Massive Attack- Unfinished Sympathy Research

Massive Attack- The Band

Massive attack are an English group which formed in 1988, in Bristol. The group is made up of 3 members, who are Robert Del Naja (3D), Grant Marshall (Daddy G) and Andy Vowles (Mushroom). The group used various vocalists on their compositions. The group have won numerous music awards through out their career, which includes a Brit Award, winning best British dance act, two MTV Europe music awards and two Q awards. They have also released five studio albums that have sold over 11 million worldwide copies. Daddy G, mushroom and 3D first met when they were members of 'The Wild Bunch'. Daddy G and mushroom were DJs and 3D was an artist/rapper. The group temporarily shortened their name to 'Massive' as at the time the first Gulf war going on and the word 'attack' wasn't acceptable therefore they could of been seen as incentive and disrespectful and might not be played on the radio or anything.

Blue Lines- The Album

Massive attack has a debut album called Blue Lines and it was released in 1991. In the album there was a single  called Unfinished Sympathy, this reached the charts. Cameron McVey and Neneh Cherry helped them to record Blue Lines and it was released on Virgin Records. The album used vocalists including Horace Andy and Shara Nelson. MC's Tricky and Willie Wee also featured as well as Daddy G's voice on ''Five Man Army''. Neneh Cherry sang backing vocals in ''Hymn of the Big Wheel''.

 

 

Unfinished Sympathy- The Song And Video

The singer of Unfinished Sympathy is Shara Nelson, she also sang on their song "Safe From Harm". They lyrics finds Nelson longing for her companion, but wary because she has been hurt before. This is a very original song in the trip-hop genre. It features a string section and various orchestral elements (the title is probably a play on the term "Unfinished Symphony"), as well as samples and layers of vocals. The video was directed by Baillie Walsh, who has also done a few other Massive Attack videos, including "Safe From Harm" and "Be Thankful For What You’ve Got." The video is one continuous shot filmed on West Pico Boulevard between South New Hampshire Avenue and Dewey Avenue in Los Angeles, California. It features Shara Nelson walking along the sidewalk, which include drunks, gangs, and bikers. The single Unfinished Sympathy went on to be voted the 10th greatest song of all time in a poll by The Guardian.

Baillie Walsh- The Video Director

Baillie Walsh is a British music video and film director. He is best known for writing and directing the film Flashbacks of a Fool (2008) starring Daniel Craig, Eve, Harry Eden, and Felicity Jones. Walsh has directed music videos for clients such as Boy George, Massive Attack, New Order, Kylie Minogue and Oasis. In 2013, Walsh released a Bruce Springsteen documentary titled Springsteen & I. The documentary was made up of fan video and photo submissions on what Springsteen's music means to them.

 

What Is Street Culture?

There is a lot of cultures around the world, one that the youth is familiar with is Street Culture. Street Culture is a cultural aspect of the streets in cities and towns where you find the youth expressing the creativity they have kept within them. Street culture thrives in urban centres such as New York, Barcelona, Berlin, London & Sydney. These are the places street culture is born and from there it spreads to places like Jozi where it all comes to life. Jozi’s street culture is by far very interesting. It is modern, always pushing the limits of any set idea whether that’s fashion, art, design, music or sport.

 

What Is Post-Punk?

Post-punk is a broad type of rock music which emerged from the punk movement of the 1970s. It is a diverse genre that was originally called "new musick". It was first used by various writers in the late 1970s to describe groups moving beyond punk's garage rock template and into disparate areas. Inspired by punk's energy and DIY ethic but determined to break from rock clichés, artists experimented diversely with sources such as electronic music and free jazz; 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. Communities that produced independent record labels, visual art, multimedia performances developed around these new musical scenes, which came together in cities such as London, New York, Manchester, and San Francisco.