DesignNotes by Michael Surtees

Extending Massive Attack

I’m not one to buy “extended” or “deluxe” albums that often. Typically the only additional stuff are videos that I can find online or pdfs that I would never bother to open. In the last couple of weeks I’ve been a big fan of NPR’s First Listen, a site that streams an album a week before the release. A couple weeks ago they had Beach House and last week it was Massive Attack. The conventional thinking would be that it would be a mistake to give the music away for free—why would anyone want to buy it? On the flip side others would argue it’s a great way to spread awareness, a simple way to measure online attention and a way to get people interested in something they might not have otherwise paid attention to. Those points bring me to Massive Attack’s new album Heligoland. I’ve been listening to it a lot since it was on NPR’s First Listen. I typically buy any album Massive Attack releases so it was a no brainer that I’d be picking up this one. However this was one of the first times I went for the deluxe release because I wanted more songs that I was looking for as I was familiar already with the album somewhat. As I type away listening to the new songs all I can say is that it was the right decision for me. If you’re a fan of their extended beats and stretching of time you’ll probably want to do the same.

Posted on Feb 09.10 to Design, Muzak |