Category: UK

Take A Fresh Listen To The Seminal Debut Disc From Bristol’s Wild Bunch

Back in the late 1980s, before terms like “trip hop” and “dubstep” were ever uttered, a sound system called The Wild Bunch decided to start producing their own music. DJs Daddy G and Andrew Vowles joined forced with graffiti artist-turned-rapper Robert “3D” Del Naja. Their 1991 debut album, Blue Lines, was co-produced by the late great Jonny Dollar and Cameron McVey, who became the group’s first manager. Geoff Barrow, who went on to form Portishead, was an intern and tape operator at Bristol’s Coach House studio when the album was recorded. Future solo star Tricky was introduced on the track “Five Many Army.” The album also featured vocals by McVey’s wife Neneh Cherry and the renowned Jamaican reggae singer Horace Andy on songs like the majestic, ethereal “Hymn of the Big Wheel.” The single “Unfinished Symphathy” became a big hit in England, but more importantly Blue Lines introduced a whole new sound and a new way of making music, with a looseknit crew—similar to the Jamaican sound system model—rather than a strictly defined band. Massive Attack are currently working on a new record in Bristol, which is cause for celebration to a certain generation of music lovers. But if you missed the Blue Lines phenomenon the first time around, fret not… (more…)