Eutopia (EP) explained

Eutopia
Type:EP
Longtype:video
Artist:Massive Attack
Cover:Massive Attack - Eutopia EP (Teaser Art).png
Alt:Pink skull with analog video glitches on yellow background; In red font, "// Massive Attack" is written in the top left, "# // Eutopia" in the bottom right.
Caption:Screenshot of the teaser video announcing the release of the EP
Genre:Trip hop
Prev Title:Ritual Spirit
Prev Year:2016

Eutopia is a 2020 EP by British trip hop group Massive Attack, released on on the band's YouTube account as a collection of three music videos;[1] as of, it remains unavailable on Music streaming services. The EP represents the band's first work in four years, following the 2016 releases of the Ritual Spirit EP and the single "The Spoils".[2]

Recorded during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the three tracks feature spoken word passages from influential academics calling for action on climate change, tax havens and universal basic income.

Background

During the spring of 2020, Robert "3D" Del Naja worked on a politically-themed audio-visual Massive Attack EP called “Eutopia”, consisting of three tracks 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.[3] The spirit of the EP was inspired by Thomas More's 16th century book Utopia to address the need for global change amid COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

Each of the tracks of Eutopia discusses a political issuethe climate crisis, tax havens, and universal basic incomeaccompanied with relevant commentary by public academics Christiana Figueres, Guy Standing, and Gabriel Zucman.

Professor Standing of the SOAS University of London said in an interview on the university website: "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."[5]

Visuals

The visuals for the music videos were co-written and co-produced by Robert Del Naja and documentary filmmaker Mark Donne,[6] using artificial intelligence manipulated by Mario Klingemann.[7] [8] He has previously collaborated with Massive Attack and filmmaker Adam Curtis on the Mezzanine XXI show.[9]

Personnel

Massive Attack

Additional musicians

Spoken word

Visuals

Notes and References

  1. 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
  2. Web site: 2016-08-09. Watch Cate Blanchett's face decompose in Massive Attack's new video for 'The Spoils'. 2020-07-19. NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs NME.COM. en-GB. 2020-07-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20200714091531/https://www.nme.com/news/music/massive-attack-2-1195712. live.
  3. 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/
  4. Web site: Monroe . Jazz . Massive Attack Release New Audiovisual EP Eutopia . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200716152550/https://pitchfork.com/news/massive-attack-release-new-audiovisual-ep-eutopia-watch/ . 2020-07-16 . 2020-07-19 . Pitchfork . 10 July 2020 . en-us.
  5. SOAS, 13 July 2020 https://www.soas.ac.uk/blogs/study/soass-guy-standing-massive-attack-new-track/
  6. 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
  7. Web site: The Quietus News Massive Attack Release New Audiovisual EP, 'Eutopia'. 2020-07-19. The Quietus. en-us. 2021-08-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20210823192415/https://thequietus.com/articles/28574-massive-attack-audiovisual-ep-eutopia. live.
  8. Web site: 2020-07-10. Massive Attack Drop Audiovisual EP 'Eutopia'. 2020-07-19. Spin. 2020-07-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20200720154511/https://www.spin.com/2020/07/massive-attack-new-2020-ep-eutopia/. live.
  9. '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