“It was a long journey” – An Interview with Silent Mass
With a mesmerizing blend of shoegaze, post-punk and dream-pop, Brooklyn’s Silent Mass recently released their excellent debut album via Mourning Sun Records. Led by singer-songwriter Ammo Bankoff, the eight tracks on The Great Chaos encompass her haunting vocals over lush guitar lines and primal percussive rhythms. Personal favorites include “Black Wing” (which explores the emptiness of living a life that is incomplete) which has a wonderful, hypnotic guitar line and “Land of Heart’s Desire”, which was written by Ammo after reading the W.B. Yeats play of the same name, and explores the theme of unfulfilled dreams and how they can inadvertently impact those around us.
Silent Mass initially took shape as a solo project in pre-pandemic Los Angeles, spearheaded by Ammo. Her debut single, a cover of ‘Total Recall’ that Big Takeover Magazine called “melancholic escapist dreamery,” was released in 2020 on Dune Altar as part of the charity compilation ‘Do You Feel That Way Too? A Tribute to Adrian Borland & The Sound.’ Shortly after, she relocated with audio engineer and guitarist Robert Duncan to join drummer and producer Alex Posell in NYC.
Having caught their set at this year’s New Colossus Festival, we were delighted to be able to catch up with Ammo recently to chat about the album and her musical journey so far.
Hi Ammo! How’s everything going right now?
It’s going, never a dull moment here!
What classic album cover art is your current mood?
Death Church by Rudimentary Peni
Congratulations on The Great Chaos – it’s a wonderful record. Where and when did you write and record the songs?
Thank you, I have gotten such lovely feedback on this record, and it means so much to me to hear that it’s well received. These songs are a compilation of demos I had written over a long period. Essentially a series of vignettes from times in my life that were a bit dark or uncertain. Some were created while I was still involved in other projects, and I just felt it wasn’t the right time for them.
Alex and I began working on the songs at my home studio in Los Angeles in early 2020, before he moved to NYC. Later that year, Rob and I moved to a forest in Northern California during the pandemic. We re-recorded some guitars and worked on mixing. Eventually, we made our way to NYC and finally completed the record with Alle mastering it. It was a long journey. You’d think I had plenty of time during the pandemic, but I felt hopeless and couldn’t bring myself to complete anything.
Silent Mass was originally going to be a solo project. How did it end up becoming a full band and do you still want to do a solo record in the future?
I had some demos set aside and was feeling impatient with my other project at the time, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. The first song I worked on was a cover of “Total Recall” by The Sound, which was part of a charity compilation put together by Brass Box’s label, Dune Altar. When Justin Maranga from Dune Altar approached me about contributing to the compilation, I knew I had to. The Sound had been a favorite of mine since my teens. Recording “Total Recall” opened the door for me to explore more solo recording, and that’s when I decided to start working on the rest of my demos.
I had released a few songs under my name, but there were already other bands and DJs using the same name. My distributor and I kept running into issues with releases getting mixed up, so I started considering a name change. After some thought, I realized I didn’t actually want to use my own name for the project. I liked the idea of having a sort of “barrier” between myself and what I was presenting to the world. Using my own name felt too personal and made me uncomfortable.
I still write all the music, but everyone in the project contributes in some way. Alex is great with percussion and adds subtle details that really drive the songs. Rob knows exactly the kind of guitar sound I’m looking for, and Alle, who is now playing bass with us, mastered the record. She’s an engineer and producer with a project of her own called Cellars.
You released an album in 2019 as part of Brass Box. What did you learn from that process that you were able to apply to the recording of The Great Chaos?
Brass Box is a collaboration with my longtime friend Neil Popkin, who is now also in Drag Talk with Brass Box’s second guitarist, Matt Bennett. I would write demos, and then Neil and I would meet up to expand on them. I would watch over his shoulder as we worked on the songs, and that experience helped me feel comfortable with recording more than just demos on my own. In previous bands, I would go into the studio to play well-rehearsed songs, but I was never really interested in the recording process, but that has changed.
Even recording The Great Chaos was a new experience, where I had to quickly learn a lot about recording. Rob helped a lot with this process because the original recordings were pretty messy with tons of tracks that needed to be paired down. I’ve developed more patience and can make quicker decisions about what I’m trying to convey. I also discovered how much I love adding all the little details that can really bring a song to life.
If you could only listen to one record, what would it be?
My mood will always depend on my choice, but most of the time, Dead Can Dance’s self-titled album will do the trick.
Who were your favorite musicians when you were growing up? Your vocals really remind me of Dolores O’Riordan.
I’m definitely a fan of The Cranberries now. But growing up, I was really into punk ballads, especially Rowland S. Howard, The Damned, Conflict, and TSOL. The Cure and The Sound were on repeat. My tastes were eclectic, though most of it leaned into punk. I was a total music junkie and would ditch school to hang out at the record store, but to name a few off the top of my head: Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Screamers, PIL, Roxy Music, Saccharine Trust, Gun Club, OMD, Nico, Violent Femmes, Kleenex (aka LiLiPUT), The Fall, Malaria!, Kate Bush, Aaliyah, Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders), anything on Crass records, and, of course, Enya.
You’re also a photographer and filmmaker. Does your music inspire your creative process (and vice versa)
It’s all cyclical and just part of who I am at this point in my life. Everything influences everything else, blending together. I’m mostly obsessed with music, film, photography, and the occult, and they always find their way into whatever I’m working on.
I saw you perform a great set at this year’s New Colossus Festival. How important are showcases like that for new bands right now?
Playing as much as you can and supporting other artists is important, without community where would any of us be? We met so many lovely people at NCF who traveled from all over the world. It’s great to be able to connect with so many like minded individuals.
You moved to Brooklyn a few years ago but grew up in SoCal. Which city has the best music scene/venues – LA or NYC?
I used to visit NYC when I was younger, and I think both places were alluring and unique in their own way.
The underground warehouse scene in DTLA was always an adventure, with shows often happening once or twice at a given spot before moving on. But there was one building next to MacArthur Park that stood out. It was somewhere between four to six stories tall—I can’t recall exactly. I remember climbing a long stairwell to reach the top floor. There were no windows, or if there were, the glass was long gone. The place was empty, probably abandoned. The cops never bothered us, likely because getting to the top required some effort. Plus, we were in MacArthur Park, so no one really cared what was happening there at the time.
Another time, we threw a show at a hotel that had closed down right outside of DTLA off the 5 freeway. I think the owners just wanted to make a little extra cash before the building was demolished, so they didn’t really care what we were up to. All the band got to play in different hotel rooms. The rooms were tiny, I remember having to stand on the back of my drummers seat while singing because there was no where else to go. At some point, people started throwing TVs and furniture out of the window on to the freeway. The police helicopter came… It was wild, we just grabbed our gear and took off running.
There were so many spots like that in LA, and they would constantly change, so you never really knew where you were going. I definitely spent more time in LA, and venues are just different now, so it’s unfair to compare LA to NYC during different time periods. But I did come to NYC often since my dad’s family is from here.
NYC usually had more visually interesting venues and the views were unbeatable. I remember climbing through windows and being on rooftops for shows and parties. Rooftops weren’t really a thing in LA unless it was at some posh venue, so I always found them intriguing just because it wasn’t the norm back home. Either way, both of these experiences are unfortunately a thing of the past, or maybe I’m just out of the loop. RIP to DIY venues.
What would go on your signature pizza and what would it be called?
I like a pizza with salad on top, like arugula. Never pineapple.
What’s next for Silent Mass?
Currently working on getting vinyl made and doing a limited edition cassette. Details to come, so stay tuned…
You can find out more about Silent Mass by visiting their website, buy some merch via Bandcamp and follow them on Instagram and Facebook to get all the latest news.
Photo Credits – Brimstone Media
