Massive Attack - Karmacoma

What this video is

Released 20 March 1995 as the third and final single from Massive Attack's second album Protection, Karmacoma arrived at the precise moment trip-hop was transitioning from underground Bristol currency into a globally recognised genre. The video — shot in the derelict County Hall — aestheticised urban institutional decay as a psychic landscape, reflecting wider mid-90s British anxieties around post-Thatcher urban…

Why it matters

Karmacoma is a canonical text of the trip-hop genre and a landmark in UK music video history. As Jonathan Glazer's directorial debut in the medium, it established a template — cinematic reference, diegetic sound, non-linear surrealism, derelict location — that would define prestige music video…

The director

Jonathan Glazer (born 26 March 1965, London) is a British filmmaker. After graduating in Theatre Design from Nottingham Trent University, he directed theatre and corporate videos before joining Academy Commercials in 1993. He built his reputation through…