Just a quick news roundup on all that’s been happening with Massive Attack within the last week or so…

First of all, the “Splitting The Atom” EP due for release on 5th October) is now available for streaming/preview purposes on the site’s jukebox widget. There appears to be no plans at the moment for a physical CD release of the EP, but it will be available either on ITunes or as a limited edition vinyl boxset which will be exclusively available from The Vinyl Factory.
Secondly, the first date of Massive Attack’s European tour starts tonight, as they headline Bestival at the Isle Of Wight, UK. The expectation is that the band will debut material from the EP along with previews of LP5’s album tracks. Following Bestival, Massive Attack will formally start their UK tour at Brixton Academy in London, which will leave them touring until the end of November. They have kept details of the tour (such as setlist) under wraps, but UVA like in previous years are involved once again in the visual stage element of the show.
The official Massive Attack website is expected very soon to be radically updated, with a focus on promoting the new EP/LP/tour etc… Even more exciting is the prospect that the band have promised to give away for free, b-sides and outtakes from the upcoming album (due in January/February 2010) at a rate of roughly 3 tracks per month, which should make waiting until next year alot more managaeable for fans.
And lastly, within the last week or so, Massive Attack have also been busy promoting and giving out interviews to various websites/newspapers on what their plans are for the release of LP5, the tour etc… Here are all the interviews so far, collected together for you to read:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/sep/10/massive-attack-interview
http://www.spin.com/articles/qa-massive-attack
http://www.spinner.com/2009/09/08/massive-attack-psyche-song-premiere
http://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/massive_attack
http://www.massiveattack.ie/community/forum/showthread.php?t=626&page=3 (French to English translation of Les Inrocks Interview)