Massive Attack
Massive Attack |
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Massive Attack are a trip hop band from Bristol, Great Britain. They have released four studio albums, two movie soundtracks, one remix album, and a greatest hits collection. Their musical style has been acclaimed for combining elements of jazz, hip hop, rock, and soul; lately darker, subtler forms of electronic music have been dominant influences.
Massive Attack are constant collaborators and have worked with a diverse mix of artists, from Sinéad O'Connor to reggae star Horace Andy to Madonna. Their work has also been used in many feature films and television shows, including The Matrix, 24, The West Wing, and House. They also have a financial stake in a small night club, Tube (formerly Nocturne, a private members club that they jointly owned), located in their hometown of Bristol.
History
1980s
Massive Attack began as an offshoot of the popular mid-1980s sound system The Wild Bunch. The core group consisted of three members, Robert Del Naja ("3D"), Grant Marshall ("Daddy G") and Andrew Vowles ("Mushroom"), along with occasional Wild Bunch collaborator (and also Del Naja's roommate) Tricky. In 1988 they released their first single "Any Love," followed in 1991 by their first album, Blue Lines, featuring the hit singles "Unfinished Sympathy" (with Shara Nelson) and "Daydreaming." The album was well-received both critically and commercially, with some polls calling "Unfinished Sympathy" one of the best songs of all time.[1] Blue Lines subsequently became one of the most influential British records of the 1990s, ushering in a new genre of music sometimes referred to as the "Bristol sound," but more often labelled trip-hop, a label Massive Attack have said they dislike.[citation needed]
1990s
In 1994, Massive Attack released their follow-up, Protection, an album that featured two string instrumentals arranged by Craig Armstrong and a deeper, more lush sound than the first. This marked Tricky's last collaboration with Massive Attack, as he chose to concentrate wholly on his solo career. On "Eurochild", Tricky borrowed lyrics from "Blank Expression" by The Specials. Two songs ("Protection" and "Better Things") feature Everything But The Girl vocalist Tracey Thorn, whom the band would collaborate with on a remake of The Marvelettes' hit "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" for the Batman Forever soundtrack.
In 1996, the band won a BRIT Award for "best dance act." This was a point of amusement for the band, as, at the time, none of them knew how to dance.[1]
Massive Attack's third album, Mezzanine, was released in 1998. Mezzanine showed the band moving towards a dark, tense sound filled with distorted guitars and a combination of drum machines and live percussion that lacked the laid-back, jazzy nature they had occasionally shown in their previous albums. Original member Vowles, dissatisfied with this change in sound, left the band shortly after the release of the album. He was replaced by Neil Davidge, who worked with Del Naja for much of his material on Mezzanine. The release of Mezzanine also led to a change in Massive Attack's live show. In addition to their previous simple set up of a few mics and turntables, the group began incorporating more and more live instrumentation into their shows. In addition to their usual numerous guest vocalists, the trio were now being joined on stage by a live guitarist, bassist, drummer, and keyboard player, as well as a video screen and lighting effects. Also during this time many members including [Richie Partridge] left the band due to musical differences but the core members remain. In 1998, the band released a compilation 'Singles 90/98' with rare tracks like "Superpredators" where the band sampled the music of "Metal Postcard" by Siouxsie & the Banshees.
2000s
Massive Attack's fourth album, 100th Window, which was recorded without Marshall, was released in early 2003. It entered the Top 10 in the UK chart. While some critics found 100th Window not up to par with previous offerings, many found it a worthwhile listening experience.
In 2004, the band, now consisting of Del Naja, Davidge, and programmer Alex Swift, released an instrumental soundtrack for the feature film Danny the Dog, which was produced by Luc Besson. The film's title was changed to Unleashed prior to the American release, though the album was initially released under the original title as it came out months before the film. 2005 saw the band contribute another soundtrack, this time for the feature film Bullet Boy. The group had also been slated to work on music for the film V for Vendetta with past collaborator Craig Armstrong but had to leave the project due to scheduling problems.
That same year, portions of Massive Attack's song "Teardrop" were used for the theme song for House, M.D., a popular television medical drama.
In 2006 the band released a greatest hits compilation, Collected. The two-disc set includes selected tracks from their studio albums, some rare singles, and two new tracks, "Live with Me" and "False Flags." The DVD layer of the second disc also contains all the group’s music videos to date. Massive Attack also returned to the studio to record a new album, tentatively titled Weather Underground. Of the three original members, Del Naja and Marshall have returned to record the group’s fifth studio album. However, they will not be collaborating with each other extensively. Del Naja will be in one studio with producer Neil Davidge, and Marshall will be working from his own studio on the other side of Bristol. Presumably the pair will work more closely on a finished album after their respective batches of tracks are completed. Dot Allison, Horace Andy, Mike Patton, and Mos Def are expected to contribute vocals.
Massive Attack toured North America and Europe in 2006, performing closing spots at summer festivals such as Austin City Limits Music Festival. Marshall was not present for many of the performances, because, according to Del Naja on stage, Marshall's wife had delivered a baby.
EMI/Virgin confirmed that the newest Massive Attack album would be out in February 2007[2]. However, during an interview with Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 on December 19th, 2006, Del Naja stated that the release would hopefully be sometime in 2007, and that the title was now unlikely to be 'Weather Underground'.
In February 2007 Massive recorded a live performance in legendary Abbey Road studios. Video of three songs and short interviews was aired on BBC beginning of March 2007.
On February 6, 7, and 8, 2007, Massive Attack organised and performed charity concerts in Birmingham and the Brixton Academy in London for the HOPING Foundation for Palestinian refugee children. The three sold-out concerts netted over £100,000 for the Foundation, and attracted extensive media coverage. It is one of the largest concerts in the world ever performed for Palestinian children.
Controversy
During the first Gulf War, several British media channels became anxious to avoid using words suggestive of war and violence, and Massive Attack (then struggling to become established) were forced to temporarily change their name to simply Massive. Del Naja makes no secret in interviews of his political objections to what he sees as U.S. aggression against the Third World in the name of democracy, often expressing regret that he ever agreed to the name change.
In 2003, Del Naja was arrested and questioned "in connection with allegations of the possession of class A drugs and Internet pornography offences," as a part of Operation Ore, a nation-wide crackdown on child pornography. [2] Del Naja never admitted to the crime, saying that he has never looked at child pornography in his life, and some fans have claimed that the government was running a smear campaign on him for his views on the war in Iraq. The reason finally stated was that Del Naja's credit card had been used to procure computer services via a company which, in turn, had links to another organisation sympathetic to hosting child pornography, Del Naja being entirely unaware of the connection. He was released on bail after six hours in jail.
Discography
Albums
| Month/Year | Album | UK | U.S. | AUS | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1, 1991 | Blue Lines | 13 | - | 69 | |
| September 26, 1994 | Protection | 4 | - | 15 | |
| February 17, 1995 | No Protection | 10 | - | 34 | Dub versions of songs from Protection |
| April 20, 1998 | Mezzanine | 1 | 60 | 1 | |
| February 10, 2003 | 100th Window | 1 | 69 | 4 | |
| October 11, 2004 | Danny the Dog | 70 | - | - | Film soundtrack |
| March 27, 2006 | Collected | 2 | 198 | 19 | Singles compilation |
| 2007 | Weather Underground | TBR | TBR | TBR | To be released |
Singles/EPs
| Month/Year | Title | UK | U.S. Dance | AUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | "Any Love" | - | - | - |
| October 15, 1990 | "Daydreaming" | 81 | - | - |
| February 11, 1991 | "Unfinished Sympathy" | 13 | - | - |
| May 28, 1991 | "Safe from Harm" | 25 | 32 | - |
| February 10 1992 | Massive Attack EP (aka Hymn of the Big Wheel) | 27 | - | - |
| October 17, 1994 | "Sly" (featuring Nicolette) | 24 | - | - |
| January 9, 1995 | "Protection" (featuring Tracey Thorn) | 14 | - | - |
| January 9, 1995 | "Karmacoma" | 28 | - | - |
| August 4, 1997 | "Risingson" | 11 | - | - |
| April 27, 1998 | "Teardrop" (featuring Liz Fraser) | 10 | - | 16 |
| July 13, 1998 | "Angel" | 30 | - | - |
| September 21, 1998 | Inertia Creeps EP | - | - | - |
| March 11, 2002 | "I Against I" (featuring Mos Def) | - | - | - |
| February 24, 2003 | "Special Cases" (featuring Sinead O'Connor) | 15 | - | - |
| June 16, 2003 | Butterfly Caught EP | - | - | - |
| April 22, 2005 | Bullet Boy EP | - | - | - |
| March 13, 2006 | "Live with Me" (featuring Terry Callier) | 17 | - | - |
| June 5, 2006 | "False Flags" | 158 | - | - |
Live mixes
- BBC Radio One Essential Mix (December 12, 1994)
- Heaven, Stockholm (May 18, 1998)
- Pinkpop Festival (June 3, 1998)
- Royal Albert Hall (July 7, 1998)
Samples
- from Blue Lines
- from Mezzanine