Robert Del Naja

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Robert Del Naja
Robert del Naja performing with Massive Attack in Sydney, 2010.jpg
Robert del Naja performing with Massive Attack in 2010
Background information
Also known as 3D, Delge
Born (1965-01-21) 21 January 1965 (age 59)
Origin Bristol, England
Genres electronica, trip hop
Occupation(s) Musician, singer-songwriter, graffiti artist
Instruments Vocals, piano, keyboards
Years active 1988–present
Associated acts Massive Attack, The Wild Bunch, UNKLE, The Battle Box Damon Albarn Gorillaz Neneh Cherry, Thom Yorke Portishead Tricky Terry Callier Tv On The Radio Horace Andy
Website delnaja.com

Robert Del Naja (/ˈrɒbə(r)t dɛl ˈnaja/; born 21 January 1965),[1][2] also known as 3D, is an English artist, musician, singer and songwriter. He emerged as a graffiti artist and member of the Bristol collective known as "The Wild Bunch", and later as a founding member of the band Massive Attack, with whom he is still active.

Music

Del Naja is one of the founding members of Bristol trip hop collective Massive Attack. In addition to his work with Massive Attack, he provided vocals to "Invasion" on Unkle's album Never, Never, Land, and "Twilight" on War Stories.

In December 2012, Del Naja released the first single of his new project called "The Battle Box", which fuses music, art and discourse across one-off live events, exhibitions and exclusive vinyl releases. He counted with the collaboration of artists such as Guy Garvey, and the Higgins Waterproof Black Magic Band.[3]

In December 2014, Robert donated ten unreleased music tracks to the Game Jam site "Ludum Dare", for a game event taking place in December. The songs will be used by the site developers to make soundtracks for the games. This new music material is also available for free download.[4][5]

In February 2015, Robert and Thom Yorke released soundtrack for documentary "The UK Gold". The songs are available for free download.[6]

In 2015 he also collaborated with Jean-Michel Jarre on the Electronica 1: The Time Machine album, resulting in the track "Watching You".

Art work

Del Naja was a graffiti artist before becoming a vocalist. His work has been featured on all of Massive Attack's record sleeves.[7][8] The graffiti artist Banksy cites his work as an influence.[9] Del Naja is credited as being the first graffiti artist in Bristol. He is also regarded as the pioneer of the stencil graffiti movement and bringing hip-hop and graffiti culture from the USA to Bristol in the early 1980s.[10]

Del Naja has co-designed all of Massive attack's lighting shows with UVA; the shows have been overtly political, always dealing with current local and international issues.[11][12][13]

Del Naja took part in a group show in 2007 called 'Warpaint' at the Lazarides gallery, London, featuring his art from the Unkle album "War Stories". He also created an exhibition of flags at "Massive Attack's Meltdown festival" on London's south bank in 2008. The installation was called "Favoured Nations". Alternative flags of the British commonwealth recoloured in the anarchist red and black, were hung from the ceiling of the Royal Festival Hall main floor.[14]

Del Naja and Davidge collaborated with United Visual Artists on the large scale installation 'Volume' at London's V&A museum in 2006.It consists of a field of 48 luminous, sound-emitting columns that respond to movement. Visitors weave a path through the sculpture, creating their own unique journey in light and music.

File:Robert Del Naja's art.png
Robert Del Naja's art

In a 2010 interview, Del Naja said "Painting is difficult for me because I'm colour blind. Back in the day, I had to label my spray cans with what colour they were because I couldn't tell ... It's like the emperor's new clothes: [people] telling me it's great, and me pretending that's what I intended.[15] Del Naja's first solo art show ran in the Lazarides gallery, central London from 24 May to 22 June. The show featured many of the works he created for Massive Attack, reinterpreted especially for the exhibition. The show also featured three one-off 'digital infinity mirrors' two of which contained phrases supplied by Reprieve extracted from drone pilot dialogues. Del Naja and Grant DJ'd at the opening night on 23 May.[16]

File:VF AA PACKSHOT.jpg
Del Naja cover art 2009

Del Naja had a solo art show at the Lazarides gallery in central London, UK from 24 May to 22 June 2013. The show's content spanned a period of over twenty years and featured many of the art pieces that Del Naja created for Massive Attack. Each piece, reinterpreted especially for the exhibition, was hand-printed and finished.[17]

Massive Attack v Adam Curtis

File:Massiveattack1.jpg
Del Naja performing in Massive Attack V Adam Curtis 2013

A multi-medium show conceived and designed by Del Naja and filmmaker Adam Curtis (filmmaker) – in collaboration with United Visual Artists (UVA) – premiered in Manchester in July 2013. The show featured a Curtis film, unofficially titled 'The Plan', which was projected onto a huge screen surrounding the audience. The lighting and LED elements that surrounded the film and players were designed by Del Naja and UVA.[18]

Music for film

As Massive Attack

  • 1995 Batman Forever (Joel Schumacher) - Hunter Gets Captured By The Game/with Tracy Thorne
  • 1997 The Fan (Tony Scott) - Hot Knives and Hymn Of The Big Wheel
  • 1997 187 - Spying Glass dub, Karmacoma dub and Better Things dub
  • 1998 Pi (Darren Aronosky) - Angel
  • 1999 The Matrix (Wachowski brothers) -Dissolved Girl
  • 1999 The Insider (Michael Mann) - Safe From Harm remix/
  • 2000 Snatch ( Guy Ritchie) -Angel edit
  • 2012 Savages - Paradise Circus (Gui Boratto remix)

Robert Del Naja w/ Neil Davide / 1.6

File:XL Video mas142248367.jpg
UVA/Del Naja LED stage art 2015
  • 1997 Welcome to Sarajevo (Michael Winterbottom) - Wire/ End-titles
  • 1997 The Jackal - Superpredators (version) - opening titles
  • 2001 Moulin Rouge (Baz Lhurman) end credits - Nature Boy w/ David Bowie2002 Blade 2 - I Against I w/ Mos Def
  • 2004 Bullet Boy ( Saul Dibb)- Robert Del Naja and Neil Davidge full score and end titles song
  • 2005 Danny The Dog ( louis Leterrier)- score and soundtrack record (160k sales to date)
  • 2007 Battle In Seattle (Stuart Townsend)- full score
  • 2007 In Prison My Whole Life ( Marc Evans)- full score and end title song 'Calling Mumia'/with Snoop Dog
  • 2008 Trouble The Water (Carl Deal) - full score

Robert Del Naja with Euan Dickinson

  • 2008 Gomorrah - (Matteo Garrone) Herculaneum (winner of best song - Italian Oscars).
  • 2010 Women Are Heroes (JR). 2011 Dias De Gracia (Everardo Valerio Gout) Summertime/with Scarlett Johansson.
  • 2013 The UK Gold(Mark donne) with Thom Yorke. 2015 The Standing March(JR/Darren Aronofsky)

With The Insects

  1. 2009 44 inch Chest (Malcolm Venville) full score with Angelo Badalamenti

Musical scene and artistic peers

Robert Del Naja's music has been associated with the Bristol Sound.

Del Naja has said of the Bristol Scene: "We all grew up listening to punk music and funk stuff and those attitudes sort of snuck into our music. That sort of brought people from different circles together and maybe it wasn't as 'cultural melting pot' as it all sounds but because Bristol is quite a small place, it becomes a lot more focused then."[19]

Political stance

Del Naja has been critical of the government policies of the United Kingdom. He was strongly opposed to the 2003 war against Iraq, and with fellow musician Damon Albarn personally paid for full page adverts in the NME magazine.[20] Massive Attack have previously played two shows in Israel, but have declined recent offers. They have described this "not an action of aggression towards the Israeli people" but "towards the [Israeli] government and its policies", arguing that "the Palestinians [in Gaza and the west bank] have no access to the same fundamental benefits that the Israelis do."[61][21]

In 2005 Del Naja organised and performed at a charity concert in Bristol for Tsunami Relief with Adrian Utley and Geoff Barrow of Portishead. The two-night event featured Massive Attack, Portishead, Robert Plant, The Coral and Damon Albarn. Del Naja and Marshall performed three shows in 2005 in support of Hoping, an organisation that helps raise money, support projects for Palestinian youth in refugee camps in the Gaza strip and the west bank, Lebanon and Syria.

Del Naja and Thom Yorke of Radiohead threw an unofficial office Christmas party at an occupied UBS bank in London in December 2011, in recognition and support for the international Occupy movement.[22]

Having previously boycotted playing at Bristol's Colston Hall due to its connection with the city's historic slave trade, in October 2012, Del Naja heavily criticised Bristol Mayor candidate George Ferguson because of his membership of a local organisation the Society of Merchant Venturers.[23] The organisation dates back to the 16th century and had many connections with the Bristol slave trade, continuing to this day as an elitist private organisation, open to very few by invitation only.[24] In November 2012 Del Naja then took a surprising stance to reverse his position and endorse the politically independent, wealthy, ex LibDem parliamentary candidate, George Ferguson. Del Naja was cited by local media as saying that the other candidates had only party political agendas at heart and a newly elected mayor needed more imagination to help implement creative projects for Bristol.[25]

In July 2014 Del Naja and Marshall visited the Bourge-El Barajneh refugee camp in Lebanon to meet with Palestinian volunteers at an educational centre. The band's profit from the show in Byblos was donated to the centre.[26]

References

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  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Swindle magazine, issue No. 8
  10. ↑ Steve Wright, "Banksy's Bristol: Home Sweet Home", Tangent Books, Bath (2007), pp. 3–4. ISBN 978-1-906477-00-4
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Dave "the Wave" Dresden, Interview with Massive Attack, about.com. Retrieved on 16 June 2009.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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