 2012 Olympic games. It was first heard as the Union Flag was brought into the stadium by members of the
Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
. Power has released five albums to date as Blanck Mass: ''Blanck Mass'' (
Rock Action Records Rock Action Records is a Scottish, Glasgow-based independent record label, founded and maintained by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai. The label has showcased such diverse talents as Part Chimp, Errors, Chris Brokaw, Trout, The James Orr Complex ...
, 2011), ''
Dumb Flesh ''Dumb Flesh'' is the second studio album by the English experimental musician Blanck Mass, released on . Critical reception ''Dumb Flesh'' was met with positive critical reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of ...
'' ( Sacred Bones Records, 2015), ''World Eater'' (Sacred Bones Records, 2017), ''Animated Violence Mild'' (Sacred Bones Records, 2019) and ''In Ferneaux'' (Sacred Bones Records, 2021).


Discography


Studio albums

* ''
Street Horrrsing ''Street Horrrsing'' is the debut studio album by Fuck Buttons, released on 17 March 2008. It peaked at number 23 on the UK Independent Albums Chart. Critical reception At Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggreg ...
'' (CD / 2×LP, ATPR, 2008) * ''
Tarot Sport ''Tarot Sport'' is the second studio album by Fuck Buttons, produced by Andrew Weatherall. It was released on 14 October 2009 in the UK and on 20 October in the US. It peaked at number 79 on the UK Albums Chart. Critical reception ''Tarot Sport ...
'' (CD / 2×LP, ATPR, 2009) UK No. 79, U.S. Dance No. 9, U.S. Heatseekers No. 18
Album Information An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
Billboard.com
* '' Slow Focus'' (CD / 2xLP, ATPR, 2013) UK No. 36


Singles

* "Let's See If There Are Any Ghosts in Here, Yeah?" (CD-R single, 2006) * "Bright Tomorrow" (limited picture disc 7″ single, ATPR, 2007) * "Colours Move" (12″/download single, ATPR, 2008) * Mogwai/Fuck Buttons tour single (10",
Rock Action Records Rock Action Records is a Scottish, Glasgow-based independent record label, founded and maintained by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai. The label has showcased such diverse talents as Part Chimp, Errors, Chris Brokaw, Trout, The James Orr Complex ...
, 2008). Includes a Fuck Buttons cover of " Mogwai Fear Satan" * "Surf Solar" (7″/download single, ATPR, 2009) * "Olympians" (12"/download single, ATPR, 2010) * "Brainfreeze" (12"/download single, ATPR, 2013) * "The Red Wing" (12"/download single, ATPR, 2013)


Remixes

* "
If I Had a Heart "If I Had a Heart" is a song performed, written, and produced by Swedish recording artist Fever Ray (Karin Dreijer). It was released as the lead single from their self-titled debut album, ''Fever Ray'' (2009), marking Ray's debut single as a sol ...
" –
Fever Ray Karin Elisabeth Dreijer (born 7 April 1975) is a Swedish singer-songwriter and record producer. Dreijer was one half of the electronic music duo the Knife, formed with their brother Olof Dreijer. Dreijer released their debut solo album under ...
(2009) * "Virginia State Epileptic Colony" – Manic Street Preachers (2009) * "Kaili" – Caribou (2010) * "Tornado" – Jónsi (2011) * "The Perfect Life" –
Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...
(2013) * "All Torque" –
Hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
(2014) * "Modern Liars" –
Atari Teenage Riot Atari Teenage Riot (ATR) is a German band formed in Berlin in 1992. Highly political, they fuse left-wing, anarchist and anti-fascist views with punk vocals and a techno sound called digital hardcore, which is a term band member Alec Empire use ...
(2014)


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Musical groups established in 2004 English experimental musical groups English electronic music duos Noise musical groups Musical groups from Bristol ATP Recordings artists Lex Records artists