I think if your on this site, reading this now, then Mr. Davidge doesn't need much of an introduction - he's been the man behind the curtain with regards to Massive Attack, for near enough two decades now, quietly getting things done in the studio co-writing and producing alongside D&G. He's been a integral part of the band in that time, not desiring any of the spotlight that usually comes with being in a world renowned outfit, such as Massive Attack, even though it looks like that's finally about to change.
Since Heligoland, he's struck off on his own, and after producing the highest charting game soundtrack of all time in 2012 with Halo 4, is now releasing his debut solo album, Slo Light. From reading some of the interviews Neil has done for the album, he has argued that the "solo" and "debut" tags shouldn't necessarily apply to this album and its just naturally an extension of what he's been doing for a long time now, just without the Massive Attack moniker.
Also from my understanding this album seems to be close partnership between Neil and Andrew Morgan, so calling it a solo album is probably a misnomer, which probably why its going under the title "Davidge" instead of "Neil Davidge".
I've been listening to it non-stop this week, and it goes without saying that the production is flawless from Neil, but there's also great variety in the tracks and singers on here. The mood in general is a bit more upbeat than the last few Massive Attack albums, but really its an easy recommendation for any Massive Attack fan. The Karima Francis and Claire Tchaikowski tracks are particular standouts for me. You might also want to know that the one direct Massive Attack contribution is on the Sandie Shaw track "Riot Pictures", which 3D helped write.
Here's a quick quote from Neil, of particular interest, for anyone wondering what the situation between himself and Massive Attack are -
“It would be really good to sit down, I think we’ll try and do something together for the next album. I’m not sure if I want to produce another Massive Attack album though. Maybe produce a few tracks and co-write some material with the guys, but I really do enjoy doing things much more quickly than Massive Attack do! But we’ll see, it would be great to do something together. We spent 18 years working together almost to the day, so we really do get inside each others’ head – I think we’ll do something again, but I can’t be specific.”
From that it seems the door is pretty much wide open for him to return, but I think he will want to do his own stuff for a good bit longer. And in any case, a new Massive Attack album is in no danger of happening any time soon anyway.
Also on that note, here's the links to some other recent interviews with Neil about Slo Light -
And finally, the two promo videos produced so far for the album, Gallant Foxes and Sleepwalking. Let me know what you think of Slo Light then in the comments below!
Mezzanine will be 20 years old now this April. I don't know about you but I definitely feel a bit older having typed that. Mezzanine was my gateway drug into not only Massive Attack but into alternative and electronic music in general. Bear in mind I was in my earlier teens at the time, but Mezzanine really shook me up the first few months I listened to it and changed my opinion of what music could be.
I think if your on this site, reading this now, then Mr. Davidge doesn't need much of an introduction - he's been the man behind the curtain with regards to Massive Attack, for near enough two decades now, quietly getting things done in the studio co-writing and producing alongside D&G.
I'm a bit late to the game here (pun intended), as by now its been reported by just about every major gaming publication on the planet but, the final tracklisting and release date for the Halo 4 soundtrack was announced yesterday.
News broke yesterday morning, via HaloWaypoint, that Neil Davidge is scoring the next installment in the Halo series of video games. Not altogether unexpected, as he composed the music featured in the teaser trailer for Halo 4 that came out last summer.
We all like a good read now and again, so they say, so here's some Massive Attack press clippings I'm just after scanning in and uploading into the media gallery.