Massive Attack – Blue Lines

Released in 1991, Massive Attack’s debut album Blue Lines is widely regarded as one of the most influential dance albums of the ’90s and the precursor to trip-hop, the atmospheric, sample-heavy, variant of UK breakbeat that would later become defined by artists like Portishead, Tricky, and DJ Shadow. Members of the group Robert Del Naja and Daddy G were originally part of The Wild Bunch, a hip-hop and reggae sound system from Bristol that would also spawn Soul II Soul. The story goes that Massive Attack would visit friend and vocalist Neneh Cherry at her apartment in West London, digging through her stepfather Don Cherry’s record collection for samples. These sessions would lead to iconic sample moments on the album including the pitched up shriek of fusion guitarist John McLaughlin on “Unfinished Symphony” and the world-infused synthesizers and electronic drums of Level 42 / Compass Point All Stars’ Wally Badarou on “Daydreaming.”

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