Massive Attack are an iconic electronic music band, known for their tracks such as ‘Teardrop’ and ‘Unfinished Sympathy’.
The UK-based band have called out the British Government for not doing enough to help lower the carbon footprint of live music.
Partnering with Manchester University’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Massive Attack had previously commissioned a report on the environmental impact of music industry that they called a ‘Roadmap To Super Low Carbon Live Music’.
The report included recommendations such as stopping the use of private jets in favour of standard travel options, and limiting the amount of equipment that acts and artists can take on tour with them.
During an interview with The Guardian newspaper, Massive Attack’s Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja criticised UK Government for failing to support the live music industry during its transition towards low and zero carbon emissions, saying: “Where’s the industrial plan for the scale of the transformation that’s required for the UK economy and society? It doesn’t seem to exist.”
“The live music industry, especially after Brexit, is so important to national identity and self-esteem. It’s one of the few areas you could describe as genuinely world-class and has a vast social and economic value, as well-reported, generating over £4.6bn for the economy every year and employing thousands of dedicated people,” he continued. “But where is the government planning to support the rate of adaption we’re going to need to hit compatibility [with the Paris agreement]? It doesn’t seem to exist. The data is not surprising, it’s the strategy that’s missing here.”
Del Naja said also spoke about the ‘Roadmap To Super Low Carbon Live Music’, saying: “We looked at our last tour and thought, you know, we’ve allocated x amount of money based on the calculation of the carbon we produced in the tour in 2018. And then it was like, are we just going to go on another offset, or should we do something a little bit more interesting and radical? The proposition to go to [the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research] was suggested to us and we thought that would be a good thing to do, because how many times have we sat in an interview and said we would love to do something but we don’t know what to do?”
Massive Attack have previously also announced plans to complete their next European tour by train. In 2020 they released an eight-minute film that looked into the subject of climate change, which you can watch in full below…
H/T: DJ Mag
