From Paradise Rains To Paradise Circus

Some Massive Attack...kind of.

After yesterday's Paradise Rains by Eartheater, I'm dusting off Paradise Circus, specifically the link to the version used in The Fallen Sun, the Netflix film version of Luther from 2023. The link - not the film - has been languishing in my "must write a post about this one" file for a few weeks and now seemed to be the right time.

A brief diverson/rant before I carry on: Mrs. K and I really enjoyed Luther when it debuted on BBC1 in 2010. Idris Elba and Ruth Wilson were compelling leads, the supporting cast were excellent and Neil Cross' writing was top notch. 

Although the successive series stretched credulity to near breaking point, Luther continued to be 'must watch' viewing right up to the conclusion of series 5 in 2019.

That seemed about the right time to call it a day, but the subsequent announcement that there would be a feature film version of Luther nevertheless was something to look forward to. Except that it was being made by Netflix.

The proliferation of pay-to-view channels has been inversely proportionate to our disposable income and, frankly, whether we can be arsed to spend even more time in front of the gogglebox (as opposed to Gogglebox). So, apart from the occasional 30-day free trial that pops up, Netflix is pretty much out of our reach, and we didn't make it to any of the 'select cinemas' that screened The Fallen Sun in February 2023.

So, I also had no idea that Paradise Circus by Massive Attack had featured in the soundtrack.

Except... this is a different version, credited to Post ft. Ghostpoet. 

Post, as it transpires, is Daddy G aka Grant Marshall, founder member of Massive Attack, and Stew Jackson, who has also worked with Daddy G as Robot Club and been part of the Massive Attack collective since at least 2016.

It's a great version, and Ghostpoet is a spot on pick to provide vocals that provide the necessary grit and gravitas.

However... it's a very hard act to follow, when Massive Attack's version of Paradise Circus was co-written with and featured the incomparable voice of Hope Sandoval (sigh).

So, to reward those of you who stuck with this post to the end, here's the original version from 2010, plus a twelve-and-a-half minute reworking by Massive Attack vs. Burial the following year. 

 

So Hurried, So Tomorrow, No Today...I Can't Keep Up

As we're heading to the last Bandcamp Friday of 2025, I'm going to spotlight an A-Z of artist releases from this year that are at least on my shopping list, even if they don't quite make it final check out.

Today covers artists A-F, namely

Alex Kassian x Spooky x Placid Angles

Burial

Coyote

Deeply Armed remixed by Andrew Innes & Brendan Lynch and Keith Tenniswood

Eddie Chacon

Fatboy Slim vs. The Rolling Stones

Alex Kassian has taken Orange Coloured Liquid, a lush, languid track from Spooky's 1993 debut album Gargantuan, on a trip through time. Part I is upbeat, Part II is closer to the shimmering original, whilst Placid Angels aka John Beltran lands somewhere between the two. You also get Spooky's version to round out a satisfying EP.

 

Burial returned in August with the 2-track single Comafields / Imaginary Festival. As usual, I find both tracks simultaneously soothing and disconcerting, which are even more effective as I listen to this on a cold, dark, wet November morning...thankfully, not alone at Casa K.

Coyote aka Richard Hampson and Timm Sure have been successfully creating an immersive Balearic environment for many years now, and it shows no sign of running out of space to grow. This year has so far seen a trio of releases: 6-track EP/mini-album Wailing To The Yellow Dawn in April, one-off track Battle Weary in October; today's pick, also October, is the 3-track Escape Pattern EP.

Deeply Armed is Belfast trio Michael McKeown (vocals, guitar, synth, percussion), Aaron O’Neill (electronics, synth, engineering), and Kenny Whaley (bass, synth). 

The Healing is the first song that I've (knowingly) heard by them and there's a real David Holmes vibe, circa The Holy Pictures. No surprise that he and Andrew Weatherall were early supporters. Andrew Innes and Brendan Lynch offer a rousing 3-minute remix that sounds like (good) Primal Scream, but the pick of the bunch is Keith Tenniswood's down low mix that sounds like you're listening to the party next door, ear pressed up against the wall, wishing you there. Great stuff.

Eddie Chacon's solo catalogue has been a revelation. Lay Low is I think Eddie's third album, released at the end of January this year. The previous two were made with John Carroll Kirby; this time Eddie has collaborated with Nick Hakim and the results are phenomenal.

I could have picked any of the eight songs so, if you like Let The Devil In, you will love Lay Low.

Back in 2003, Fatboy Slim aka Norman Cook remixed The Rolling Stones' classic Sympathy For The Devil. Fast forward twenty two years, and this time he's mashed up (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (1965) with his own The Rockafeller Skank (1998)... and it works for me.

 

 

More tomorrow.