In 2010, the last time a major attack hit Brazil, global annual temperatures were about 0.62 degrees Celsius above the 20th century average. By 2025, it is estimated to be 1.42 degrees warmer than the pre-industrial record. This number is worrying because it is close to the 1.5 degrees Celsius increase set as a limit under the Paris Agreement. Environmentalists are seeking to implement and expand the Paris Agreement at COP30 in Belém.
With this number in mind, Massive Attack created ACT1.5. This is a great practical guide to putting on a sustainable show that will guide the band as they return home this Thursday (13th) with a unique show in São Paulo. “Brazil has a lot of renewable energy and public transportation, so it’s easy to do large-scale work,” says Robert “3D” Del Naja, founder and remaining member of the group along with Grantly “Daddy G” Marshall.
ACT1.5 was co-authored with Tyndall of the UK Research Center and commemorated the group’s return to their hometown of Bristol in 2024. Scientists say the show had the lowest carbon footprint ever for an event of its kind. “We are determined to move forward in maintaining our clean production and climate ambitions while elevating our creative stewardship in all of our artistic endeavors,” says Nadja.
The return to Brazil is also the result of cooperation between multiple parties. Massive Attack collaborated with brothers Igor and Max Cavalera and artists Laima Leighton and Pedro Inouye to connect musicians with leaders of COIAB (Coordination of Indigenous Organizations in the Brazilian Amazon) and The Answer We Are Us, a movement that seeks to implement proposals from indigenous peoples in the face of climate change.
“In the context of how important this COP is, and given that the summit is being held in the Amazon region, which gives us at least some hope, we naturally thought about the rights of indigenous peoples, their demands and claims,” Naja says. “The role and philosophical wisdom of these communities will be critical and practical if the world is to prevent or significantly reduce climate disaster.”
Although the Cavalera brothers and Massive Attack will not perform together at the show, the show will feature images and videos created specifically for the British band’s visit to Brazil, many of which take on a militant tone in the face of climate change and the rise of the global right-wing. “We are working with filmmaker Adam Curtis and United Visual Artists to address these themes in the show,” says Nadja. “Local and international themes will be inserted into the presentation and new visuals and topics will be added.”
When Nadja and Marshall formed the group with rappers Tricky and DJ Mushroom in the early 1990s, Britain was experiencing a difficult period, with the end of Thatcherism and the Second Summer of Love (the heyday of acid house rave). Massive Attack was the result of that hangover. The group used infrasound, atmospheric textures, and a critique of trip-hop as a medium of crisis to create a grim dystopia on the dance floor. “This term was used by someone to define our first album, and it’s a controversial one as a genre,” says Nadja.
The album in question, Blue Lines (1991), was the foundation for that kind of sound, he says, and reflected other innovations in island music, from names like grime and Aphex Twin, the Streets and Burial, to newcomers like Fontaine DC, the band that caught Nadja’s attention, along with recent releases from Saul Williams, Danny Brown and the Greers. “We will release it next year,” says the artist. “We’ve been fighting to get out of Spotify, and we’re excited about the idea of building a more creative relationship with our fans.”
In recent years, climate issues have guided Massive Attack’s fight, Atakue Pesad, but there are still several topics left on the agenda. The band has refused to perform in Israel since 2003. “Thankfully, the traditional functioning of the industry is slowly changing. We see this not only in the context of climate change, but also in the context of the genocide in Gaza,” says Nadja, who remains troubled by the persistence of some names and terms in newspaper headlines.
“With the US, with British support, arming and financing genocide in the ‘Middle East’ and somehow Tony Blair at the center of it, it’s as if the last 30 years never passed,” says the rapper, who says a new climate change is the way forward for them. “It’s possible, especially if you have the courage to share resources, collaborate, and set boundaries with other artists.”
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