Massive Attack Reunite With Tricky on New ‘Ritual Spirit’ EP
British trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack have released a new EP, Ritual Spirit, which features the long-awaited return of vocalist Adrian “Tricky” Thaws.
Tricky appears on “Take It There,” which has been given a harrowing video directed by Hiro Murai and starring Oscar nominee John Hawkes as a haggard man stumbling drunkenly around an empty city. A quartet of dancers appear at his side and flit about him, while the video’s final sequence finds Hawkes joining the troupe for a stilted, pained routine at the bottom of a drained swimming pool.
“Take It There” marks Tricky’s first appearance on a Massive Attack record since 1994’s Protection. The four-track Ritual Spirit was produced by Robert “3D” Del Naja and longtime studio collaborator, Euan Dickinson. It also features collaborations with Young Fathers, Roots Manuva and Azekel. The EP is available to purchase on iTunes and stream on Spotify. A complete track list is below.
Massive Attack are set to follow Ritual Spirit with another EP — this one written and co-produced by Grant “Daddy G” Marshall — in the spring, with a full length slated for later this year. The LP will be the group’s first since 2010’s Heligoland.
The band is currently on the road, with dates scheduled in the U.K. and Europe through the end of February.
Ritual Spirit EP Track List
1. “Dead Editors” (Feat. Roots Manuva)
2. “Ritual Spirit” (Feat. Azekel)
3. “Voodoo In My Blood” (Feat. Young Fathers)
4. “Take It There” (Feat. Tricky)