Robert Del Naja co procedures Martina Topley-Bird´s powerful 3 Track

Martina Topley-Bird s creative relationship with Robert Del Naja, the artist also known as 3D, goes back many years to those very first visits to Bristol s Massive Attack studio and Topley Bird appearing on Massive Attack s 2010 album Heligoland with tracks Psyche and Babel .

The pair, although coming from the same music scene, have distinctively different skills and experiences to combine. With Topley Bird s hypnotically soft tones and Del Naja s tense, edgy and sensitive productions they come together in their interest in reflecting on life and finding serenity and peace in the dark, often hopeless places. The melancholy of Bristol seems ingrained not only in its culture but seems to seep into inhabitants of the city.

Perhaps it has something to do with the layout, the weather and the history of the city? wonders Topley-Bird.

Their collaboration continues with the Bristolian pioneer Del Naja co-producing four tracks from Topley Bird s recently announced fourth album “Forever I Wait” which as the title alludes took a long time to make. It is as Martina puts it “a trip through my psyche, switching through different states and frequencies of emotions and reflections”

Taking the listener from insecurity and desire through vengeance and the predatory taunts of “Hunt” to rest finally in the cleansing “Rain” the EP also features the previously first released album track “Pure Heart” as well as forthcoming vinyl-only track “Collide”.

“Pure Heart with its echoes of The Cure is the ode to my young teens, the time when I first really got into music in a devotional and tribal sense. It speaks of fears and desires, represents all new beginnings and states the quiet determination to follow the muse where it will lead. Hunt is the reckoning that must take place after the journey has begun, a commentary on power and the powerful, earning the peaceful resolution that comes with Rain”

“I never imagined I would end up with four of D’s (Robert del Naja) productions on my record. The lyrics for the three songs on this digital release were penned by my partner while I looked for the right music to set them to. These three songs - Pure Heart representing something I needed to say, Hunt being something I needed to own and Rain was something I needed to grow into – pillared the entire record and constituted its own body of work

“This EP is a complete journey, a preview of sort, of the complete album with Pure Heart and Rain framing the beginning and the end”

The forthcoming 12-track album, set for release 10th September, is Topley-Bird’s fourth long awaited studio album and her very first self-produced and curated piece of work to date and captures an extensive journey describing, confronting, analysing, reflecting and sometimes goading as it ultimately seeks to make peace with what life is.

“Forever I Wait” leans on a multitude of tense sounds, dubby atmospherics and natural instrumentation to demand the listeners attention leading to over two decades of observations, experiences and musical sacrifices. It is a bi-product of the new perspective featuring carefully selected and tailored supporting arrangements from a handful of collaborators including Robert del Naja (Massive Attack), Rich Morel (Deep Dish collaborator and re-mixer for t.A.T.u., Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Yoko Ono, Seal), Christoffer Berg (Fever Ray and Depeche Mode), Benjamin Boeldt (Adventure) and California based Tiadiad.

Background:

After appearing as a featured artist on Tricky's debut album, Maxinquaye (1995) and on subsequent albums Pre-Millennium Tension (1996) and Angels with Dirty Faces (1998) Martina Topley-Bird released the understated Mercury Prize nominee debut “Quixotic” in 2003 followed by a five-year gap when she enlisted the help of Danger Mouse on sophomore album “The Blue God”.

In 2010, Topley-Bird appeared on Massive Attack’s album Heligoland on tracks "Psyche" and "Babel" and toured with Massive Attack from 2009 to 2016. Her third album, “Some Place Simple” was released in July 2010 in which the minimalism and intimacy of her songs subtly captivated her listeners.

Her hypnotic voice has been part of collaborations with Diplo, Common, Gorillaz, Clark, Prodigy and Massive Attack.

Martina Topley-Bird – “Pure Heart EP” is out now digitally

Martina Topley-Bird – “Forever I Wait” is released 10th September.