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jackhammer · 12-13-2009, 05:42 PM

Massive Attack

1998. I was already a father to my eldest son (1994) and about to become a father again (October 1998) and although I still loved music I wasn't really following what was going on due to parenthood and I was in a stasis. Music had taken a backseat and I was stuck in a rut. In this year I started a new career as a chef and was introduced to so much new music that my passion was reignited.

I hated Dance music with a passion and dismissed it as emotionally empty with the emphasis on commercial success and little effort regarding composition and songwriting. Then the album Mezzanine was thrust upon me. I was immediately blown away. I didn't need to be convinced of it's merits. I understood straight away that this was something special. I liked Electronic music but only regarding Ambient music (Tangerine Dream had been a fave for years) so when I heard Mezzanine my attitude towards Electronic music did a complete U turn. Here was an album with structure, emotion, power, melancholy, heaviness and repeated listenability.

The bassline of Angel kicks in insidiously before exploding into raw power and energy. The track Angel then begins with it's dark forbidding bassline juxtaposed with a simple elegant Guitar line and beautiful, mournful vocals. I was blown away and had to hear more. Finding that they had only 2 albums prior and both markedly different from each other was surprising but no less rewarding. The band's seminal Blue Lines (1991) was and still is a marker for sampling songs and creating a whole new sound whilst 1994's Protection already saw the band stretching their sound with guest vocalists and the inclusion of Dub, Reggae and unusual beats whilst still remaining highly original.

Listening to the band then made me delve into the more serious side of Electronic music and I was pleasantly surprised at the diversity and craft of artists that were as off mainstream as some of the music I knew and loved.

Since then I have developed a huge love of Trip Hop and indeed a hunger to hear as much Electronic music as I could which means that I enjoy DrumNBass, Glitch, Dubstep and many other sub genres due to this band.

Mezzanine is now quite rightly seen as a masterpiece and I feel fortunate enough to have been there when it blew away many pre concieved notions of the limitations of Electronic/ Dance music.

I cannot stress enough to you that if this sort of music isn't your thing then you are missing out on some truly superb music.

Have some vids:

Possibly the finest Dance track ever put down:

The absolutely gorgeous Protection with vocals by Tracy Thorn (EBTG):

Still one of the most intense songs I have ever heard:

EDIT: Vids sorted!

12-13-2009, 05:42 PM	#66 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	Massive Attack 1998. I was already a father to my eldest son (1994) and about to become a father again (October 1998) and although I still loved music I wasn't really following what was going on due to parenthood and I was in a stasis. Music had taken a backseat and I was stuck in a rut. In this year I started a new career as a chef and was introduced to so much new music that my passion was reignited. I hated Dance music with a passion and dismissed it as emotionally empty with the emphasis on commercial success and little effort regarding composition and songwriting. Then the album Mezzanine was thrust upon me. I was immediately blown away. I didn't need to be convinced of it's merits. I understood straight away that this was something special. I liked Electronic music but only regarding Ambient music (Tangerine Dream had been a fave for years) so when I heard Mezzanine my attitude towards Electronic music did a complete U turn. Here was an album with structure, emotion, power, melancholy, heaviness and repeated listenability. The bassline of Angel kicks in insidiously before exploding into raw power and energy. The track Angel then begins with it's dark forbidding bassline juxtaposed with a simple elegant Guitar line and beautiful, mournful vocals. I was blown away and had to hear more. Finding that they had only 2 albums prior and both markedly different from each other was surprising but no less rewarding. The band's seminal Blue Lines (1991) was and still is a marker for sampling songs and creating a whole new sound whilst 1994's Protection already saw the band stretching their sound with guest vocalists and the inclusion of Dub, Reggae and unusual beats whilst still remaining highly original. Listening to the band then made me delve into the more serious side of Electronic music and I was pleasantly surprised at the diversity and craft of artists that were as off mainstream as some of the music I knew and loved. Since then I have developed a huge love of Trip Hop and indeed a hunger to hear as much Electronic music as I could which means that I enjoy DrumNBass, Glitch, Dubstep and many other sub genres due to this band. Mezzanine is now quite rightly seen as a masterpiece and I feel fortunate enough to have been there when it blew away many pre concieved notions of the limitations of Electronic/ Dance music. I cannot stress enough to you that if this sort of music isn't your thing then you are missing out on some truly superb music. Have some vids: Possibly the finest Dance track ever put down: The absolutely gorgeous Protection with vocals by Tracy Thorn (EBTG): Still one of the most intense songs I have ever heard: EDIT: Vids sorted! __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”