'Out Of The Comfort Zone': Bristol's story, from Massive Attack to Banksy, Abbey Road Studios and Glastonbury...

Hello people, I'm now fully based in England again, still working as a freelance journalist for the international radio Deutsche Welle and the BBC World Service, also writing about art and politics for different magazines and websites...

I am working the last edits of my book on Massive Attack and the Bristol scene, adding a few updates to the story. More soon! 

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Massive Attack: Out Of The Comfort Zone 

The Story of a Sound, a City, and a group of revolutionary artists

Over the past four years, as a freelance journalist, I have been travelling between Bangui (Central African Republic), Paris, Istanbul, Calais, Erbil (Iraqi Kurdistan), the South of France and Ventimiglia in Italy, London and… Bristol. I have mostly been covering post-conflict issues and the refugee crisis for different European radio stations and magazines. So I went to Bristol to write about a brighter, engaging and inspirational story. To explore the culture of England’s West Country, retrace the history of my favourite music, a fascinating journey through an artistic and social explosion.

I decided to write about the band Massive Attack when I read they were travelling to Lebanon, in July 2014. They were about to perform at the Byblos International Festival and to visit Palestinian youth they help, in a refugee camp in Burj El Barajneh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut. I contacted a friend who is a writer and music journalist to convince him I could write a book about them…

I had always loved their music and I know all of their albums by heart. Their engagement suddenly seemed very authentic to me; it completely stands out in the current music business. I started to think of a way to find out what nourished  their writing process and social involvement. After months of preparation, I packed my bag for Bristol in February 2015.

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I contacted a snowballing list of Bristolians: some of MA’s co-workers including sound-engineer and co-writer Neil Davidge, talented instrumentalists, rappers and vocalists like Mike Crawford, Sean Cook, Andy ‘Spaceland’ Jenks, Krissy Kriss, Mark Stewart of the legendary Pop Group... And, six months later, Adrian Utley, Portishead’s guitarist. 

I also spent a lot of time in venues and art galleries, in Bristol – spending a day with Inkie or listening to Roni Size at the Hamilton House. 

I went to London, where I digger into Banksy's trails, to Paris – where I interviewed Tricky and met Nick Walker, then to Dublin, Nice and further, to see Massive Attack on stage.

All these meetings and events helped me recreating the key moments that made possible The Wild Bunch then Massive Attack and the scene that followed, from Smith & Mighty to Alpha, The Insects to Young Echo and Idles.

My book therefore retells the story of a rare group of unconventional and politically aware musicians and artists. 

The story starts with Massive Attack’s first album, the remarkable and inimitable Blue Lines, then goes back to their first influences. The Beatles, reggae, punk, soul music, hip-hop, Jean-Michel Basquiat and the graffiti stars of the film Wild Style. These include their very own hometown’s history, from the slave trade to recent riots… 

Then the book evolves until Massive Attack’s homecoming show in September 2016 and their coming projects.

Massive Attack and Portishead in Bristol in Feb. 2005

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En dehors de la zone de confort
(Out Of The Comfort Zone) 

by Melissa Chemam 

Out in French in October 2016

English release: March 2019