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Massive
Attack
Massive
Attack are Britain
's
most
influential
band
more
than
ever.
Massive
Attack
have
consistently
pushed
the
boundaries
of
both
their
own
sound
-
twisting
their
sound
system
roots
into
the
complex,
insistent
guitar
layers
of
Mezzanine
-
and
constantly
surprised
with
their
inspired
collaborations
and
groundbreaking
art
direction.
Even
now,
twelve
years
after
they
first
inked
a
deal
with
Virgin
to
release
the
landmark
Blue
Lines,
promising
artists
are
still
referred
to
as
'the
new
Massive
Attack.'
They've
stamped
their
mark
on
British
music,
shaping
and
shifting
dance
music,
pop,
British
hip
hop,
drum
&
bass
and
rock
-
and
the
creative
whirlwind
is
about
to
be
unleashed
again.
100th
Window,
then,
is
Massive
Attack's
fourth
album.
Written
and
recorded
at
the
band's
Bristol
studio
over
the
last
year,
it
is
also
a
giant
step
into
warm
glitchy
electronica,
psychedelic
landscapes,
Arabic
strings
and
deep
into
the
depth-charged
dub
reggae
of
old.
Robert
Del
Naja
-
better
known
as
3D
-
explains:
'We
wanted
to
make
this
album
warmer
than
Mezzanine,
but
we
didn't
want
to
make
it
softer.
We
wanted
to
keep
the
edge
and
the
intrigue,
but
without
making
it
bleak.'
The
album
was
written
and
produced
by
3D
and
Mezzanine
co-producer
Neil
Davidge,
while
Massive
Attack's
other
member
Grant
'Daddy
Gee'
Marshal
took
time
out
from
the
studio.
'Grant
has
taken
a
bit
of
a
holiday,
a
sabbatical,
because
he's
had
a
child,
and
he's
been
starting
a
new
life,'
says
3D.
'He'll
get
back
into
the
swing
of
the
music
again
when
he
comes
on
tour
with
us.
He'll
be
back.'
Like
all
their
releases,
100th
Window
is
an
inspirational,
mood-altering
panorama,
propelling
the
band
into
new
waters.
'We
have
always
wanted
to
do
something
different
and
stretch
our
imagination
and
it
was
really
important
for
us
that
it
represented
a
shift
forwards
from
Mezzanine.'
The
Bristolian
band
have
always
dovetailed
brilliant
songs
with
experimental
music,
and
3D
decided
it
was
time
to
get
back
to
basics.
He
sung
on
four
songs
and
hooked
up
with
Sinead
O'Connor.
They
recorded
three
tracks,
including
the
dark,
soul-dusted
single,
'Special
Cases'.
'She's
one
of
the
only
great
singers
around,'
says
3D.
'She
brings
total
raw
spirit
to
it,
and
a
real
emotion,
a
real
belief
in
what
she's
doing.
We're
looking
at
the
result
of
generation
of
nurturing
which
has
made
singers
much
more
bland
and
generic,
but
she's
angry.'
The
title
was
taken
from
cult
electronic
security
book,
written
by
Charles
Jennings.
'I
really
liked
that
idea,'
says
3D.
'The
record
is
about
the
way
that
people
try
to
keep
their
feelings
hidden,
but
that
there's
always
a
way
in
-
if
you
knowhow
to
pick
the
lock.'
Massive
Attack
formed
in
1987,
around
their
influential
and
legendary
Dug
Out
club
and
Jamaican-style
soundsystem.
The
club
played
a
groundbreaking
blend
of
hip
hop,
new
wave
reggae
and
early
house
and
techno
which
shaped
their
hugely
acclaimed
1991
debut,
Blue
Lines.
Second
album
Protection
featuring
Tracey
Thorn
and
produced
by
Massive
Attack
and
Nellee
Hooper,
was
released
in
1994
and
was
similarly
well
received
-
and
like
Blue
Lines
sold
over
two
million
copies.
Mezzanine
was
released
in
1998
and
apart
from
selling
three
million
worldwide,
took
the
band
in
a
new,
guitar-led
direction
-
and
contained
the
sublime
'Teardrop'
featuring
Cocteau
Twin
Liz
Frasier.
In
the
four
year
interim
-
after
founding
member
Andrew
'Mushroom'
Vowles
left
the
band
-
the
band
went
back
to
work,
collaborating
with
David
Bowie
on
a
cover
of
'Nature
Boy'
for
the
Moulin
Rouge
soundtrack,
focusing
on
the
bands
on
their
Melankolic
label
and
Del
Naja
did
a
rare
remix
for
The
Dandy
Warhols
on
'Godless'.
'We
weren't
in
a
hurry,'
says
3D.
'And
anyway,
when
was
there
ever
a
sense
of
urgency
with
us?'
Massive
Attack's
extraordinary
vision
continues
unabated:
The
band
are
already
writing
new
material,
collating
songs
for
the
next
album,
which
they
intend
to
release
within
twelve
months
of
100th
Window,
and
there
are
plans
to
work
with
Tom
Waits
and
Mike
Patton
from
Faith
No
More,
and
to
repeat
the
success
of
this
year's
'I
Against
I'
collaboration
with
Mos
Def.
So
to
the
music.
Opening
track
'Future
Proof'
is
multi-layered
and
moody,
fusing
deep
electronica
with
a
landscape
of
rolling
bass
and
drums.
Massive
Attack's
long-time
collaborator,
Horace
Andy
-
who
first
guested
on
Blue
Lines
-
appears
on
edgy,
echo-chamber
lament
'Everywhen'
and
the
unsettling
'Name
Taken.'
Whilst
the
band
has
always
flirted
with
Eastern
sounds,
notably
on
'Karmacoma'
and
'Inertia
Creeps',
they've
taken
the
sound
to
a
new,
striking
level.
'I
really
love
the
sound
of
eastern
strings
-
they
contain
a
raw,
beautiful
emotion.
The
current
state
of
the
world
has
rubbed
off
on
the
record.
You
can't
help
feel
that
the
west
is
dominating
the
east
and
I
wanted
to
bring
some
of
those
emotions
into
the
record.'
The
seductive,
starry
'Small
Time
Shot
Away'
is
stoned
and
insistent,
and
features
3D
on
vocals.
Closing
track,
'Anti-Star'
powers
along
on
crackly,
static
energy
and
epic,
Arabic
strings,
and
like
the
entirety
of
100th
Window,
perfectly
mirrors
dance
music's
history
of
cultural
hybridisation.
The
record
almost
leapt
into
a
different
sonic
universe:
The
band
recorded
hours
and
hours
of
'staggering
and
trippy' music
with
ex-Spiritualized
outfit
Lupine
Howl
but
after
weeks
at
the
mixing
desk,
stripping
the
music
down
and
reforming
it
into
usable
songs,
they
started
again
from
scratch.
'We
had
about
80
hours
of
amazing
jams,
but
they
weren't
right
for
us.
Once
we
cleaned
them
up,
we
lost
what
made
them
special.'
As
well
as
a
worldwide
tour,
which
will
feature
giant,
interactive
LED
screen,
Massive
Attack
will
be
throwing
four
one-day
events
over
the
summer.
'When
we
first
started
we
always
tried
to
create
an
environment
around
the
soundsystem,
and
create
a
place
we
wanted
to
perform
in.
Now
we
want
to
get
back
to
that
again
and
have
a
great
party
in
the
process.'
A
DVD
of
short
films
and
animations
is
also
due
next
year,
cementing
the
band's
reputation
for
ahead-of-the-curve
artwork.
If
Popstars
and
Fame
Academy
represent
the
triumph
of
what
3D
calls
'karaoke
culture'
then
100th
Window
strikes
a
knockout
blow
for
the
things
that
really
matter:
for
beautifully-packaged
creativity,
for
having
an
opinion,
but
most
of
all,
for
the
music.
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