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Massive Attack are a Trip Hop Band from Bristol , England . They have released four studio albums, two movie soundtracks, one remix album, and a greatest hits collection. Their musical style has been acclaimed for combining elements of Jazz , Hip Hop , Rock , and Soul ; lately darker, subtler forms of Electronic Music have been dominant influences. Massive Attack are constant collaborators and have worked with a diverse mix of artists, from Sinéad O'Connor to Reggae star Horace Andy to Madonna . Their work has also been used in many feature films and television shows, including '' The Matrix '', '' The Insider '', '' The West Wing '' and '' House ''. They also have a financial stake in a small night club, Tube (formerly Nocturne, a private members club that they jointly owned), in their hometown of Bristol. HISTORY 1980s 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 "Daydreaming." The album, that was produced by Cameron McVey , was well-received both critically and commercially, with some polls calling "Unfinished Sympathy" one of the best songs of all time. {Link without Title} ''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 labelled trip-hop, a label Massive Attack have said they dislike. 1990s .]] In 1994, Massive Attack released their follow-up, '' 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". This was a point of amusement for the band, as, at the time, none of them knew how to dance.http://server.mg.co.za/art/music/9805/980507-massive.html In 1997, the band Sampled the music of "Metal Postcard" by Siouxsie & The Banshees on "Superpredators" for ''The Jackal'' movie soundtrack. universal page withe the tracklisting and publishing of ''the jackal'' movie soundtrack 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 (musician) left the band due to musical differences but the core members remain. In the 1999 Feature Film '' The Matrix '', Massive Attack's "Dissolved Girl" is playing in the sleeping Neo 's Headphones when he gets the "Knock, knock, Neo..." message on his Monitor . 2000s Massive Attack's fourth album, '' 100th Window '', which was recorded without Marshall, was released in early 2003. It entered the Top 10 in the UK charts. 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 ''. The group had also been slated to work on music for the film '' V For Vendetta '' with past collaborator Craig Armstrong but had to leave the project due to scheduling problems. That same year, portions of Massive Attack's song " Teardrop " were used for the Theme Song for '' House '', a popular television medical drama. 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 . Presumably the pair will work more closely on a finished album after their respective batches of tracks are completed. 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. EMI/Virgin confirmed that the newest Massive Attack album would be out in February 2007 February 2007 release for new Massive Attack album . However, during an interview with Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 on December 19 , 2006 , Del Naja stated that the release would hopefully be sometime in 2007, and that the title was now unlikely to be ''Weather Underground''. In February 2007 Massive recorded a live performance in legendary ''Abbey Road'' studios. Video of three songs and short interviews was aired on BBC beginning of March 2007. On February 6, 7, and 8, 2007, Massive Attack organized and performed charity concerts in Birmingham and the Brixton Academy in London for the HOPING Foundation for Palestinian refugee children. The three sold-out concerts netted over £100,000 for the Foundation, and attracted extensive media coverage. It is one of the largest concerts in the world ever performed for Palestinian children. massive attack have just released their singles back catologue. all singles include origanal remixes and b-sides. 61 songs for £7.99 on itunes CONTROVERSY 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. Del Naja makes no secret in interviews of his political objections to what he sees as U.S. aggression against the Third World in the name of Democracy , often expressing regret that he ever agreed to the name change. DISCOGRAPHY Albums Singles/EPs LIVE MIXES
SAMPLES
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