The Fascination of Masks in Music

Masks. They're everywhere! In my household, the latest series of The Masked Singer is proving a big hit, the latest series of a format that originally started in South Korea and spread to Australia, US and now UK and is basically reality tv featuring performers singing behind a mask and/or a costume and trying not be voted off (and thus having to reveal who you are). We're also now having to wear masks where we leave the house, enter shops etc as part of the pandemic restrictions which of course we should all be adhering to. But it was the recent sad news of the passing of MF DOOM - a rapper who always wore a mask on stage - that got me thinking about them and in particular which musicians wore them as part of their act. So the following is a quick - I stress quick! - list of 10 artists that came to mind:

MF DOOM: famed for his signature metal mask, that of Marvel Comics super-villain Doctor Doom, from whom he adopted the name. He rarely made public appearances without it.

Marshmello: wearing a custom helmet for public appearances, both his name - a misspelling of the food stuff - and the helmet are both inspired by Canadian DJ Deadmau5 but unlike this influence, Marshmello has gone onto even bigger and better things include food and gaming, particularly Fortnite where Marshmello's helmet has become instantly recognisable even to those who are not familiar with his music.

Sia: as soon as her career started to take off, the highly successful pop singer decided to start wearing bobbed blonde wigs to conceal her face to avoid the celebrity lifestyle and maintain a level of privacy. This would also give herself a chance to control her image.

Deadmau5: known as deadmouse from a young age, the idea of the head wear came from a friend in a band who pushed Deadmau5, aka Canadian DJ  Joel Zimmerman, to incorporate his newly created logo 'mousehead' into something tangible to wear.

Gorillaz: the mask maybe a virtual one, but it's still a disguise nevertheless, the brain child of Blur frontman Damon Albarn and his artist friend Jamie Hewlett.

Buckethead: one of the most popular alternative musicians who dons a disguise, here with an upturned KFC bucket to boot. Bizarre doesn't cut it...

Daft Punk: perhaps the most famous mask wearing duo in music and undoubtedly the coolest. The look perfectly aligns with their original slick French house sound.

Slipnot: bursting into popular consciousness off the back of the burgeoning nu-metal scene made famous by the likes of Limp Bizkit and their shock rock tactics secured a small but loyal following as they wore various masks akin to the costume department from the Texas Chain Saw Massacre film.

Michael Jackson: the famous video for Thriller took music videos to another level, just in time for MTV. Other than that he only occasionally wore masks but perhaps his face became the mask as it slowly but surely changed over time, to the point that you didn't quite know how much of it was real and how much of it was a mask. By sheer coincidence Jackson recorded his own version of Yellow Magic Orchestra's Behind The Mask for Thriller but due to a royalities dispute it remained unreleased for 28 years.

Kiss: the first musicians to always wear a mask using makeup and in the process create their own unique brand of rock and roll.

Overview..

Without doubt, there has been an increase in the use of masks by artists in the last 20 years as the world moves more to a digital online way of living, selling and consuming, and in response artists want to control their image and retain some privacy. In the early days of the Pop industry it seemed odd, a novelty even and merely for those who wanted to shock e.g. the Crazy World of Arthur Brown in the Sixties. Even 15 years later with Michael Jackson's Thriller this didn't necessarily change, although what did change was added visual exposure with MTV and the proliferation of the music video. However it was really the advent of the futuristic sounds of electro when it really took off and things changed and it is no surprise that - even in the frivolous list I've quickly put together above - there are a handful of Dance acts included. Their futuristic sounds perfectly co-exist with the sci-fi look of their masks. It also neatly works as DJs that look robotic plug into machines - computers, keyboards, synthesizers - to play. Protecting your image is important and helps you cultivate your own brand and in that respect your career too. With so many more avenues to control - particular with social media - this is absolutely key in this click click click world we live in.