Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles. As of October 2026, the group consists of Del Naja and Marshall.
members: Robert Del Naja, Daddy G
formed in: Bristol
labels: EMI
genres: trip hop, electronica
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Some of their most noted songs have been without choruses and have featured dramatically atmospheric dynamics. They use distorted guitar crescendos, lavish orchestral arrangements and prominent looped/shifting basslines. Underpinned by high and exacting production values, sometimes using copious digital editing and mixing. The pace of their music has often been slower than prevalent British dance music of the time. These and other psychedelic, soundtrack-like and DJist techniques, formed their style which has often been emulated. Journalists described this sound as "trip hop" from the mid-nineties onwards. In an interview in 2006, Daddy G said, "We used to hate that terminology trip-hop so bad," [laughs] "You know, as far we were...
Despite the band rejecting the label, Massive Attack are generally considered to be a pioneering act of the Bristol music scene and the trip hop genre, with some calling them the greatest trip hop band. Their debut album, Blue Lines, is generally considered to be the first album of the genre, even though the term was not coined until 1994. Both Blue Lines and Mezzanine are considered to be amongst the best albums of the 1990s and of all time.
Are you them, or do you know them? The mail slot is open.
"Angel" is a song by English trip hop group Massive Attack, featuring the vocals and songwriting from Horace Andy, and is partially based on Andy's song "You Are My Angel". It was released as the third single from their third studio album, Mezzanine (1998), on 13 July 1998.
"Angel" peaked at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart.
Daddy G, who was the main songwriter on it (along with 3D), described the song as "[starting] something we've got to finish. It was a much bigger thing than any member of the band." The song samples The Incredible Bongo Band song "Last Bongo in Belgium".
The music video for "Angel", directed by Walter A. Stern and filmed at the Metropolitan Car Park & Old Goods Yard at Paddington, London across three nights, features Daddy G in a car park. He is walking to the exit when 3D, Mushroom and Horace Andy appear behind him. They gradually get closer to him, causing him to feel intimidated. More and more people start following him, which causes him to run outside the car park until he reaches a fence and therefore cannot go any further. As he turns to face the people chasing him, they stop and face him. He then notices that they seem to be mirroring his movements, as if his body controls them. He suddenly charges towards the people that followed him, which causes them to run away.
Reception for the song was positive. Amy Hanson of AllMusic describes the song thus: "While the beat here is slow, druggy, and deep, what ultimately drives Angel is the wall of guitars that are reminiscent of a very early Cure".
"Teardrop" is a song by English trip hop group Massive Attack. Vocals are performed by Scottish singer Elizabeth Fraser, former lead singer of Cocteau Twins, who also wrote the lyrics.
It was released on 27 April 1998 by Circa and Virgin as the second single from the group's third studio album, Mezzanine (1998). A harpsichord-driven track, "Teardrop" was originally set to feature vocals from Madonna, whom Massive Attack turned down in favour of Fraser.
Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "If there were ever a time for this clique of progressive groovemeisters to solidly connect with the stateside mainstream, it's now. The world has finally caught up with its experimental methods of blending dance rhythms with alterna-pop melodies. On this preview of the album Mezzanine, the band injects a bit of modern rock flavor into the mix - thus, widening the potential for airplay. Added programming incentive is provided by Brendan Lynch and Primal Scream, who add an aggressive bite to a track that bubbles with light electronic instrumentation." A reviewer from Music Week felt that Fraser's "sublime, folky vocals provide the perfect foil to the Massive Attack's trio's metronome-like backing on this...
The song's music video featured a latex foetus in the womb, singing the song. It was directed by Walter Stern.