Massive Attack

Born out of the intersection of cultures and styles in Bristol, England, Massive Attack emerged as the architects of the brooding, atmospheric sound soon to be known as trip-hop. Both the genre and the band were rooted in Wild Bunch, a soundsystem famed for live and DJ sets of hip-hop, post-punk, dub reggae, and lovers rock. By the end of the ’80s, four members—rappers Robert “3D” Del Naja and Adrian “Tricky” Thaws, plus musician/DJs Grant “Daddy G” Marshall and Andrew “Mushroom” Vowles—coalesced into Massive Attack. The group made an immediate impact with their delicately textured 1991 debut, Blue Lines, which made stunning use of Tricky (who would soon go solo) and guest vocalists such as reggae great Horace Andy and songwriter Shara Nelson. Rooted in Bristol’s late-millennial musical mélange, Blue Lines absorbed the city’s Caribbean diaspora and industrial backdrop to develop a sleepy, soulful new sound that quickly found kindred spirits in Portishead and Morcheeba. Massive Attack continued to situate star vocal turns within bass-warmed soundscapes suffused with paranoia and intelligence, including Everything But the Girl’s Tracey Thorn on the title track of 1994’s slinky and introspective Protection and Cocteau Twins singer Elizabeth Fraser across several tracks from 1998’s dark and claustrophobic Mezzanine. With Del Naja remaining the one constant in a shifting lineup after that, 2003’s sample-free 100th Window saw Blur’s Damon Albarn—in Gorillaz mode as 2-D—and Sinéad O’Connor step up the mic, while 2010’s Heligoland expanded that expressive potential further with vocals from Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval and TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe. The group’s rustling, moody sound has always lent itself well to remixes (including Mad Professor’s full-album rework of Protection) and soundtrack placement, continuing a fruitful conversation that has since spread more widely via such deserving heirs as Thievery Corporation, Burial, and Sampha.