Heligoland

The Devil in Miss Jones

PARADISE CIRCUS

              The new album, Heligoland (it’s still unclear whether the boys are fans of Shena Mackay or of geography), will feature guest vocalists on most of the tracks and the these guests are all ‘cat’s meow’ material. Damon Albarn finds one more project to attach his name to, as well as Elbow’s Guy Garvey. A bit of yankee edge is provided by TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe. On the female side, you have tour buddy Martina Topley-Bird and also the wonderful voice of Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star fame. Old friend, Horace Andy is not forgotten either — he contributes to two tracks, including first single, Splitting the Atom. Check the band’s official site for complete tracklisting and artwork.

P.S. This picture is not the cover, but one fascinating painting by Robert del Naja.

Music from and Inspired by The Jackal soundtrack of the 1997 action thriller, starring Bruce Willis and Richard Gere. This “discrimination” doesn’t mean that the other album, containing Carter Burwell’s score should be disregarded. In fact, some of the tracks from there would fit inconspicuously on this album, Burwell being one of the most versatile film composers of the last two decades. His slick combination of electronica and a traditional score creates the real sonic trademark of the movie. That and, of course, the opening track, Massive Attack’s Superpredators, which sets the tone for the violence that is to follow and creates a memorable title sequence in the process.

And speaking of violence, an action movie, back in the day, would usually have more of a rock collection type of soundtrack, that’s why The Jackal, musically, is quite the milestone. By 1997, electronica and dance music had evolved in a more aggressive ‘beast’, bravely competing with rock as a mean of venting N. energy. The cream of the crop of the artists who achieved this are featured on The Jackal. A lot of these bands actually toured together. There’s no point in denying that UK was the headquarters for this new face of dance music and this is also illustrated through the selection found on this OST.

We’ll start with the most obvious, so we can ‘get them out of the way’ — The Prodigy. They make their appearance on this album with the classic (even then) hit, Poison, but without the ”phone call” intro. They are also joined by their touring partner back in the Jilted day, Moby (with Shining), one of the few non-British names on the whole thing. The list continues with Apollo Four Forty and their blood pumping mover & shaker, Raw Power (such a good choice of title). Keeping it still in the big beat bands area, we have Agent Provocateur with Red Tape (another title destined for action flicks OST’s). The DJ’s aren’t missing either. Of course, you have Fatboy Slim ‘going out of his head’, as well d’n'b icon, Goldie, both with a track (Sunray 2) and a remix of Bush’s Swallowed. Lunatic Calm’s overused Leave You Far Behind also makes its first ever appearance on a soundtrack.

There is also a softer side to this album, it’s not big, but it’s there. You have Primal Scream’s ‘feel good Sunday morning’ Star, Ani DiFranco’s moody Joyful Girl, some chill d’n'b by LTJ Bukem and then, there is Shineaway. Fully aware of the consequences, I must say that this is the true treasure of the album. A collaboration between The Psychedelic Furs’ singer, Richard Butler, and virtuoso producer BT, Shineway is basically a ballad, but with enough cool sounds around the edges to be the ballad to the power songs listed above. If the other songs are the stuff that draws you to this album, Shineway is the thing that’ll keep you there. There are some other songs on it, but I have to leave at least a bit of mystery unrevealed. You check it out !

The soundtrack to Ridley Scott’s SF classic Blade Runner contains both of these types of songs and a lot in between. First of all, I will make it clear: this review is about the first official release from 1994, the one we all grew up with, even though the 2007 anniversary edition does contain some interesting new material, both from the movie and inspired by it (Vadavarot sounds quite intriguing). It is one of the most influential instrumental albums, actually creating the concept of Blade Runner sound, meaning dark and futuristic and very synthy. Liam Howlett quoted Blade Runner as an inspiration for the track Omen Reprise, Massive Attack did a reworking of the score with the help of the Heritage Orchestra, but this material is not available. Unfortunately. Linkin Park are talking about a Blade Runner influenced future album, as well as Editors and their upcoming In This Light and On This Evening.

The thing is you just can’t have the movie Blade Runner without all the sounds provided by Vangelis. He should have been credited for doing sound effects, too, not just the music. A track like Main Titles (though it doesn’t feature on the movie’s opening titles) offers so much more than just the massive oberheims and synth orchestra which create that image of something grand and yet very creepy. The constant layer of chimes and bells and engine effects give an ineffable contour to the dark world of Rick Deckard. Just as the loneliness of these strange characters is so beautifully infused by Love Theme (featuring sax by Dick Morrissey) or the Blade Runner Blues. In the same territory we find Memories of Green, which is the very definition of a haunting piece of music. Originally from a previous Vangelis album, See You Later (definitely try the epic Suffocation from this one), Memories of Green, besides being able to take the listener to every possible mood with simple piano keys, also features various sound effects that fit the movie like a glove. It’s one of those weird cases of musical premonition.

Vangelis also makes great use of some vocal samples from the film, lines that will bring a corner smile to every fan of the soundtrack when they are watching the movie. Blush Response and Wait for Me, both remarkable for their groundbreaking beats at the time, begin with conversations between Sean Young and Harrison Ford, while Tears in Rain contains what is probably Rutger Heuer’s best movie moment ever. Speaking of voices, you also get a little bit of Demis Roussos in there (Tales of the Future), Vangelis’ former bandmate from Aphrodite’s Child. This track and Damask Rose help enhance the multiculturalism feel of the dystopian 2019 Los Angeles.

But, there is no point in fooling ourselves, when it comes to voices on the Blade Runner soundtrack, Mary Hopkin’s melisma on Rachel’s Song is by far the best moment. It’s also one of Vangelis’ best two tracks. Constructed on some dripping sound, this song is one of those things that just can’t be put in a box. At least, not in an already existing one. It’s a world of its own. If someone would be crazy enough to claim that there is such a thing as the best song ever, Rachel’s Song would be a strong contender. Why it never made it on the film remains a mystery, but, in a way, it just adds more to the myth. And I’ll conclude, of course, with End Titles, the most influential track from the album, endlessly remixed by trance and house projects around the world, a song that has the sadness of Barber’s Adagio for Strings with the energy of The Prodigy. It’s also a good way of getting acquainted with the master. If you don’t already know Him…

This is not the first time Massive Attack are involved in the movie business and by this I’m not talking about Angel being on the soundtrack of a milion films, but about Unleashed (aka Danny the Dog) which they scored completely. Of course, we are not going to ignore their contribution to such movies like The Jackal (Superpredators is the perfect opening theme for any action flick) and the only reason why Blade 2 would be mentioned on this site in a non-derogatory way is that perfect symbiosis between Massive Attack and Mos Def called I Against I. Just to name a couple…

Herculaneum is one of those scarry songs that Massive Attack indulge in quite often, but this time there is no low beat like in Butterfly Caught or Smalltime Shot Away. The best word that comes in mind, when you are listening to Herculaneum is… boiling. And the feeling is very well in touch with the subject, as many of the characters are boiling and violence is always on the verge of happening. This is a piece of music that you can’t even start to think how it was done. Probably half of the sounds are created by something else than musical instruments or software/samplers. There are some strings which add the horror vibe, but they are mixed with, what I’m pretty sure is, the sound of a screw squeaking and hammers hitting nails. Just to name a couple…

This is new teritorry even for Massive Attack and probably it woun’t be repeated on their future album, but it would surely be fascinating to hear Robert Del Naja going at it again, a soundtrack that is.

LISTEN TO HERCULANEUM HERE

LISTEN TO THE SONG HERE