Massive Attack

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Massive Attack is a band from Bristol, England. They have released four full studio albums. Their music is electronic, and combines elements of jazz, hip hop, and other genres; lately the darker, subtler forms of electronic music have been dominant influences.

History

Massive Attack began as an offshoot of the Bristol art community The Wild Bunch. In 1991, they released their first album, Blue Lines, featuring the hit singles "Unfinished Sympathy" and "Daydreaming". According to polls produced by MTV2, NME, and various other magazines and reviewers, "Unfinished Sympathy" has been described as one of the best songs of all time. [1] A reviewer for the BBC has stated:

More than a decade after its release it remains one of the most moving pieces of dance music ever, able to soften hearts and excite minds just as keenly as a ballad by Bacharach or a melody by McCartney.

Blue Lines subsequently became one of the most influential British records of the 1990s, inspiring other projects such as Portishead and Morcheeba. Blue Lines ushered in a new genre of music best referred to as "the Bristol sound", but the press began to use the label "trip hop", which the members of Massive Attack dislike.

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. Lead band member Robert Del Naja makes no secret in interviews of his political objections to what he sees as US aggression against the Third World in the name of democracy, often expressing regret that he ever agreed to the name change.

In 1994, Massive Attack released their second effort Protection. Featuring two string instrumentals arranged by Craig Armstrong, this album featured a more lush, deeper sound than the first. This marked the last collaboration of Wild Bunch member Tricky with Massive Attack, as he afterwards concentrated wholly on his solo career. Two songs ("Protection" and "Better Things") feature Everything But The Girl's vocalist Tracey Thorn. In 1995 they colloborated with American dance music icon Madonna on a cover of the classic Marvin Gaye song "I Want You," which appeared on her Something to Remember album and also a Marvin Gaye tribute album, "Inner City Blues."

Massive Attack originally consisted of three members, Robert Del Naja ("3D"), Grant Marshall ("Daddy G") and Andrew Vowles ("Mushroom"). After the recording of Mezzanine, Vowles—dissatisfied with the change in sound—left the band. He was replaced by Neil Davidge, who worked in tandem with Del Naja for much of his material on Mezzanine. Marshall elected to sit out during the recording of 100th Window.

Each Massive Attack album features guest vocalists, and so far the band has worked with Mos Def, Tricky, Shara Nelson, Tracey Thorn of Everything But The Girl, Nicolette, Sara Jay, Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins and Sinéad O'Connor. The Jamaican reggae legend Horace Andy is a fixture of Massive Attack albums.

Massive Attack's third album Mezzanine was released in 1998. Mezzanine showed the band moving towards a dark, distorted guitar-based sound, and, according to many fans and critics, marked a significant evolution. Several songs from this album have been featured in major motion pictures; the opening track, "Angel", appears in Snatch, a film by Guy Ritchie, the movie GO and as well as in an episode of television series The West Wing and in the independent film Pi, as well as 'Flight of the Phoenix'. The fourth track, "Inertia Creeps" is used in Stigmata. The sixth track, "Dissolved Girl" was featured in the films The Matrix and The Jackal. The third track, "Teardrop", is the opening theme (in instrumental form) for the television series House. Teardrop is also been used in the television serie La femme Nikita in the late 90's, The Japanese release of Mezzanine featured an additional track, "Superpredators", which was also used in the film The Jackal as the opening theme. Although part of their song "Teardrop" is being used as the theme music on House, M.D. in the US, versions of the program aired in other countries, such as the UK, use a generic snippet of music that resembles "Teardrop". Part of their song "Angel" is being used as the theme music for another American television series, 24.

The release of Mezzanine also led to a remarkable evolution in the Massive Attack live show. Moving on from the highly simplistic set up of a few mics and turntables, the group had gradually begun incorporating more and more live instrumentation into their shows. As well as the impressive roster of guest vocalists, the Bristol trio were now being joined on stage by the talents of a live guitarist, bassist , drummer and keyboard player. Some world class lighting and a breathtakingly huge visual screen raised the bar once again seeing Massive Attack become one of the biggest live shows the world has ever seen

Massive Attack's fourth album, 100th Window, was released on February 10, 2003. It entered the Top 10 in the UK charts. Del Naja was charged with possession of drugs that month. While some critics found 100th Window album 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 to the soundtrack for the feature film Bullet Boy. The group had also been slated to work on music for the film adaptation of V For Vendetta with past collaborator Craig Armstrong, but had to bow out of the project due to scheduling problems.

Massive Attack now currently own their own bar, subtly named 'Nocturne' It features ambient lighting, exquisite seating and furniture arrangements and a state of the art sound system that exists only in one other location in the world. This is an exclusive bar, which is notoriously well known as being a strictly member's only club, but from time to time the owners have been known to allow certain people inside anyway. You can actually hire the venue out for receptions or parties, but it is very expensive, which is to be expected as it frequently described and factually said to be one of the best bars in the world. It is located in one of Bristol's major high streets, and has it's own interactive website.

Del Naja, Davidge and Swift are now in the studio working on their next release, tentatively titled Weather Underground. Dot Allison, Horace Andy and Mos Def are expected to be vocal contributors. A preview track from the new album was recently aired on the BBC's Radio 1. Boasting the immensely powerful vocals of Chicago folk legend Terry Callier, the new song (Live With Me) sees the group moving in yet another new direction. With the impending release of the groups first Greatest Hits package, Live With Me is set to appear on both the said compilation, and the groups 5th album.


Massive Attack will be headlining in the 02 wireless festival on Friday 23rd of June 2006, tickets for the day are roughly £45.

website

Discography

Albums

Date Title
March 27th, 2006 Collected
April 22th, 2005 Bullet Boy (soundtrack)
October 11th, 2004 Danny the Dog (soundtrack) (#70 UK)
February 10th, 2003 100th Window (#1 UK)
April 20th, 1998 Mezzanine (#1 UK)
February 17th, 1995 No Protection (#10 UK)
September 26th, 1994 Protection (#4 UK)
June 1st, 1991 Blue Lines (#13 UK)

Singles

Date Title
March 13th, 2006 Live With Me
June 16th, 2003 (Ineligible) Butterfly Caught (EP)
February 24th, 2003 Special Cases (#15 UK)
September 21st, 1998 (Ineligible) Inertia Creeps
July 13th, 1998 Angel (#30 UK)
July 12th, 1998 Singles 90/98 (Box features 11 CD´s/63 Tracks)
April 27th, 1998 Teardrop (#10 UK)
July 7th, 1997 Risingson (#11 UK)
March 20th, 1995 Karmacoma (EP) (#28 UK)
January 9th, 1995 Protection (#14 UK)
October 17th, 1994 Sly (#24 UK)
February 10th 1992 Massive Attack (EP) (#27 UK)
May 28th, 1991 Safe From Harm (#25 UK)
February 11th, 1991 Unfinished Sympathy (#13 UK)
October 15th, 1990 Daydreaming

Live Mixes

  • BBC Radio One Essential Mix (12/11/94)
  • Heaven, Stockholm (05/18/98)
  • Pinkpop Festival (06/03/98)
  • Royal Albert Hall (07/07/98)

External links

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