Massive Attack and Tom Waits release new collaborative song, “Boots on the Ground”

Massive Attack and Tom Waits have teamed up on a new song. It’s the first new music in some time from either artist—six years for Massive Attack, 15 for Waits—and they’ve joined forces on a new protest song, “Boots on the Ground.” It’s out now on digital platforms, and it’ll be released on 12-inch vinyl format with a b-side from Waits, “The Fly.” Hear “Boots on the Ground” below.

Waits said in a statement, “One day many years ago, I accepted an invitation from Massive Attack to collaborate. Their long release delay never worried me. Today, as in all of mankind’s yesterdays, guarantees this type of song will never go out of style. Man’s folly of fiascos is a feast for the flies. Hence, the B side of Massive Attack’s upcoming 12 inch “The Fly” features my appreciation for the winged nuisance.”

Massive Attack added, “It’s a career honour to collaborate with an artist of the magnitude, originality and integrity of Tom, but this track is arriving in an atmosphere of chaos. Across the western hemisphere, state authoritarianism and the militarisation of police forces are fusing again with neo-fascist politics. Seen within the American emergency, at home and overseas, this track contains pulses of callous impulse & abandoned mind.”

Read our Treble 100 features on Massive Attack’s Mezzanine and Tom Waits’ Rain Dogs.