Massive Attack returned this week with their first release since 2010's Heligoland, Ritual Spirit. The four-track EP features longtime collaborator Tricky, who also released his debut solo LP titled Skilled Mechanics this week.
Ritual Spirit was produced by Massive Attack's own Robert del Naja, AKA 3D, alongside long-term studio collaborator Euan Dickinson. In addition to "Take It There," the track with Tricky, the EP features collaborations with Young Fathers, Roots Manuva and Azekel.
"Take It There" comes with a music video directed by Hiro Murai and featuring drunken stumbly dance moves from Deadwood actor John Hawkes surrounded by a creepy crew of backup dancers. Watch the video below.
Massive Attack first shared snippets of the new EP via an iPhone app called Fantom, which was designed in part by 3D. According to a press release, the app is "a sensory music player that remixes and reforms songs uniquely using a variety of environmental variables including location, movement, time of day, heartbeat and the integral moving image camera."
Now, Ritual Spirit is out via Virgin/EMI. Stream it below or purchase it on vinyl via the band's website.
A second EP co-produced by Daddy G is due to drop sometime this spring, followed by a full-length album later this year. The band is touring Europe in support of all the new music.
Meanwhile, Skilled Mechanics finds Tricky flexing his vocal chords and demonstrating his wide range.
Tricky explained the project's title in a press release: "It's from a documentary about espionage. There was an ex-C.I.A. agent on this programme speaking about assassins who were sent abroad by the US to start revolutions and topple governments. He called them 'skilled mechanics'. I thought that was a great name for someone who was a killer basically. The name was so dark and cynical it just stuck with me," Pitchfork reports.
As Thump points out, the vinyl release of the LP has already sold out, but it's available to stream below via the artist's BandCamp page.
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