“As a touring band, we’ve always been aware of the damage our industry and its behavior has done to our environment,” says Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja of Massive Attack at the start of the new, eight-minute documentary, Massive Attack X Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.
To address concert tours’ carbon footprint, Massive Attack commissioned a study by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and planned a 2020 concert in Liverpool, England as a more “green” example for other artists.
In the film, the band says they’ve “taken steps to mitigate our carbon footprint, but its always been unilateral.”
But then the pandemic scuttled the Liverpool concert. However, the powerful new film sees the band addressing the climate crisis with the input of experts in the field.
The project, which was recorded in three different cities during the lockdown, includes three Massive Attack tracks and visuals.
Directed by Anthony Tombling Jr., the film features narration from a selection of influential voices, including Liverpool’s director of culture Claire McColgan and green energy pioneer Dale Vince.
The Tyndall Centre’s Carly McLachlan calls for an end to the newly instituted drive-in gigs after the pandemic, observing, “We need to be careful that we don’t reassemble after this period with things like [drive-in gigs] baked in. I think it’s a really critical moment to make sure that as we rebuild the sector—as it comes out of this period of crisis—that we do that in a way that gives it long-term sustainability,” she says.
Watch Massive Attack X Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research below.
Back in July, Massive Attack released their audio-visual EP Eutopia, featuring collaborations with Young Fathers, Saul Williams and Algiers.
