---
title: "An AI Remixed Massive Attack’s Classic Album “Mezzanine”"
description: "The 1998 trip-hop album Mezzanine by Massive Attack got an artificial intelligence makeover at an art exhibit in London."
date: "2019-05-17"
modified: "2019-05-17"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/massive-attack-mezzanine-ai-remix"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
tags:
  - "ai music"
  - "artificial intelligence"
  - "massive attack"
  - "the digest"
---

# An AI Remixed Massive Attack’s Classic Album “Mezzanine”

![The 1998 trip-hop album Mezzanine by Massive Attack got an artificial intelligence makeover at an art exhibit in London.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/massive-attack-mezzanine-ai-remix.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Virgin Records/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Trippier Hop

The 1998 trip-hop album *Mezzanine* by Massive Attack was a huge hit when it dropped — and as [*Engadget* reports](<https://www.engadget.com/2019/05/17/massive-attack-mezzanine-neural-network/>), now it's getting an AI makeover.

As part of [an exhibit](<https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2019/event/ai-more-than-human>) called "AI: More than Human" at London's Barbican art center, visitors can listen to a new version of the album that was completely remixed by a machine learning algorithm. The original members of Massive Attack teamed up with Mick Grierson, a professor at the University of Arts London to execute the idea.

## Alien Language

For almost a year, according to *Engadget's* report, Grierson loaded individual tracks into the algorithm in the morning and checked what it had produced in the evening. The resulting eerie mix of familiar yet jumbled up textures even includes a vocal track inspired by Massive Attack's Robert "3D" Del Naja who lent his voice to tracks on *Mezzanine*.

"It sounds like 3D talking in an alien language," Grierson told *Engadget*.

## Bass Head

To make the exhibit interactive, Grierson included a small camera that analyzes how many people are in the near vicinity of the speakers. The more people there are, the mix will pump up the drums and bass.

Apart from the unique listening experience, the exhibit also includes a glass display case for a black spray can that holds the entire album in a [DNA-encoded format](<https://futurism.com/scientists-stored-album-in-dna>). The exhibit will be on at the Barbican through August 2019.

**READ MORE:** [I listened to a Massive Attack record remixed by a neural network](<https://www.engadget.com/2019/05/17/massive-attack-mezzanine-neural-network/>) \[*Engadget*\]

**More on** ***Mezzanine:** [Scientists stored the hottest album from 1998 in literal DNA](<https://futurism.com/scientists-stored-album-in-dna>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)