Info → Come Near Me                   

The front cover of The Spoils EP which Come Near Me featured on as the 2nd track.

Development

UK Release: 29th July (The Spoils EP)

UK Highest Chart (The Spoils EP): Non-Eligable

Track Duration: 04:55

Formats: CD, Vinyl, Digital. View Discography Entry.

Written By: Grant Marshall and  Stew Jackson

Produced By: Grant Marshall and  Stew Jackson

Vocals: Ghostpoet

Promo Video Directed By: Ed Morris

Video Producer: Rattling Stick

Filming Location: Southwick, Hove UK

Video Duration: 06:01

Come Near Me was the 2nd of the two tracks featured on The Spoils EP which was released midway during Massive Attack's 2016 live tour. The EP was the result of an often mooted notion that 3D and Daddy G should produce and release music separately from each other whilst still under the Massive Attack moniker, owing to their historical disagreements when recording together in the studio.

While 3D had been releasing music under the Massive Attack name for many years previously, this was the first music from Daddy G's camp, without any input from 3D (with the exception of 3D helping to design the front cover artwork of the EP). To assist him in the process of creating the EP, Daddy G enlisted Stew Jackson of the Bristol based production team The Robot Club, who had previously worked closely with Daddy G in laying down the Heligoland classic, Paradise Circus

Additional Info

Daddy G and Stew Jackson in Daddy G's back garden shed come studio, where much of what was Come Near Me would be composed and produced.

Much of the Come Near Me track was produced in Daddy G's back garden shed at his Bristol home, which he has converted into a mini recording studio.

The initial backing track for Come Near Me was sent to Ghostpoet electronically, for him to apply his vocals to and get his feedback not he song. He never actually recorded his vocals with Daddy G or Stew Jackson present. A similar remote method of working with vocalists was followed with Hope Sandoval when recording the The Spoils track.

In a first for a Massive Attack track, Come Near Me employs use of a banjo guitar in its instrumentation. The banjo playing was done by local Bath musician Louis Lewis-Smith.

Come Near Me has yet to be played live by Massive Attack.

Notable Quotes

Daddy G on working together with Stew Jackson – “It’s good to be involved with someone else who can bring something else to the table. I couldn’t work on my own, technically. But working with someone like Stew is perfect. It’s really hard to find this kind of relationship. Ultimately, it’s all about taste.” [MusicRadar - August 2017]

Stew Jackson on how his and Daddy G's songwriting process – “Sometimes it’s just grooves and chords. Really basic chord structures are generally the thing. We’ve been known to re-record ideas that we know would suit the singer better. Taste is everything. And that’s all subjective. How you put a record together is subjective. The technical aspects of putting music together can be helpful, but the only reason to know the rules is so you can break ’em. ” [MusicRadar - August 2017]

Lyrics

We've been here before, don't fear me
Don't stand by the door, come near me
We've been here before, don't fear me
Don't stand by the door, come near me

Quick thought, left or right
Could it be a strong case of fight or flight?
We'd never know you're slightly overworked
And self-conscious
Sweating beads of doubt
This can't be right
Whisperin' out, "This can't be right, right?"
This ain't like a DVD
Pretty from aftershave
I'm scared life will leave me
Strung out and needin' love
Surely I'm as overcome but brimstone won't come to lungs

But I ain't done
Surely I ain't done
Oh, nah, nah
I ain't done
Oh, but my mind's on the run

Caused by your never-ending dream
And it ain't what it seems
It ain't what it seems
You know what I mean?

We've been here before, don't fear me
Don't stand by the door, come near me
We've been here before, don't fear me
Don't stand by the door, come near me

Monster on the bed, regurgitating out
There's[?] monkey on my bite
Pulling it like puppet strings, slow to react
Tell me what's the matter, love
Life's drive slow-mo
Front crawl in speedos
Fight against the rising tide
Breathe deep, never stop clawing at the light
Clinging on to what we got

But I ain't done
I ain't done
Surely, surely, surely we must overcome
But my mind's on the run
My mind's on the run

Caused by your never-ending dream
Nah, and it ain't what it seems
It ain't what it seems
Baby girl, it ain't what it seems
Nah, it ain't what it seems

Too cruel to be mean
To be cruel
Don't wanna lose ya

We've been here before, don't fear me
Don't stand by the door, come near me
We've been here before, don't fear me
Don't stand by the door, come near me

Obaro Ejimiwe is a British vocalist and musician better known by his stage name Ghostpoet, who provided guest vocals on Come Near Me.

Promo Video

The Kosovo-Albanian actress Arta Dobroshi starred in the promo video for Come Near Me, which was directed by Ed Morris.

Video director Ed Morris of the production studio Rattling Stick, had previously worked with Massive Attack on the video for Mad Lifeline (the 3rd release in 3D's Battle Box series of singles) in 2014.

The video was shot in and around the town of Southwick, near Hove, UK in May 2016.

Similar to the videos for the Ritual Spirit EP and The Spoils track, the Come Near Me video featured a noted performer from the acting and/or modelling industry. In  this case it was Arta Dobroshi, a Kosovo-Albaian actress.

Midway through he video for Come Near Me the music pauses for roughly a minute and in the background can be heard the iconic Unfinished Sympathy. This technique of hearing a different Massive Attack track as background music during one of their videos also occurred in the video for Be Thankful For What You've Got when Safe from Harm could be heard in the background before the main track started.

Quotes About The Video

Director Ed Morris on why he choose to film the promo video for Come Near Me – “You should never do a promo unless you really like the track, I really liked the track. The first thing I thought was that the track was filmic. It had a very singular, immediate and arresting tone and personality. And the subject matter was compelling and rich. ” [LBBONLINE.com - August 2016]

Director Ed Morris on the shooting location for the video for Come Near Me – “We shot in Southwick, near Hove. It’s a semi industrial and interesting little seaside town. It has some interesting landmarks. I drove down there one Sunday after I’d written the script and it just had this incredible sense of place to it. Everything became crystal clear then. On the actual shoot, I had an amazing team around me. I couldn’t have asked for better so it really was a smooth and fairly easy process.” [LBBONLINE.com - August 2016]

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