In this compelling interview with Infrared Magazine, we are thrilled to bring you an exclusive conversation with Benjamin Blank from BINARY ORDER, a visionary artist in the realm of Industrial metal and IDM. As a solo project fueled by Benjamin’s unique creative prowess, BINARY ORDER stands out in the music landscape with its distinctive sound. With an album set to release in November, Benjamin delves into his creative process, the inspirations driving his latest work, and his thoughts on the state of the music world, from production to promotion.
In our in-depth discussion, he sheds light on the intricate process behind his songwriting, his views on what makes a great remix, and his stance on the rapidly evolving trends in music promotion. Furthermore, Benjamin shares his perspective on the artistic direction of his music videos and the challenges artists face while touring in the current music industry climate. As we explore the journey and future plans of BINARY ORDER, join us in discovering the mind behind this intriguing solo project.
INFRARED MAG: Hello and thank you for taking the time to sit down with us. Could you please provide our readers with a brief introduction to your band, including some background information?
BINARY ORDER: Sure, thanks for having me. I’m Benjamin from Binary Order, it’s a solo project consisting of just myself and it’s primarily an Industrial metal/IDM sound.
INFRARED MAG: What was the inspiration behind the album coming out in November?
BINARY ORDER: I’m pretty much always writing, and I usually set myself a target of that by the end of the year I’ll release and package the tracks I’m putting together as an album. So, there was never any initial clear inspiration that set of ‘The Future Belongs to the Mad‘ more just an accumulation of where I am now.
In terms of the songs themselves, they’re heavily inspired by the state of the world and where I find myself – or don’t – in it. There’s so much noise and anger online and off and I’ve found myself lost in my own life, unable to find somewhere I feel I belong. Which is where I’m writing a lot from.
INFRARED MAG: Are your songs created mostly the same way or does the process differ for different tracks?
BINARY ORDER: I have a very strict system when I comes to the structure and writing, it can be restrictive for some but It really helps me get ideas from my head to completion if I can conceptualize them within these boundaries.
So, in that sense all my songs are written and put together identically, it’s the individual elements that can vary greatly from track to track. But I’m very much “this is what this track is and will go here” rather than just writing and throwing together what works.
INFRARED MAG: What, in your opinion is the mark of a good remix?
BINARY ORDER: Metamorphosis. When I was young, I got SPINESHANK’s ‘Height of Callouness’, an album that I still love to this day, but at the end there are two remixes (or at least were on my copy) and I didn’t really understand what they were at first. I just thought they were two different songs because they were so transformative and different to their original versions. It’s that ability to do something completely different to the source material, while still using it that I really admire in remixes. But most of the time they’ll just take the chorus melody and put a 4/4 kick under it, turning what was originally not a dance song; into a dance song.
INFRARED MAG: These days short-form videos and consistent content in variety are two of the biggest trends in music promotion. What do you see in the future of promotion?
BINARY ORDER: I personally hate the short form content, I watch a lot of YouTube and when creators I follow release hour or multiple hour long videos it’s great but there’s so much clutter with the shorts – they’re basically just adverts for actual content to me.
I understand why it’s going that way, why trailers have mini trailers at the start now etc., but it’s not something I’m a fan of. As for where the future of promotion is actually going. I have no idea, if I did, I would probably be the most successful businessman of all time.
INFRARED MAG: What sets the latest album apart from previous work? Would you go back and do things differently on a previous album if you had the opportunity?
BINARY ORDER: This album is just bigger and more focused. Every album I feel like I’m heading towards what I will eventually consider my best work and The Future Belongs To The Mad is that right now. The songs are tighter, melodies are stronger, production is better, the tracks are more varied and I explore a lot more genres than ever before.
However, every album is a learning process for me. I would love to go back and bring some tracks that were let down by either my own performance or production. It’s something I’ve considered for a while now.
INFRARED MAG: How important is storytelling in songs and videos to you?
BINARY ORDER: Not important at all, I actually find it really cringey when music videos are literal or try and tell a story related to the song. I much prefer either complete artistic abstraction or a mood piece for a music video. Or something like “Between Angels and Insects” by PAPA ROACH – which is this really cool cinematic performance video – for example.
INFRARED MAG: Touring these days, it has been said is especially challenging for artists at least in terms of making a profit. What do you think it will take to turn that around and make it easier?
BINARY ORDER: When we finally get the flying cars cyberpunk movies have been promising it’ll probably make touring easier.
INFRARED MAG: Do you have a vision for how the new material will be represented in a live show? Are the tracks selected for live shows picked for any particular reason?
BINARY ORDER: So, right now I’m not performing Binary Order live at all, but I have a few ideas if it did ever happen. I’m a big fan of some of the NIN performances during The Slip and beyond that I would like to experiment with but it’s all just a pipe dream.
INFRARED MAG: What have you planned for the forthcoming months?
BINARY ORDER: So, by the time this interview goes live three singles will be out, they’ll be a 4th in November followed by the full album on the 28th of the same month. I’m just going to be continuing promoting and working on new stuff because I just can’t seem to stop writing.
More info can be found on BINARY CODE at:
www.Facebook.com/BinaryOrder
www.Instagram.com/BinaryOrder
www.Twitter.com/BinaryOrder
