Massive Attack Research

Massive Attack Research

The Band

Robert Del Naja ("3D"), Grant Marshall ("Daddy G") and formerly Andy Vowles ("Mushroom") were the three members of the band Massive Attack. Formed in 1988, the group originated from Bristol, England and produced trip hop music. They were most successful in the 90's, winning a Brit Award for the best British dance act, two MTV Europe Music Awards, and two Q Awards.They have released five studio albums that have sold over 11 million copies worldwide.The group temporarily shortened their name to 'massive' at the time of the Gulf War so that they were not seen as insensitive or disrespectful.

Some of their most noted songs have been without choruses and have featured dramatically atmospheric dynamics, conveyed through either distorted guitar crescendos, lavish orchestral arrangements or prominent, looped/shifting baselines, underpinned by high and exacting production values, involving sometimes copious digital editing and mixing. The pace of their music has often been slower than prevalent British dance music at the time.

Blue Lines - The Album

Blue Lines, their debut album, was released in 1991. Massive Attack worked on Blue Lines for about eight months and started out with a selection of ideas that were up to seven years old, the album featured break beats, sampling and rapping on a number of tracks but the design of the album differed from traditional hip hop. Massive Attack approached the American-born hip hop movement from an underground British perspective and also incorporated live instruments into the mixes. It features the vocals of Shara Nelson and Horace Andy, along with the rapping of Tricky Kid. Blue Lines proved to be popular in clubs, as well as on college radio stations.

Unfinished Sympathy - the song and video 

"Unfinished Sympathy" was released as the second single from the band's debut album Blue Lines. The single was very successful; it managed to reach the charts and was later voted as the 63rd greatest song of all time in a poll by NME. The Guardian also did a poll and in that it was voted 10th greatest song of all time. The single was accompanied by a memorable music video, featuring a single continuous shot of Shara Nelson walking through a Los Angeles neighbourhood, oblivious of her surroundings. Recognised as a pioneering song in the development of British dance music, the song was acclaimed by music critics for its distinctive production and Nelson's vocals."Unfinished Sympathy" developed out of a song Nelson had been writing which she had initially called "Kiss and Tell".The orchestral section was originally played on synthesizers. The orchestra changed the feeling of the song, making it heavier and deeper with more feeling.


Baillie Walsh - the video director 

Baillie Walsh is a British music video and film director. He is best-known for writing and directing Flashbacks of a Fool (2008), a film starring Daniel Craig, Eve, Harry Eden, and Felicity Jones. Walsh has directed music videos for clients such as Boy George, New Order, Kylie Minogue, Oasis and of course Massive Attack. By many, "Unfinished Sympathy' is regarded as one of the best, most daring videos of the 90's. In 2013, Walsh released a Bruce Springsteen documentary titled Springsteen & I. This documentary assembled from over 300 hours of footage and was screened simultaneously on 2000 screens in over 50 countries. Baillie tends to create visual stories surrounded by atmospheric music. He has also created fashion films for Yves Saint Laurent, Versace and many others. He directed Eva Mendes for Thierry Mugler's Angel perfume, Ryan Reynolds for Hugo Boss and Anne Hathaway for Lancome.

What is Street Culture?

Street Culture is cultural aspects of streets in cities and towns. It thrives in urban centres such as New York, Barcelona, Berlin, London & Sydney. Some may say street culture is born in these places. Youths can express their creativity amongst street culture. 

What is Post-Punk? 
Post-punk is a broad type of rock music that began after the punk movement of the 1970s, in which artists moved on from the simplicity and traditionalism of punk rock to adopt a variety of avant-garde. Artists experimented diversely with electronic music, free jazz, and black dance styles like funk, disco, and dub; novel recording and production techniques; and ideas from art and politics, including critical theory, modernist art and literature. this is all evident in Massive Attack's song "Unfinished Sympathy". The early post-punk development was represented by groups such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Wire, Magazine and Gang of Four. The movement was closely related to the development of ancillary genres such as gothic rock, neo-psychedelia, no wave and industrial music.