| Ritual Spirit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | 28 January 2016 | |||
| Genre | Trip hop, electronica | |||
| Length | 17:13 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | Robert Del Naja, Adrian Thaws, Grant Marshall, Euan Dickinson | |||
| Massive Attack chronology | ||||
| ||||
Ritual Spirit is an EP by British trip hop trio Massive Attack, released on 28 January 2016. [1] It features trip hop artist Tricky for the first time since the release of Protection in 1994, and also features Scottish hip-hop group Young Fathers, London rapper Roots Manuva and singer Azekel. [2]
A week before the release of the EP, the group released an iPhone application called "The Fantom", which remixed songs using heartbeat, location and time of day. The app contained snippets of the songs featured on the EP, and promised full functionality "soon". [3]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 81/100 [4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Drowned in Sound | 9/10 [6] |
| Pitchfork Media | 7.0/10 [7] |
| PopMatters |   [8] |
| Pretty Much Amazing | B+ [9] |
| Renowned for Sound | [10] |
Ritual Spirit received widespread critical acclaim from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81, based on 4 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim". [4]
John Garratt of PopMatters praised the EP, stating, "Pretty much everything that helped the band make a name for itself is on display for these four songs—the simmering tension of title track, the sample-happy soundtrack for urban decay on the opener 'Dead Editors', the hot and steady boil of 'Voodoo in My Blood', and the morose single 'Take It There' featuring the return of Tricky." [8] Katherine St. Asaph of Pitchfork Media gave the EP a favorable review, stating, "Massive Attack were always equally as good producers as they were curators; it's promising that, as much of their old sound as they've retained, they've kept this as well." [7]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dead Editors" (featuring Roots Manuva) | Euan Dickinson, Robert Del Naja, Rodney Hylton Smith, Herbie Hancock | 4:46 |
| 2. | "Ritual Spirit" (featuring Azekel) | Euan Dickinson, Del Naja, Azekel Adesuyi | 3:55 |
| 3. | "Voodoo in My Blood" (featuring Young Fathers) | Euan Dickinson, Del Naja, Young Fathers | 4:01 |
| 4. | "Take It There" (featuring Tricky) | Euan Dickinson, Del Naja, Adrian Thaws | 4:31 |
| Total length: | 17:13 | ||
Notes
Massive Attack
Additional musicians
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia) [12] | 34 |
| France (SNEP) [13] | 30 |
| Germany (Official German Charts) [14] | 96 |
| Italian Vinyl Records (FIMI) [15] | 5 |
| US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard) [16] | 4 |
Trip hop is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound, often incorporating elements of jazz, soul, funk, reggae, dub, R&B, and other forms of electronic music, as well as sampling from movie soundtracks and other eclectic sources.
Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws, better known by his stage name Tricky, is a British record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Bristol, he began his career as an early member of the band Massive Attack alongside Robert Del Naja, Grant Marshall & Andrew Vowles. He embarked on a solo career with his debut album, Maxinquaye, in 1995. The release won Tricky popular acclaim and marked the beginning of a lengthy collaborative partnership with vocalist Martina Topley-Bird. He released four more studio albums before the end of the decade, including Pre-Millennium Tension and the pseudonymous Nearly God, both in 1996. He has gone on to release nine studio albums since 2000, most recently Fall to Pieces (2020). In 2016, he joined Massive Attack on stage for the first time in two decades while continuing his solo career.
Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall.
Unkle is a British musical outfit founded in 1992 by James Lavelle. Originally categorised as trip hop, the group once included producer DJ Shadow and have employed a variety of guest artists and producers.
Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva, is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial success with albums Run Come Save Me and Slime & Reason. He has been described as "one of the most influential artists in British music history." His most recent studio album, Bleeds, was released in October 2015.
Mezzanine is the third studio album by English electronic music group Massive Attack, released on 20 April 1998 by Circa and Virgin Records. For the album, the group began to explore a darker aesthetic, and focused on a more atmospheric style influenced by British post-punk, industrial music, hip hop and dub music.
Bunkka is the debut studio album by English electronic musician and producer Paul Oakenfold, released under the name Oakenfold. It was released in 2002 under the Maverick label.
Dance with My Father is the thirteenth and final studio album by American R&B/soul singer Luther Vandross. It was released by J Records on June 10, 2003 in the United States. The album, especially its title track, was dedicated to Vandross' late father and features production credits from Nat Adderley Jr., Shep Crawford, and Marcus Miller as well as guest appearances by singer Beyoncé, R&B trio Next, and rappers Foxy Brown, Queen Latifah, and Busta Rhymes.
Destiny's Child is the debut studio album by American R&B group Destiny's Child, released by Columbia Records and Music World Entertainment on February 17, 1998. It features the singles "No, No, No" and "With Me", both of which preceded the album. The album spent twenty six weeks on the US Billboard 200 chart and peaked at number sixty-seven. To date the album has sold a total of 831,000 copies in America. In the United Kingdom, it reached the top fifty, peaking at number forty-five. It was re-packaged and re-released in several countries after the success of the follow-up album, The Writing's on the Wall (1999). The album was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics, including AllMusic and Rolling Stone, and won a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year.
Maxinquaye is the debut album by English rapper and producer Tricky, released on 20 February 1995 by 4th & B'way Records, a subsidiary of Island Records. In the years leading up to the album, Tricky had grown frustrated with his limited role in the musical group Massive Attack and wanted to pursue an independent project. Shortly after, he met with vocalist Martina Topley-Bird, who he felt would offer a wider vision to his music, and signed a solo contract with 4th & B'way in 1993. Tricky recorded Maxinquaye the following year primarily at his home studio in London, with Topley-Bird serving as the album's main vocalist, while Alison Goldfrapp, Ragga and Mark Stewart performed additional vocals.
Heligoland is the fifth studio album by English electronic music duo Massive Attack, released on 8 February 2010 by Virgin Records. Named after a German archipelago, it was their first studio album in seven years, following 100th Window (2003). It has been certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
The Boatlift is the third studio album by Cuban-American rapper Pitbull. It was released on November 27, 2007 through TVT, Poe Boy and Bad Boy Latino. The album features production by Lil Jon, Mr. Collipark, Nitti, Diaz Brothers and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs who served as executive producer with Pitbull. It also features guest appearances by Trick Daddy, Lil Jon, Twista, Jim Jones, Jason Derulo and Don Omar among others.
So Damn Happy is the thirty-fifth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin. Her first studio album in five years, it included the Grammy Award-winning track "Wonderful", the single co-written and produced by Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence, his very first project with the Queen of Soul was a grand slam. The album peaked at number 33 on the US Billboard 200 and number 11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, while reaching the top thirty of the Italian Albums Chart. Shortly after its release, Franklin left Arista after a stay of 23 years. She later announced plans to start her own Detroit-based record label, Aretha Records.
The discography of British trip hop band Massive Attack consists of five studio albums, three compilation albums, five remix albums, one soundtrack album, five extended plays, eighteen singles and twenty-seven music videos. The group was founded in 1988 by musicians Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Grantley "Daddy G" Marshall, and Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles in Bristol, England. Prior to the formation of Massive Attack, all four were members of British sound system The Wild Bunch.
"Risingson" is a song by the English trip hop group Massive Attack, released as a single on 7 July 1997. It is the first single from their third album, Mezzanine (1998), and the eighth single overall.
The Spirit Indestructible is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado. The album was released on 14 September 2012. Furtado served as the executive producer for the album as well as a principal writer. Further production on The Spirit Indestructible comes from the likes of Darkchild, Salaam Remi, Mike Angelakos, Bob Rock, Fraser T Smith, Di Genius, The Demolition Crew, John Shanks and Tiësto.
"Angel" is a song by English trip hop group Massive Attack, featuring the vocals and songwriting from Horace Andy, and is partially based on Andy's song "You Are My Angel". It was released as the third single from their third studio album, Mezzanine (1998), on 13 July 1998. "Angel" peaked at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart.
Sex & Cigarettes is the eighth studio album by American singer Toni Braxton. It was released on March 23, 2018, by Def Jam Recordings. Her first solo album in eight years, it served as her debut for the label after signing a new record deal. Braxton worked with a variety of producers on the album, including Fred Ball, Antonio Dixon, Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, Dapo Torimiro, Stuart Crichton, Tricky Stewart, and Pierre Medor. Its release was preceded by the release of two singles, "Deadwood" and "Long as I Live" as well as a remix EP of the song "Coping" which features on the album.
Personal Attention is the ninth album, by R&B singer Stacy Lattisaw, released on January 21, 1988 on Motown Records. It features backing vocals by Johnny Gill, Karyn White, Howard Hewett, David Lasley and Lynn Davis. It includes a cover of the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell song, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".
Love, Death & Dancing is the second studio album by British singer-songwriter and musician Jack Garratt. It was released on 12 June 2020 through Island Records as the follow-up to his 2016 debut album Phase.
