Eutopia

Eutopia is a 2020 EP by British trip hop group Massive Attack, released as an audio-visual collection of three songs and music videos co-credited to their collaborators on the individual tracks.[2] The EP was released online on 10 July 2020 and is their first work in four years, since their 2016 recordings, the Ritual Spirit EP, and the single “The Spoils.”[3]

For the literary concept, see Utopia.
Eutopia
EP video by
Massive Attack
Released10 July 2020 (2020-07-10)
GenreTrip hop
Length13:54
LanguageEnglish
Massive Attack chronology
Ritual Spirit
(2016)		 Eutopia
(2020)
Massive Attack Twitter
@MassiveAttackUK

British English: Eutopia [Noun] ‘A place of well-being, as a practical aspiration (compared with utopia as an impossible concept).”

10 July 2020[1]

Background

During the spring 2020, Robert "3D" Del Naja worked on a Massive Attack political audiovisual EP called “Eutopia”, consisting of three track fusion created across five cities during the COVID-19 global lockdown period, with documentary filmmaker Mark Donne, AI Art pioneer Mario Klingemann and vocal collaborations with Algiers, Young Fathers and US poet Saul Williams.[4]

Each of the tracks of Eutopia discusses a political issue—the climate crisis, tax havens, and universal basic income—accompanied with relevant commentary by public academics Christiana Figueres, Guy Standing, and Gabriel Zucman.[5]

Professor Standing of the SOAS University of London said in an interview on the university website:[6] "The collaboration began when Massive Attack contacted me after the pandemic hit, which was shortly after my new book came out in March. I think they had read or at least seen my earlier book, which is my analysis of the ethical and economic foundations of basic income."

The spirit of the EP was inspired by Thomas More's 16th century book Utopia and created during the lockdown, to address the need for global change amid COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

Visuals

The visuals for the music videos were co-written and co-produced by Robert Del Naja and documentary filmmaker Mark Donne,[8] using artificial intelligence manipulated by Mario Klingemann.[9][10] He has previously collaborated with Massive Attack and filmmaker Adam Curtis on the Mezzanine XXI show.[11]

Track listing

All songs written by Robert Del Naja and Euan Dickinson

  1. "#CLIMATEMERGENCY" (with Algiers and narration by Christiana Figueres) – 4:20
  2. "#TAXHAVENS" (with Saul Williams and narration by Gabriel Zucman) – 4:13
  3. "#UNIVERSALBASICINCOME" (with Young Fathers and narration by Guy Standing) – 5:21

Personnel
The work of Costa Rican diplomat Christiana Figueres (center left with a grey outfit) in drafting the 2015 Paris Agreement is memorialized on the track "#CLIMATEEMERGENCY"

Massive Attack

Additional musicians

  • Euan Dickinson – Sound Engineer
  • Algiers
    • Franklin James Fisher – vocals
    • Ryan Mahan – bass guitar
    • Lee Tesche – guitar
    • Matt Tong – drums
  • Saul Williams
  • Young Fathers
    • Kayus Bankole
    • 'G' Hastings
    • Alloysious Massaquoi

Spoken word

Visuals

References
  1. Massive Attack [@MassiveAttackUK] (10 July 2020). "Eutopia [Noun] 'A place of well-being, as a practical aspiration (compared with utopia as an impossible concept)."" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. Massive Attack debut stunning audio-visual EP ‘Eutopia’, NME, 10 July 2020 https://www.nme.com/news/music/massive-attack-tease-new-eutopia-ep-with-mysterious-instagram-posts-2704269
  3. "Watch Cate Blanchett's face decompose in Massive Attack's new video for 'The Spoils'". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  4. Massive Attack’s Eutopia addresses our need for a radical global change, Public Pressure, July 2020 https://www.publicpressure.org/massive-attacks-eutopia-addresses-our-need-for-a-radical-global-change/
  5. Sacher, Andrew (10 July 2020). "Massive Attack Take On the State of the World with new EP ft. Algiers, Saul Williams, Young Fathers". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  6. SOAS, 13 July 2020 https://www.soas.ac.uk/blogs/study/soass-guy-standing-massive-attack-new-track/
  7. Monroe, Jazz. "Massive Attack Release New Audiovisual EP Eutopia". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  8. Massive Attack x Young Fathers - Eutopia EP on YouTube, 10 July 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-1YI-neupU&list=RDa-1YI-neupU&start_radio=1
  9. "The Quietus | News | Massive Attack Release New Audiovisual EP, 'Eutopia'". The Quietus. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  10. "Massive Attack Drop Audiovisual EP 'Eutopia'". Spin. 2020-07-10. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  11. 'A rare interview with Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja on creating the most subversive live show of 2019', The Fader, 25 September 2019 https://www.thefader.com/2019/09/25/massive-attack-robert-del-naja-mezzanine-interview
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