take control of this future of music, we’d
be powerless again,” explains Del Naja.
Wright introduced Melchior and
Del Naja to producer and composer
Robert Thomas, chief creative officer
at music app company RjDj. The
technologist had just created an iOS
app for the movie Inception, which
mimicked the film’s dream worlds.
Thomas had adapted the open source
software Pure Data – which can take
any kind of input to control any kind
of output, generating 3D graphics and
video from music or even controlling
external hardware like stage lighting
and robotics. In the Inception app, Pure
Data took inputs from the iPhone’s mic,
camera and global position and used
them to modify the movie soundtrack.
With Thomas, Massive Attack
launched its first platform in January
- Christened Fantom, it uses Pure
Data live mix patches – algorithms
that sample changes in time of day,
speed of movement, social media
notifications, how the phone is carried
and GPS position, and use them all to
effectively remix the track in real time.
The platform came with an EP of new
material called Ritual Spirit.
“Instead of going to the Mad
Professor to make a dub version, we
could put this app in someone’s pocket
and create mixes using the sensors
on the phone,” Del Naja explains. “I’ve
had years of procrastination, never
being able to decide on the finished
product. Suddenly that was no longer
a problem. Ironically, by using tightly
programmed algorithms we were
breaking patterns, creating the most
flexible and constantly changing music.”
‘I WANTED
OUR STAGE SHOW
TO HARVEST
INFORMATION
FROM THE
WEB, CHOP IT
UP AND
TRANSLATE IT’