Showing posts with label Robert Del Naja. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robert Del Naja. Show all posts

Tuesday, 21 January 2025

Sixty Years Of 3D


Happy birthday to 
Robert Del Naja aka 3D, born 21st January 1965.

Ten songs, four official videos, one fan-made, one visualiser, four audio only, all prime examples of 3D's talent as a vocalist, producer, songwriter and remixer. 

Some of these collaborations are new to me: I had no idea 3D had worked with Mike Patton of Faith No More on his Peeping Tom, or that he's produced a remix (all eleven minutes of it) for a reimagining of McCartney III. 

And his work with Massive Attack alone is the stuff of legend, not just the music, but the activism and political drive, and the willingness to challenge conventions of live performance. 

And then there's his art.

Truly inspirational.

Have a good one, 3D!

1) False Flags: Massive Attack (2006)
2) Rabbit In Your Headlights (3D Mix-Reverse Light): UNKLE ft. Thom Yorke (1998)
3) 3 Libras (All Main Courses Mix): A Perfect Circle (2000)
4) Kill The DJ: Peeping Tom (Mike Patton) ft. Massive Attack (2006)
5) For Nothing: Euanwhosarmy ft. Lyndsey Lupe (2016)
6) Battle Box (Main Mix): 3D, Guy Garvey (2012)
7) WPIC (Higgins In 3D Remix): Higgins Waterproof black Magic Band (2014)
8) Deep Deep Feeling (3D RDN Remix): Paul McCartney (2021)
9) Kong: Neneh Cherry (2018)
10) Daydreaming: Massive Attack (1990)


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, 6 March 2024

What A Guy!

Celebrating Guy Garvey's 50th birthday, born 6th March 1974.

If you hadn't guessed already, this week I'm celebrating life and particularly those that might be blowing out some candles on a cake or having some form of knees-up on each day.

Guy is of course best known for his work with Elbow...unless you only listen to Heart FM and are a Peter Kay fan, in which case it'll be Car Share.

Guy's also released one solo album to date (Courting The Squall in 2015) and collaborated with a select few artists over the years. He's appeared on three Massive Attack songs and Robert "3D" Del Naja got Guy back in the studio to release the one-off Battle Box single a couple of years later.

Elbow themselves re-recorded a version of Kindling with John Grant and Guy teamed up with Mike Lindsay (Tuung, LUMP) to contribute to an album of Nick Drake covers last year. Guy also found time to deliver a solo song to the BBC drama anthology Life, a lockdown TV highlight in 2020.

Elbow kindly supported my 'Leap Year' post last week by releasing a new single. They've only gone and done it again by dropping another new video, this time for Balu, on Friday.

From one guy to another, er, guy, have a great birthday, Guy!

Flat Of The Blade: Massive Attack ft. Guy Garvey (2010)
Battle Box (Main Mix): Del Naja / Garvey / Dickinson (2012)
Kindling (Fickle Flame): Elbow ft. John Grant (2017)
Guy Garvey: My Angel (2020)
Saturday Sun (Cover of Nick Drake): Mike Lindsay ft. Guy Garvey (2023)
Balu: Elbow (2024)
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, 18 May 2021

Where Have You Been? You're My Violin

Martina Topley-Bird is back, with a new album Forever I Wait released in September and co-produced with Robert Del Naja aka 3D from Massive Attack. Lots of media interest, including NME, reporting that this is Martina's first album in over a decade. That particular album, Some Place Simple, mainly featured reworkings of songs from her first two albums, so it's actually her first album of new material since 2007's The Blue God.

Like most, I first heard Martina on Tricky's groundbreaking single Aftermath but I am also a huge fan of her solo material. Her first album Quixotic was a patchwork of styles and producers, the sound of an artist finding their identity. The Blue God, produced by Danger Mouse, is a cohesive and outstanding album that I keep coming back to. Some Place Simple, released on Damon Albarn's Honest Jon's Records in 2010, stripped back the songs to great effect.

The lead single from Forever I Wait is Pure Heart, with a rumbling, sinister bassline and guitar chords typical of latter day Massive Attack, but of course it's Martina's voice that carries the song. 

2021 is shaping up to be an great year, with excellent albums from Jane Weaver, The Anchoress (Catherine Anne Davies) and more to come from Dot Allison, Kelsey Lu (hopefully) and Martina Topley-Bird.