While waiting for the new Tricky/MA collaboration to leak, we have something unexpected but decidedly welcome to tide us over until then.

What we have is a new remix of “The Don” by Massive Attack in its current incarnation (that being 3D and Tim Goldsworthy), of the upcoming single from the rapper known as Nas. It got its first play on the Annie Mac show on BBC Radio 1 last Friday with little notice, but that is about to change now that the Massive Attack Facebook page has posted the link to it on Soundcloud.

Well it actually appears as if the prodigal son is actually returning to the Massive fold after all.

Posted earlier today on the Massive Attack Facebook by 3D was a picture of Tricky in his studio in Paris. This reunion has been coming it seems for quite awhile and its nice to have some sort of photographic evidence, its really happening.

Every band’s got em’. Those songs that are not on any of their albums or singles. Songs that for whatever reason have’nt got any kind of release. Fans may have heard them from the band in question experimenting with it live or having it featured on the soundtrack to whatever.

Massive Attack ain’t no different. They’ve got some pretty listenable tunes, if I do say so, that are’nt anyway to found anywhere in record stores or on iTunes. I’ve picked out ten of them for this poll along with a quick background to the track and what I think is the best sounding audio we have of it to date.

Anyone who was lucky to attend one of the 2003 shows on the 100th Window tour knows how awesome they were. I suppose it was a combination of Massive Attack’s absence from touring in the four years previous to it, along with the amazing L.E.D screen provided by the UVA guys (still the best visuals on any of their tours since IMO).

Just a quick update to the bootlegs area of the site. I’ve uploaded a lossless audio rip of the Four Walls EP. Not that I don’t expect anyone to be unaware of it but, that’s the recent Burial remix crossover thing that came and went last year. Only released on limited edition vinyl, (not even a official digital release), and now being flogged without remorse at an online auction site near you.

This will be fairly oldish news to some, but forgive me as I’m still in a state of catch-up with my new blog and it would be remiss not to mention this little morsel.

Hooverphonic have done a cover version of Massive Attack’s Unfinished Sympathy and it really is rather lovely in my opinion.

News broke yesterday morning, via HaloWaypoint, that Neil Davidge is scoring the next installment in the Halo series of video games. Not altogether unexpected, as he composed the music featured in the teaser trailer for Halo 4 that came out last summer.

Well first off, two things. One, the new Massive Attack track “Summertime” featuring Scarlett Johansson (needs no introduction) is out digitally from Amazon.com and Itunes as of today on the soundtrack for the Mexican thriller, “Days Of Grace”. Secondly, it is’nt really what you might think i.e. a collaboration.

We all like a good read now and again, so they say, so here’s some Massive Attack press clippings I’m just after scanning in and uploading into the media gallery.

Out today is the new Mark Stewart album, “The Politics Of Envy”.

That’s great and all, but why am I blogging about it. Well, apart from being Mark’s first album since 2008′s Edit (which was a great return to form for him) it also has on one track, a collaboration between himself and Massive’s Daddy G. The track’s called “Apocalypse Hotel” and you can hear a preview of it (and all the other tracks on the album from 7Digital or ITunes. Outside the online samples, I have yet to hear the album, but will probably be picking it up in a few weeks and will offer my opinion of the G track then.