Heligoland
Studio album by
Massive Attack
Released8 February 2010 (2010-02-08)
Recorded2005–2009
Studio
  • 100 Suns (Bristol)
  • Robot Club (Bristol)
  • Attic (Bristol)
  • 13 (London)
  • Stickydisc Recordings (Brooklyn)
  • UML / Amber (New York City)
Genre
Length53:05
LabelVirgin
Producer
Massive Attack chronology
Collected
(2006)		 Heligoland
(2010)		 Ritual Spirit
(2016)
Singles from Heligoland
  1. "Psyche"
  2. "Paradise Circus"
    Released: 17 October 2011

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).[1] It has been certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).[2]

Personnel

The record primarily features vocals from Horace Andy, as well as a number of guest vocalists: Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, Hope Sandoval of Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions and Mazzy Star, Guy Garvey of Elbow and Martina Topley-Bird.[3] Further contributions include guitar by Adrian Utley of Portishead (on "Saturday Come Slow"), keys from Portishead collaborator John Baggott (most notably on "Atlas Air"), keys and synth bass from Damon Albarn ("Splitting the Atom" and "Flat of the Blade" respectively), guitar (various tracks) and bass ("Girl I Love You") by Neil Davidge, bass by Billy Fuller of Beak (various tracks) and drumming from both the late Jerry Fuchs and regular Massive Attack session and touring drummer Damon Reece.

Dan Brown and Stew Jackson (Robot Club) co-wrote "Paradise Circus", played guitar on and co-wrote "Saturday Come Slow", and part-programmed and engineered those tracks. Tim Goldsworthy contributed additional production (specific tracks unstated). Most tracks were mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent and mastered by Tim Young at Metropolis Studios, as with previous records. Unlike previous records, there are no personal acknowledgements on the inlay. Most tracks were co-produced by Neil Davidge and Robert Del Naja;[4] Grant Marshall only contributed production to "Splitting The Atom", "Paradise Circus" and "Saturday Come Slow", but co-wrote every track. The album is dedicated to the memory of Blue Lines co-producer, Jonny Dollar.

Background

The album's release was preceded by the release of the Splitting the Atom EP on 4 October 2009. During its development, the album was often referred to in the media as "LP5" (a reference to this being their fifth studio album) or "Weather Underground" (Robert Del Naja's early working title).[5]

The artwork, as with every Massive Attack album since Protection, is a collaboration between Tom Hingston and Del Naja, this time based on Del Naja's paintings. For an advertisement campaign on the London Underground, local traffic authority Transport for London insisted the cover image featured on advertising posters be altered so as not to resemble "street art", obliging the artists to remove drips and fuzz from the original image; this was intended to conform with their policy to not encourage graffiti.[6]

Many other guest vocalists recorded sessions in the time after 100th Window but did not end up being featured on the album. These include: Stephanie Dosen, Yolanda Quartey of Phantom Limb – effectively Robot Club's band) and Jhelisa (Anderson, who had previously recorded in 2002 in the studio for material that was not included on 100th Window); and, mostly before the release of Collected – Mike Patton, Aku and Akwetey Orraca-Tetteh and Devang Shah of Dragons of Zynth, Elizabeth Fraser, Terry Callier, Fredo Viola, Debbie Clare, Beth Orton and Dot Allison. Mos Def and Leslie Feist were named as artists scheduled for recording sessions back in 2004.[7] Backing tracks from Grant Marshall's side of Massive Attack's writing (mainly facilitated by and done with Robot Club) are known to have been sent to Alice Russell, and prepared for Sharon Jones,[8] Patti Smith and David Bowie during the era but collaboration did not come to fruition, nor did talks with Tom Waits or Tricky, in terms of featuring as guest vocalists on the record. Post-punks Mark Stewart and Keith Levene were pictured inside Del Naja's 100 Suns studio in 2009, but played no part on the album.

Del Naja said of the musical style of Heligoland,

"I think it's got definitely a more organic feel. [...] 100th Window was very much about this amalgamation of everything joining, and eventually the process was so extreme that you couldn't tell if there was a string part if it was electronic or natural. [There were] lots of organic parts that ended up sounding very electronic. It became a whole world of different processes, and we wanted to do something a bit different because we've had that experience so we wanted to do something else."[9]

The track "Girl I Love You", one of multiple tracks featuring Horace Andy, is a drastically reworked version of a song originally written by Andy during his solo career.

Promotion

Eight low-budget films were officially released online in promotion of Heligoland:

  • "Splitting the Atom" (Promo 1), directed by Baillie Walsh (2009).
  • "Paradise Circus", directed by Toby Dye (2009) features clips from an old pornographic film, interspersed with an interview with the film's now-aged female star Georgina Spelvin, who describes each stage of a film-oriented sex act and emphasises the added erotic excitement of the camera.[10]
  • "Splitting the Atom" (Promo 2), directed by Edouard Salier (2009). Video on YouTube
  • "Flat of the Blade", directed by Ewan Spencer (2009)
  • "Saturday Come Slow", directed by Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin (2010), features a former Guantanamo Bay detainee at a laboratory in Cambridge, where he and a professor work in tandem to discuss the use of loud sounds as a means of torture.
  • "Psyche", directed by John Downer (2010)
  • "Atlas Air", directed by Eduard Salier, was downloadable with the digital Version of the Atlas Air EP. The video is in fact a prequel to Salier's version of "Splitting The Atom"
  • "Pray for Rain", directed by Jake Scott (2011)

Furthermore, a "United Snakes" video by UnitedVisualArtists, along with a previous alternate promo for "Psyche" directed by Dougal Wilson were also released.

"Paradise Circus" was licensed as the theme tune for the BBC drama series Luther.[11] "Paradise Circus" can also be heard in Gossip Girl,[12] "Misfits" (S2, Ep4), Revenge (S2, Ep6) and "9 Crimes", the fourth episode of the third season of True Blood,[13] as well as in the 2011 advert "Dominoes" for Citroën C5. A remixed version of "Paradise Circus" by Gui Boratto, can also be heard on Lincoln MKX commercials featuring Mad Men's John Slattery.

Release

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.0/10[14]
Metacritic72/100[15]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[16]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[17]
The Guardian[18]
The Irish Times[19]
Los Angeles Times[20]
NME6/10[21]
Pitchfork5.0/10[22]
Rolling Stone[23]
Spin7/10[24]
Uncut[25]

The deluxe edition of Heligoland, available digitally and as a deluxe vinyl edition release, features three additional remixes as well as the "False Flags" B-side, "United Snakes".[26] Heligoland Remixed is a largely identical release, with the only difference being the replacement of "United Snakes" with an additional remix; this release was uploaded for listening on the duo's Facebook page. The standard edition is also available with a number of differently coloured covers.

Burial remix album

In late 2009, Marshall suggested in an interview with Clash that the entirety of Heligoland may be remixed by Burial for release as a companion album, though various comments made afterwards suggest that this had been little more than an idea, with no actual work done on these remixes.[27]

In May 2010, Del Naja told Q magazine: "It's happening, but we can't talk about it. [Burial]'s very private and paranoid about it."[28]

"Four Walls"/"Paradise Circus", a single containing Burial's remix of "Paradise Circus", along with a remix of a previously unreleased Massive Attack track, "Four Walls" was released in 2011.

Atlas Air EP

In interviews, Massive Attack had stated their intention to release an EP of leftover Heligoland tracks in May or June 2010. Songs said to be contained on this EP included "Invade Me" and "Red Light", both featuring Martina Topley-Bird.[29]

Subsequently, Massive Attack announced plans for the release of the Atlas Air EP, both digitally and as a limited edition of 1,000 units on vinyl record, on 1 November 2010, in aid of charity organization Warchild. The EP would feature an edit of the titular song; a Tim Goldsworthy remix; a Guy Garvey-penned and previously unfinished Heligoland track, "Redlight", featuring Guy Garvey on vocals; and its respective remix by Warp artist, Clark.[30]

Plans for the release were later changed: The release was moved back to 22 November 2010; The original version of "Redlight" was removed and replaced by the Jneiro Jarel remix of "Atlas Air", meaning that the EP would feature no previously unreleased work by the band. Additionally, vocals on the remix of "Redlight" were replaced with an uncredited female vocalist instead of those of its songwriter, Guy Garvey.[31]

Track listing

Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)VocalsLength
1."Pray for Rain"
Adebimpe6:44
2."Babel"
Topley-Bird5:20
3."Splitting the Atom"
5:17
4."Girl I Love You"
  • Del Naja
  • Marshall
  • Davidge
  • Andy
Andy5:27
5."Psyche"
  • Del Naja
  • Marshall
  • Davidge
  • Topley-Bird
Topley-Bird3:25
6."Flat of the Blade"
Garvey5:30
7."Paradise Circus"
Sandoval4:58
8."Rush Minute"
  • Del Naja
  • Marshall
  • Davidge
3D4:51
9."Saturday Come Slow"
  • Del Naja
  • Marshall
  • Albarn
  • Jackson
  • Brown
Albarn3:44
10."Atlas Air"
  • Del Naja
  • Marshall
  • Davidge
  • John Baggott
3D7:49
Total length:53:05
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Fatalism" (Ryuichi Sakamoto & Yukihiro Takahashi remix)
4:54
Total length:57:59
Amazon digital extended edition bonus tracks[32]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Paradise Circus" (Gui Boratto remix)
  • Del Naja
  • Marshall
  • Sandoval
  • Jackson
  • Brown
8:07
12."Fatalism" (Ryuichi Sakamoto & Yukihiro Takahashi remix)
  • Del Naja
  • Marshall
  • Davidge
  • Garvey
4:54
13."Girl I Love You" (She Is Danger remix)
  • Del Naja
  • Marshall
  • Davidge
  • Andy
5:00
14."Paradise Circus" (Breakage's Tight Rope remix)
  • Del Naja
  • Marshall
  • Sandoval
  • Jackson
  • Brown
4:44
Total length:75:83
iTunes Store deluxe edition bonus tracks[33]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."United Snakes"
  • Del Naja
  • Davidge
9:44
16."Pray for Rain" (Tim Goldsworthy remix)
  • Del Naja
  • Marshall
  • Davidge
  • Adebimpe
7:24
Total length:92:97

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Heligoland.[34]

Massive Attack

Additional musicians

Technical

  • Robert Del Naja – production
  • Neil Davidge – production (all tracks); mixing (tracks 2, 7)
  • Grant Marshall – production (tracks 3, 7, 9)
  • Tim Goldsworthy – additional production
  • Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (tracks 1, 3–6, 8–10)
  • Matty Green – mixing assistance (tracks 1, 3–6, 8–10)
  • Euan Dickinson – mixing assistance (tracks 2, 7); engineering (all tracks)
  • Eric Broucek – engineering
  • Lee Shephard – engineering
  • Leo Sidran – engineering
  • Jason Cox – engineering
  • Graham Archer – engineering
  • Robot Club – engineering
  • Tim Young – mastering at Metropolis Mastering (London)

Artwork

  • Robert Del Naja – art, design, art direction
  • Tom Hingston Studio – design, art direction

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Heligoland
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
France (SNEP)[75] Gold 50,000*
Italy (FIMI)[76] Gold 25,000*
Poland (ZPAV)[77] Gold 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[2] Gold 122,187[78]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "Heligoland". massiveattack.com. 23 November 2009. Archived from the original on 11 August 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  2. 1 2 "British album certifications – Massive Attack – Heligoland". British Phonographic Industry. 18 June 2010.
  3. ↑ "Massive Attack recruit Martina". BBC 6 Music. 13 July 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  4. ↑ "Tripping into Heligoland – Inside The Production of Massive Attack's Latest Album". Emusician. 19 February 2009. Archived from the original on 9 March 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  5. ↑ "Damon Albarn records with Massive Attack". NME. 8 February 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  6. ↑ Andy Dangerfield (18 February 2010). "Street art posters latest adverts to be censored by TfL". BBC News. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  7. ↑ "P Archives". forums.massiveattack.com. 7 September 2005. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2005.
  8. ↑ Phil Medley (17 March 2006). "Massive Attack: Calm and collected". The Independent. London. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  9. ↑ "Interview w/ Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja re. Heligoland". suicidegirls.com. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
  10. ↑ "Paradise Circus – Massive Attack" (Video). Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  11. ↑ "BBC One Programmes – Luther, Episode 1". BBC. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  12. ↑ Gossip Girl Music From "Ex-Husbands and Wives" tvfanatic.com. 2010-05-11. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
  13. ↑ True Blood 9 Crimes Songs tvfanatic.com. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
  14. ↑ "Heligoland by Massive Attack reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  15. ↑ "Reviews for Heligoland by Massive Attack". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  16. ↑ Bush, John. "Heligoland – Massive Attack". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  17. ↑ Maerz, Melissa (5 February 2010). "Heligoland". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  18. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (4 February 2010). "Massive Attack: Heligoland". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  19. ↑ Boyd, Brian (5 February 2010). "Massive Attack: Heligoland (Virgin)". The Irish Times. Dublin. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  20. ↑ Brown, August (8 February 2010). "Album review: Massive Attack's 'Heligoland'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  21. ↑ Pattison, Louis (8 February 2010). "Album review: Massive Attack – 'Heligoland' (Virgin)". NME. Archived from the original on 10 March 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  22. ↑ Patrin, Nate (9 February 2010). "Massive Attack: Heligoland". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  23. ↑ Ganz, Caryn (22 February 2010). "Heligoland: Massive Attack". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 26 February 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  24. ↑ Wood, Mikael (9 February 2010). "Massive Attack, 'Heligoland' (Virgin)". Spin. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  25. ↑ Martin, Piers (8 February 2010). "Massive Attack – Heligoland". Uncut. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  26. ↑ "The Vinyl Factory Massive Attack 'Heligoland' – English". thevinylfactory.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  27. ↑ "Massive Attack: Two Man Army". The Skinny. 2 February 2010. "I think I might have had too many drinks the night I made that statement. I started a fire, didn't I? It was our total admiration for Burial, that's what it was; it sort of spilled into enthusiasm about him doing something for us." – Daddy G. [The Skinny – February 2010]
  28. ↑ "Massive Attack". Q. 9 May 2010.
  29. ↑ "Massive Attack: Two Man Army". The Skinny. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  30. ↑ "Massive Attack blog on MySpace". 6 November 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010 – via Myspace.
  31. ↑ "Atlas Air – EP by Massive Attack – Preorder Atlas Air – EP on iTunes". 6 November 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  32. ↑ "Heligoland (Extended) [+digital booklet]: Massive Attack: MP3 Downloads". United States: Amazon. Archived from the original on 27 April 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  33. ↑ "Heligoland (Deluxe Version) by Massive Attack". United Kingdom: iTunes Store. Archived from the original on 31 March 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  34. ↑ Heligoland (liner notes). Massive Attack. Virgin Records. 2010. CDV3070.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  35. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Massive Attack – Heligoland". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  36. ↑ "ARIA Dance – Week Commencing 15th February 2010" (PDF). The ARIA Report. No. 1042. 15 February 2010. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  37. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Massive Attack – Heligoland" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  38. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Massive Attack – Heligoland" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  39. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Massive Attack – Heligoland" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  40. ↑ "Massive Attack Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  41. ↑ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 06.Týden 2010 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  42. ↑ "Danishcharts.dk – Massive Attack – Heligoland". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  43. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Massive Attack – Heligoland" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  44. ↑ Sexton, Paul (25 February 2010). "Sade's 'Soldier of Love' Rules Euro Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  45. ↑ "Massive Attack: Heligoland" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  46. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Massive Attack – Heligoland". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  47. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Massive Attack – Heligoland" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  48. ↑ "Greekcharts.com – Massive Attack – Heligoland". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  49. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2010. 7. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  50. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Massive Attack". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  51. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Massive Attack – Heligoland". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  52. ↑ ヘリゴランド | マッシヴ・アタック [Heligoland | Massive Attack] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  53. ↑ "Mexicancharts.com – Massive Attack – Heligoland". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  54. ↑ "Charts.nz – Massive Attack – Heligoland". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  55. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Massive Attack – Heligoland". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  56. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  57. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Massive Attack – Heligoland". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  58. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  59. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Massive Attack – Heligoland". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  60. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Massive Attack – Heligoland". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  61. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Massive Attack – Heligoland". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  62. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  63. ↑ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  64. ↑ "Massive Attack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  65. ↑ "Massive Attack Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  66. ↑ "Massive Attack Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  67. ↑ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 50 Dance Albums 2010". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  68. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2010 – Albums" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  69. ↑ "Rapports annuels 2010 – Albums" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  70. ↑ "Year End Charts – European Top 100 Albums". Billboard. 2010. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  71. ↑ "Classement Albums – année 2010" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  72. ↑ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2010". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  73. ↑ "UK Year-End Charts 2010" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. p. 8. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  74. ↑ "Top Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  75. ↑ "French album certifications – Massive Attack – Heligoland" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 30 November 2021. Select MASSIVE ATTACK and click OK. 
  76. ↑ "Italian album certifications – Massive Attack – Heligoland" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 18 April 2014. Select "2014" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Heligoland" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
  77. ↑ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2010 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. 14 April 2010. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  78. ↑ Garner, George (4 February 2021). "Round Hill Music acquires catalogue of two founding members of Massive Attack". Music Week. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
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