Massive Attack and Tricky make up

By Georgie Rogers
6 Music News reporter

Tricky and Massive Attack stopped making music together in 1994

The rift between fathers of trip-hop Massive Attack and their early collaborator Tricky is healing.

Grant 'Daddy G' Marshall revealed they met in Paris recently and the Bristol-based outfit have asked Tricky to work on a future Massive Attack project.

"I did actually ask Tricky to come on board for this album and there's talk about him maybe coming on the next album," he told BBC 6 Music.

Their first album for six years, Heligoland, is released on 8 February.

'Softened up'

Tricky, an original associate of the Bristol collective, collaborated on Massive Attack's 1991 debut Blue Lines and their follow-up Protection.

But when his solo career took off in 1994, the musician decided not to work with Robert '3D' Del Naja and Marshall any longer due to creative differences.

"Things seem like they've healed between us and Tricky," said Marshall of their relationship now. "It's been quite well documented how us and Tricky get on, hasn't it?

"It's not that well, but things have changed. Things have softened up. We saw Tricky a couple of weeks ago in Paris and it was quite an amicable meeting after five or six years."

We've always thought she was amazing, but politically we never really approached her because of the Tricky situation Grant Marshall on Martina Topley Bird

Heligoland is the groundbreaking band's follow-up to 100th Window and features an impressive list of collaborators, including Damon Albarn, Portishead's Adrian Utley, Elbow's Guy Garvey and regular vocalist Horace Andy.

Martina Topley Bird, one-time partner of Tricky and vocalist on a number of his albums, is another musician involved with Heligoland, smoothing over relations between Massive Attack and Tricky.

"It was one of those things where we've always wanted to work with Martina because we've always thought she was amazing, but politically we never really approached her because of the Tricky situation," Marshall said.

Topley Bird supported Massive Attack on their 2009 tour and may make a return.

The band have just completed a European tour and have more UK dates planned in February.