Massive Attack are pressing a new track to X-ray film
It's part of a new project featuring Jónsi of Sigur Rós that has roots in Soviet Russia...
Massive Attack are among the artists pressing previously unreleased tracks to an X-ray film record as part of a new project by the University of the Underground, a charity which offers free and transnational education for young creatives. The charity is based out of London, Amsterdam and, soon, New York.
'The Library of Dangerous Thoughts' series includes unreleased work from the Bristolian downbeat outfit, who just had to reschedule their 'Mezzanine' tour dates and are the subject of a new book, alongside Russian protest set Pussy Riot and Jónsi of Icelandic outfit Sigur Rós.
American philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky and visual artist Alex Somers will also feature. The overall work is a collaboration with the University of the Underground and Bureau of Lost Culture, and aims to raise awareness around censorship.
The act of pressing music using X-ray film references 1950s and 60s Russia, when Soviet authoritarianism banned sounds from the West. Fans would get around the laws by creating makeshift records from medical X-rays. The remarkable practice, often known as 'bone music' or 'music on ribs', has a fascinating and often-overlooked place in the history of global counter culture that's worth reading up on. You can bid on the records here.
