Leading the Attack

On the other hand, del Naja concedes, Bristol is no longer the sleepy burg it once was. "It always had a reputation for being lazy until recently," he says. "But after the rave thing happened, Bristol got really big. DJs became very important to club life and became personalities and stars in themselves. Now you get this traffic in DJs from around the country. It's not that it's become generic, but you can see the same DJ in five cities in a week. When our scene took hold, it's like what happened with Portishead and Roni Size. That citywide cross-pollination has gone global."

To further this process, Massive Attack founded its own imprint, Melankolic, three years ago. Giving rising Bristol combos an opportunity to be heard is definitely part of the plan, del Naja says. "There's a lot more music waiting to come out of Bristol now--young bands and DJs and programmers and writers doing things. So it's going to be a continuation. But it gets a bit harder for the bands when they see us and Portishead and Roni Size having such success. It means there will be the inevitable comparisons, with the labels always waiting for the next Massive Attack and the next this and the next that. Whereas with us it was all new and unexpected."

The rise of juvenile geniuses such as DJ Shadow and U.N.K.L.E.'s James Lavelle serves as a reminder that the members of Massive Attack are dance-music veterans. As such, del Naja finds himself taking the long view more often these days. "It's not just the money thing," he says. "It's about getting older. We're not kids anymore, and your life takes a more serious twist. The consequences of your actions are heavier now. You've got to look at your responsibilities. You can't just go out and get wrecked every night and give up everything you've got."

Still, del Naja isn't so far removed from his Wild Style days that he can't appreciate how far he's come. "We didn't have any plans to be a regular band or a success," he says. "It was always just a bit of fun."

Massive Attack, with Lewis Parker. 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 22, Ogden Theatre, 935 East Colfax, $17.50, 303-830-2525.