gang of four and massive attack
Gang of Four and Massive Attack at Meltdown

Massive Attack's 3D remixes Gang of Four for new Andy Gill tribute (listen)

The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four is out May 14 and features an impressive lineup of artists remixing and reimagining Gang of Four‘s music. One of the most exciting collaborations is between Massive Attack‘s 3D (Robert del Naja) and the late Andy Gill that features UK duo Nova Twins (Amy Love and bassist Georgia South). The track, “Where The Nightingale Sings (Redux),” began life before Gill’s death, when this album was originally envisioned as a celebration of Gang of Four’s 40th anniversary. It truly sounds like a combination of Massive Attack’s dark, low-key cool and Gang of Four’s signature angular style. Nova Twins’ chilled out vocals seal the deal.

“I first met Andy in a hotel bar in Glasgow and gushed drunkenly about the importance of the Entertainment album for an hour,” Robert tells us. “He’d secretly recorded the conversation and played it back though my hotel room door later that night while I was delirious. In fact, the Mezzanine album project was named ‘Damaged Goods’ until I fell out of the hotel lift and into the mini bar. Gang of Four were a foundation stone for us, even though we never successfully sampled or covered a single track of theirs.” He adds, “Years later, when we hosted them at Meltdown, I mentioned this fact to Andy after the show and he said ‘That’s because you’re crap’…Provocative but true. I got the Anthrax beetle tattooed on my back, ‘Love, leisure, work and war.'”

Nova Twins, meanwhile, say “It was such a pleasure working on this remix with Andy in his studio! He was a larger than life character, forever pushing musical boundaries. We love how he explored lyrical concepts, doing so in the most surprising and beautifully poetic ways!”

“Where The Nightingale Sings (Redux)” premieres in this post and you can listen below.

The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four also features remixes by IDLES (“Damaged Goods”), Gary Numan (“Love Like Anthrax”), Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea & John Frusciante (“Not Great Men”), Warpaint (“Paralysed), The Dandy Warhols (“What We All Want”), Helmet (“In the Ditch”), La Roux (“Damaged Goods”), a Killing Joke dub mix of “Forever Starts Now,” and more. You can pre-order it now.

Also out this spring: Gang of Four‘s 77-81 box set featuring everything the original lineup of the band released, along with demos, rarities, live recording and more.

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