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Massive Attack

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Massive Attack

Massive Attack are an English downtempo band. Founded in Bristol in 1988, the band's current lineup consists of Robert Del Naja and Grantley Marshall. They have released four studio albums, two movie soundtracks, one remix album, and a greatest hits collection. Massive Attack are constant collaborators and have worked with a diverse mix of artists, from Sinéad O'Connor to reggae musician Horace Andy to Madonna. With the release of their debut album Blue Lines (1991), Massive Attack were critically acclaimed for their fusion of jazz, hip hop, rock, and soul elements into a new genre, trip-hop. With the release of later albums such as Protection (1994) and Mezzanine (1998), the band integrated forms of electronic music into their sound. Their music was part of the larger Bristol underground scene.

History

1980s

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"Unfinished Sympathy" (1991)
A sample of "Unfinished Sympathy" from the album Blue Lines.
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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 "Safe From Harm". The album, which was produced by Cameron McVey, was well-received both critically and commercially. 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 labeled trip-hop, a label Massive Attack have said they dislike. [citation needed] Despite the use of breakbeats, samples, and rap courtesy of Tricky, "Blue Lines" is distinct stylistically from American hip-hop. The music is more complex, layered, and atmospheric, earning the desgination of trip-hop, with its unique British tone and aesthetic [1] The group were prominent in the 1980s Bristol club scene, and are considered pioneers of trip-hop [2].

1990s

During the first Gulf War the band temporarily changed their name to Massive after pressure from their label, to avoid implying support of the attack on Iraq.[3] In 1994, Massive Attack released their follow-up album, 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. Tricky used lyrics from other songs (chronologically before and after the album's release) at some points during the recording. Several of the lyrics from "Karmacoma" shared between Tricky and 3D were later sung by Martina Topley-Bird on Tricky's single "Overcome". 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 collaborated 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". One year later, the group contributed to the movie soundtrack of The Jackal, recording "Superpredators (Metal Postcard)", a number containing a sample of Siouxsie and the Banshees.[4]

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Massive Attack's third album, Mezzanine, was released in 1998. Mezzanine showed the band moving towards a somewhat 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. Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins sang lead vocals on three tracks. 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 from United Visual Artists. Also during this time many members including Richie Partridge left the band due to musical differences but the core members remain. Two tracks from this album appeared in motion pictures. One is the track Angel, which is included in the movies Pi[5] and Flight of the Phoenix. In the movie The Matrix, the track Dissolved Girl is playing though Neo's headphones as he sleeps passed out in front of his computer. The song is listed in the movie's credits but does not appear on the soundtrack. [6]

2000s

Massive Attack's fourth album, 100th Window, which was recorded without Marshall, was released in early 2003. It entered the Top 10 at Number 1 in the UK. 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. Also 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. 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. Mezzanine-era collaborator Elizabeth Fraser returned to the line-up to provide backing vocals. Marshall was not present for most of the North America performances, because, according to Del Naja on stage, Marshall's wife had delivered a baby. Massive Attack recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios for Live from Abbey Road on July 29 2006. Their performance was screened alongside sets from LeAnn Rimes and Dr. John on the Sundance Channel in the USA and Channel 4 in the UK. That same year, portions of Massive Attack's song "Teardrop", were used for the theme song for House, a popular television medical drama.

During a December 2006 interview with Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1, Del Naja stated that the release would be sometime in 2007, and that the title was now unlikely to be Weather Underground; yet the latest news is that the album is now not likely to appear until around June 2008. It is likely to feature Tunde Adebimpe from TV on the Radio and Stephanie Dosen amongst others. Founder members Robert Del Naja (3D) and Grant Marshall (Daddy G) have been working separately, Daddy G having recently been working with production Team 'The Robot Club'. A Daddy G remix of Morning Child by 4 Hero has appeared as part of the singles release. In February 2007, Massive recorded a live performance in Abbey Road Studios. Video of three songs and short interviews was aired on BBC beginning of March 2007.

During this time the band became involved with charitable causes, showing their concern with the Arab-Israeli conflict by playing multiple concerts.

Massive Attack are headlining the Other Stage at Glastonbury 2008 on Saturday 28th June.

Discography

Main article: Massive Attack discography

References

  1. ^ Schwartz, Mark. "Planet Rock: Hip Hop Supa National." In The Vibe History of Hip-hop, ed. Alan Light, 361-72. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1999.
  2. ^ Massive Attack Lyrics, Photos, Pictures, Paroles, Letras, Text for every songs
  3. ^ BBC News, 27 February, 2003
  4. ^ Massive Attack copyright of the song "Superpredators"
  5. ^ IMDB entry for the movie Pi
  6. ^ The IMBD sountrack entry for The Matrix, includes credit for Dissolved Girl.
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