Massive Attack

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Massive Attack

Massive Attack are a seminal British trip hop band from Bristol, England. DJ's Grantley (Grant) Marshall (Daddy G), Andrew Vowles (Mushroom) and painter / MC Robert Del Naja (3D) met as members of the The Wild Bunch, one of the first sound system collectives in Britain and a dominant force in the early 1980s Bristol club scene.[1] Starting out as a trio in 1988, with their independently-released song, "Any Love" (sung by falsetto-voiced singer-songwriter Carlton McCarthy),[2] they went on to sign to Virgin Records then subsidiary Circa Records[3] in 1990.[1] [4]

Some of their most noted tracks feature dramatically atmospheric dynamics, conveyed through epic distorted guitar crescendos, lavish orchestral arrangements (like swelling, sustained strings or flourishes of grand piano) or prominent, looped/shifting basslines, underpinned by high and exacting production values, using digital editing and mixing.[4] The pace of the music was generally slower than prevalent British dance music at the time. These sonic techniques, often used minimally in their earlier material, formed a much-emulated style journalists began to dub "trip hop" from the mid-nineties onwards,[5] though Daddy G still resents the media-invented term.[citation needed]

Their debut album, Blue Lines (1991), was co-produced by Cameron McVey, who also became their manager.[6] Geoff Barrow, who went on to become a founder member of Portishead, was a tea-boy and tape operator at Bristol's Coach House studio when the album was recorded.[7] McVey (credited at the time as 'Booga Bear') and his wife, Neneh Cherry provided important support [including financial] to the careers of Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky during this period, paying wages to them through their 'Cherry Bear Organisation'.[8] Massive Attack received critical acclaim for their combination of distinctive, often 'ethereal' or whispery and ever-changing guest vocalists, plus occasionally Del Naja and Daddy G's (initially Tricky's) own similarly hushed sprechgesang stylings, with what was thought to be a quintessentially British, creative use of sampling that fused down-tempo hip hop, soul, reggae and other references (including lyrical ones).[1]

With the coffee-table chill-out of Protection in 1994, a rather heavier, guitar-upgraded Mezzanine in 1998, and then the denser, more clinical soundscaping of Robert Del Naja's essentially solo 100th Window in 2003, Massive's overall sound grew persistently more experimental and melancholy, having a greater degree of gothic post-punk texture and moodily cinematic electronica integrated into it. Andrew Vowles reluctantly and acrimoniously left Massive Attack, at the behest of his colleagues, in 1999. Daddy G had also effectively left by 2001, but returned to a studio role with greater commitment in 2005, having joined the touring line-up of 2003/4,[9] though he was not involved in producing "Live With Me", with Terry Callier, the one new track from [Disc 1 of] 2006's Collected. A record label, Melankolic, was started back in 1995 (as an imprint of Virgin [EMI] ), but folded after 2002. Over the decades, the Bristol collective have collaborated with Neneh Cherry, Madonna, David Bowie, Mos Def and Sinéad O'Connor amongst many others. Roots reggae veteran, Horace Andy has featured on all of their studio LP's. Currently, producer Neil Davidge and Massive Attack spend time in Del Naja and Davidge's 100 Suns studio, in Bristol, working to finish their, as yet untitled, long-awaited, fifth studio album.[10] The release date for the next album now stands as October 2009.[11]

The Timeline

1988-1989: Any Love

Unsigned, Mushroom (Andy Vowles), Daddy G (Grant Marshall) and 3D (Robert Del Naja) put out "Any Love" as a single, co-produced by Bristolian double-act Smith and Mighty. Through The Wild Bunch they meet Cameron McVey and Neneh Cherry.

1990-1992: Unfinished Sympathy, Blue Lines and Cameron McVey

3D co-writes (the rap verses of) Neneh Cherry's "Manchild", which goes to number one. Cameron McVey and Neneh Cherry help them to record their first LP, "Blue Lines", partly in their house, and the album gets released in 1991 on Virgin Records.

The album was critically acclaimed across the board. It encompassed a range of different vocalists, normal practice for an eclectic soundsystem but quite unusual for a high-profile album at that time. The singers included Horace Andy, a reggae legend as well as Shara Nelson, a former Wild Bunch cohort. MC's Tricky and Willie Wee, also once part of The Wild Bunch, featured, as well as Daddy G's voice on "Five Man Army". Neneh Cherry sang backing vocals on environmentalist anthem, "Hymn of the Big Wheel".

That year they released "Unfinished Sympathy" as a single [an obvious pun on Unfinished Symphony], a grandiosely string-arranged track at Abbey Road studio, scored by Will Malone, that would go on to be voted the 10th greatest of all time, with a one-take video that also become iconic and much-imitated (by The Verve amongst others). The group shortened their name, on the advice of McVey to avoid controversy relating to the Gulf War. They go back to being Massive Attack for their next single, "Safe From Harm".

They undertook a relatively brief tour, including the United States, as a DJs & MCs, hip hop-type setup, with only turntables and microphones. The tour was not particularly well received, spurring the decision to make Massive Attack into a more traditional live entity for the following tour.

1993-1997: Protection, Nellee Hooper, Melankolic and Neil Davidge

After falling out with Shara Nelson over wages and her decision to make a solo record, the band brought in Everything But The Girl's Tracey Thorn as a new vocalist. Cameron McVey abandoned his role as Massive Attack's manager and Daddy G asked Marc Picken to represent the band. Picken finds Nicolette to be the other female vocalist on the album that would become their second studio album, Protection.

With McVey out of the picture, Massive, returning to their roots in some respects, enlisted the production talents of Wild Bunch alumnus, Nellee Hooper to co-produce the record, or rather co-produce some songs on it, with Mushroom. Other tracks were co-produced by The Insects and 3D.

The album was successful. A dub version, "No Protection", was released the following year by Mad Professor). Protection won a Brit award for Best Dance Act and 3D joked, on receiving it, that none of them can dance. It was more chilled out and overtly electronic than Blue Lines and ends with a lighthearted cover of the Doors classic, "Light My Fire", sung by Horace Andy, often thought of now as an ill-chosen reference to their live soundsystem past. The other collaborators on Protection were Craig Armstrong, a virtuoso Scottish classical pianist and Tricky. Tricky's solo career was taking off at this time and he decides not to collaborate with Massive anymore after this, having never been very happy with Massive Attack's creative direction or in his relationships with Del Naja and Daddy G.

1994-5 was also the period of Portishead's Dummy and Tricky's Maxinquaye albums and the term, "trip hop" was coined. Massive Attack bitterly opposed its use, wanting to not be pigeonholed. The media started to refer to the "Bristol scene", although this would be spurious to some extent, as Portishead, technically, is not in the city of Bristol and Tricky bases himself in London [and later in the States] and there was not a great deal of camaraderie between the three entities (although they could be related in that the protagonists were all connected to Blue Lines studio sessions and their wages being initially paid by Neneh Cherry and Cameron McVey's "Cherry Bear Organisation").

In 1995, Massive Attack started a label under EMI, Melankolic, an obvious reference to their interest in elegiac music, and signed Craig Armstrong, as well as a number of other artists: Horace Andy, Alpha, Sunna and Day One. The trio espoused a non-interference philosophy that allowed the artists to make their albums in the way they wanted.

The same year, The Insects would become unavailable for co-production and having parted ways with Nellee Hooper, the band were introduced to Neil Davidge, a relatively unknown producer whose main claim to fame thus far had been an association with anonymous dance/pop outfit, DNA. The first track they worked on is "The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game", a cover version sung by Tracey Thorn for the Batman Forever soundtrack, foretelling ever greater forays into film music. Initially, Davidge was brought in as engineer, but soon became de facto producer.

The trio increasingly fractured in the lead up to the third album, Davidge having to co-produce the three producers ideas separately. Mushroom was reported to be unhappy with the degree of the post-punk direction, Del Naja, increasingly filling the production vacuum, was taking the band in.

In 1997, a single from their third album was released, "Risingson", to sate the fans appetite for new material. The album, Mezzanine, came out nine months later.

1998-2001: Teardrop, Mezzanine, the Mushroom split and 3D solo

In 1998, Massive Attack released Mezzanine. Darker, heavier sounding and more guitar-driven, the album came out initially to rather mixed reviews and a perception that it was not a commercial record, although it went on to be their most commercial. The record marked Massive Attack becoming a live band and incorporated more fresh, recorded live music as well as samples. Angelo Bruschini would become their permanent lead guitarist both in recording and live.

The lead single, after "Risingson" was "Teardrop", perhaps the most accessible track on the album, sung by Cocteau Twin, Elizabeth Fraser. (It is accompanied by, what would become, a very memorable video directed by Walter Stern, of a animatronic singing foetus.) Mushroom and Del Naja met Fraser in Safeways (a British supermarket) and this is how her collaboration on three songs came about and the relationship with Tracey Thorn fell by the wayside. Horace Andy was invited back to sing on three songs, including the epic, "Angel" and a track the band made for the movie The Jackal, "Dissolved Girl", sung by Sara Jay, was remixed longer and darker for inclusion on the record.

Mezzanine went on to be critically acclaimed, winning a Q Award for Best Album (Q magazine initially only having given it 3/5 stars) as well as being nominated for a Mercury. The record eschewed hip-hop to some extent in favour of more experimental, gothic and post-punk-like music, resulting from Del Naja's influence. Most of the songs were started and co-written by Neil Davidge, but Davidge did not receive any writing credit on the record. The artwork for the album is a beetle, made out of parts of a Volkswagen beetle car.

Touring extensively, friction between Mushroom and the others would come to a head. Mushroom was unhappy with the direction of the group, Del Naja's dominating role and having to appear on tour. He is thought to have leaked Massive Attack material to Madonna in an effort to have her involved on an album and to have been refusing to allow anyone else in the band to modify his material (seen to be against the collaborative spirit of the group). Finding his behaviour intolerable to deal with, the other two suggested he would need to leave or the band would have to end. Mushroom acrimoniously split from Massive Attack officially in the autumn of 1999. It is rumoured that he privately blamed his subsequent severe health problems on the strain of the acrimony. It was widely reported in subsequent years that he would produce a solo album, but no such material has ever appeared in the ten years since.

In 2000, Del Naja and Daddy G would do a highly publicized webcast on the state of the band and future plans, which was perceived by some to be a show of unity following divorce from Mushroom.

Around this time, Del Naja, with Davidge decanted into Ridge Farm studio with friends and band members of Lupine Howl (itself made up of sacked members of the band Spiritualized, including Damon Reece who would go on to be Massive Attack's permanent drummer and one of two live drummers) towards a fourth Massive Attack LP, taking things even further into an experimental, psychedelic rock direction.

Daddy G became increasingly disillusioned with this approach, despite having supported the direction up until the point of Mezzanine, and stayed away from the studio from around 2001, effectively leaving Massive Attack as a producer.

Robert Del Naja and Davidge eventually conceded that the separate elements of the Lupine Howl sessions do not make for great music and this material is almost entirely discarded in favour of a more cinematic and busily electronic sound.

It was around this point that their label, Melankolic started to dwindle. There were be no releases from after 2002 and the company dissolved in 2003. Del Naja later suggested in interviews that it was in part due to the artists "taking the piss" in spending too much money and Daddy G cited Virgin records lack of infrastructural support as a reason for the downfall.

2001 also saw the release of Eleven Promos, a DVD of all Massive Attack's 11 music videos thus far (including Angel, a £100,000+ promo that they initially withdrew from fear of inflaming unhelpful speculation about the relationships in the band at the time, even though it is Daddy G, and not Mushroom who is depicted running away.)

2002-2005: 100th Window, Danny the Dog and return of G

With Daddy G no longer involved in the studio, Davidge and Del Naja steered "LP4" on their own. Enlisting the vocals of a flu-ridden Sinéad O'Connor and perennial favourite Horace Andy, 100th Window was mastered in August 2002 and released in February 2003.

More sonically conceptual than the other records and featuring no samples of other artists or cover versions, 100th Window, a reference to a book about internet security used as a metaphor apropos of 'no man is an island', was not as well critically received in Britain as the other records. It was described in the press as 'hook-free'. Q magazine brands the soundscaping record 'pompous'. People begin to question whether Del Naja on his own should release records as Massive Attack, and the project is increasingly referred to as 'whiter', 'depleted' and 'embattled'.

It is also in 2003 that Del Naja was arrested on child porn allegations, which was reported very widely in all media outlets, thanks to the UK police and The Sun newspaper. The allegations resulted from his having entered his credit card details into a website in 1999 that was connected to other abhorrent material which he did not view. Del Naja was soon eliminated as a suspect (although he was charged with Ecstasy possession and unable to get a US visa for awhile) and Daddy G and fans offer support. The arrest affected the beginning of the 100th Window tour schedule.

The tour did not include the United States and was very elaborate in terms of its light show, collaborating again with UVA (United Visual Artists).

Despite the difficulties of 2003, 100th Window sold over a million copies and was toured extensively (including Queen's Square, Bristol - a one-off gig set up in the city centre's park seen as a homecoming).[12] Daddy G was fully involved as a member of the tour. It is rumoured that the tour of 2003 was so expensive, it sent Massive Attack into the red, with the group unable to fully pay the roadies at the time. A less ambitious tour took place in 2004.

Afterwards, Del Naja and Davidge agreed to an offer from director Louis Leterrier, to score the entire soundtrack for Danny The Dog, starring Jet Li. It was off the back of this lucrative job that they would have the funding to buy their own '100 Suns' studio. Dot Allison, who had sung with the band on the 100th Window tour, sang the end titles track, "Aftersun". Davidge also scored the soundtrack for the more critically well-received "Bullet Boy" film, with Del Naja on the end titles.

In 2005, Daddy G started coming into the studio, although little would come of the material. He decided to instead work with a production duo, Robot Club, in another studio, feeling that he would be more free to develop tracks in the way he wanted. Meanwhile, Del Naja and Davidge try-out recording with a number of different singers as well as recording a track named "Twilight", for UNKLE's "War Stories" album. Later that year, Massive Attack decided to release their contractually-obliged, Best Of, "Collected" in 2006. To make things more interesting they release it with a second disc, made up of previously released non-album songs and unreleased sketches.

2006: Collected

Massive Attack toured their greatest hits record, including North America for the first time in nearly eight years. It sold well and was critically well-received for the most part. The artwork is an echo of the concept of Mezzanine, depicting four wreath-looking flowers as if they were made out of weapons. The justification given for the "Best Of" is that the record buys the band more time with the record company to develop "LP5" in the way that they want, i.e. to hold off on releasing it for six years.

2007-present: Meltdown and "LP5"

In 2007, Del Naja and Davidge scored three soundtracks, In Prison My Whole Life (which featured a track called "Calling Mumia" with vocals by American rapper Snoop Dogg), Battle In Seattle and Trouble the Water (which received an Oscar nomination for the music). All of this soundtrack work was either credited as Neil Davidge and Robert Del Naja or under the guise of 100 Suns, in a concerted effort to differentiate the soundtrack/film scoring work from the brand name of Massive Attack.

It became apparent in 2007, through the band's MySpace, that they were working with Stephanie Dosen and she later became part of the touring line-up, Elizabeth Fraser having returned to the live repertoire initially.

In February 2007, Massive Attack hosted a charity benefit for the Hoping Foundation, a charity for Palestinian children, cementing their reputation as one of Britain's most obviously political bands. A year afterwards, in 2008, it was announced that Massive Attack were to curate the UK's Southbank Meltdown, a week long event encompassing numerous bands Massive Attack like and relate to. It was suggested in interviews that this event, would inspire Massive back into action, having spent several years drifting towards the completion of their fifth studio album. Later on the same year, the band picked up a Q award for Innovation.

Later that year, Del Naja and Daddy G headed to Damon Albarn's studios for some writing and jamming. Around this time, Davidge scored the soundtrack for a Paul McGuigan movie, Push and in December, Del Naja completed the score for 44 Inch Chest with The Insects and Angelo Badalamenti.

Davidge and Del Naja then got back together in 2009 with Daddy G to concertedly finish the fifth album, incorporating bits of the Albarn material. It has been widely suggested that "LP5" (formerly known as Weather Underground) will be released in September 2009 (even as specifically as 22 September 2009 on the official forum). Although Massive Attack have claimed the album will be released in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008, it could be projected that a 2009 release fits exactly the 'one year slower' pattern of the previous studio LP releases (with "Collected"'s release date almost exactly halfway between that of 100th Window and "LP5"'s ETA).

Later it was announced that the band are to headline the 2009 Bestival festival and soon after that they are to tour the UK[13] and Europe,[14] which has led to speculation that "LP5" is imminent, along with two strange and typically caps-locked blog entries by 3D on the official site, one being entitled "SUMMER OF SUBMISSION".[15]

LP5 Speculation

The next album has seemingly been confirmed by 3D in a recent interview as coming out for definite in October 2009. A name for the album has still not been selected as of the end of May 2009, but they may actually be returning to the title "Weather Underground", which had been dismissed as only being a working title for the album until now.[16] The title "Steal It Back" is another possible frontrunner for the next album's name as it was hinted at in another of 3D's blog posts back in March 2009.

Generally it is thought that the album is going to hark back to Blue Lines and Mezzanine in direction, to some extent.

3D, Daddy G and Horace Andy are thought to be featuring as vocalists on "LP5".

Other vocalists thought to have recorded as yet unreleased material with Massive Attack after Collected [2006-2009]:

Jhelisa Anderson (also recorded unreleased material in 2002), Stephanie Dosen, Yolanda Quarty of Phantom Limb, Damon Albarn (potential co-writer), Guy Garvey of Elbow (potential co-writer) & Hope Sandoval (has previously collaborated with The Chemical Brothers)

Material recorded with potential guest vocalists over 3 years ago is probably less likely to be used on the record.

Other vocalists known to have recorded as yet unreleased material with Massive Attack before Collected [2004-2005]:

Elizabeth Fraser, Mike Patton, Tunde Adebimpe of TV On The Radio, Dot Allison, Fredo Viola & Beth Orton (has previously collaborated with The Chemical Brothers)

Other vocalists who have been speculated upon but are not thought to have recorded any material with Massive Attack specifically for their next studio album (and therefore far less probable or expected candidates for inclusion) are:
Mos Def, Tom Waits, Tricky, Patti Smith, Alice Russell & David Bowie

Some websites refer to Sia having worked with Massive in the past. Also, a number of pictures of influential Bristolian musician, Mark Stewart, appearing to be in 100 Suns studio, have been posted on the blog of the official website.

Media Usage

Massive Attack have developed a reputation over their career for creating soundscapes which lend themselves to visual media. Their music is well known for being featured in many different forms of media, such as film and TV. The following are some select examples of media in which Massive Attack have featured on the soundtrack:

In Films/TV

Angel - Firewall, Stay, Flight Of The Phoenix, Antitrust, Snatch, Go, Best Laid Plans, Pi, The West Wing (Episode: Commencement), Le Femme Nikita (Episode: Off Profile), Smallville (Episode: Rogue), Prison Break (Episode: On the Run)

Be Thankful For What You've Got - Bounce

Dissolved Girl - The Matrix, the Jackal

Everywhen - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Episode: Simple Man)

Future Proof - Smallville (Episode: Asylum), Queer As Folk (USA) (Episode 12 of Season 3)

Home Of The Whale - Eye Of The Beholder

Hymn Of The Big Wheel - The Fan

I Against I - Blade 2

I Am Home - CSI: Miami (Episode: Recoil)

Inertia Creeps - Taking Lives, Stigmata, Numb3rs (Episode: Pilot)

Inflight Data - The Uranus Experiment (1999)

Karmacoma - 187 , Sleeper Cell (Episode: Intramural)

Name Taken - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Episode: Butterflied)

One Love - Under The Skin (1997)

P Is For Piano - Miami Vice

Protection - Hackers, Sabrina

Risingson - Abre Los Ojos

Safe From Harm - The Insider, Definitely, Maybe

Simple Rules - CSI: Miami (Episode: Recoil)

Small Time Shot Away - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Episode: Eleven Angry Men)

Spying Glass - 187

Superpredators - The Jackal

Teardrop - House (TV series) (US Version's Main Theme'), Prison Break (Episode: Tonight), Cold Case (Episode: Sanctuary), Charmed (Episode: Which Prue Is It, Anyway?)

Three - City Of Industry

Unfinished Sympathy - Sliver

Wire - Welcome To Sarajevo

Previous Guest Vocalists

Blue Lines

  • Shara Nelson [Safe From Harm, Unfinished Sympathy, Daydreaming, Lately]
  • Horace Andy [One Love, Five Man Army, Hymn of the Big Wheel]
  • Tricky [Blue Lines, Five Man Army, Daydreaming]
  • Claude Williams or "Willie Wee" [Five Man Army]
  • Neneh Cherry [BV's on Hymn of the Big Wheel]
  • Tony Bryan [Be Thankful For What You've Got]

Protection

Mezzanine

100th Window

Other known Massive Attack songs

± The song was intended as a '100 Suns' [Davidge/Del Naja's moniker for non-Massive Attack work] product, but generally reported and regarded as another Massive Attack collaboration.

Remixography

Massive Attack / 3D have remixed the following artists:

Neneh Cherry
Lisa Stansfield
Jesus Love You
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Kwanzaa Posse
Les Negresses Vertes
Peter Gabriel
U2
Indo Aminata
Garbage
Manic Street Preachers
Unkle
Primal Scream
A Perfect Circle
The Dandy Warhols
Lupine Howl

Daddy G has remixed the following (solo):

Ini Kamose and Damian Marley
4 Hero

Discography

Main article: Massive Attack discography

Studio Albums

Other

References

  1. ^ a b c Ankeny, Jason. "Massive Attack > Biography". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  2. ^ "Carlton Discography". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  3. ^ "Circa Records Ltd. Discography". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  4. ^ a b "Cyber Elite - Massive Attack". Time Digital. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  5. ^ "Trip Hop". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  6. ^ Staff writer (15 February 2003). "The brand plays on". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  7. ^ McLean, Craig (16 April 2008). "Portishead: back on the beat". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  8. ^ "Interview with Cameron "Booga Bear" McVey". Reseize. January 15, 2007.
  9. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (6 February 2007). "Massive Attack talk to Dorian Lynskey". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  10. ^ Sawyer, Miranda (11 May 2008). "Massive Attack talk to Miranda Sawyer". The Observer. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  11. ^ Paine, Andre (21 May 2009). "Massive Attack To Return With Huge World Tour". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  12. ^ "BBC - Going Out in Bristol - Massive Attack wow home crowd". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  13. ^ "Massive Attack". www.seetickets.com. Retrieved 2009-05-21. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |promoter= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |showname= ignored (help)
  14. ^ "Massive Attack - European Shows". massiveattack.com. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  15. ^ "MASSIVE ATTACK - AN UPDATE". massiveattack.com. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  16. ^ Paine, Andre (21 May 2009). "Massive Attack To Return With Huge World Tour". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  17. ^ "Current projects". www.neildavidge.com. Retrieved 2009-05-21. {{cite web}}: Text "Neil Davidge" ignored (help)

External links

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