Trip hop
In the late 1980s, a group of DJs and MCs gathered on council estates in Bristol to play music for public spaces. They called their collective the Wild Bunch. DJ Milo Johnson, known as DJ Nature, is widely credited with creating the local sound that would become trip hop. The crew included Adrian Thaws, later known as Tricky, and Robert Del Naja, who went by 3D. They mixed Jamaican dub rhythms with hip-hop beats to create a laid-back, slow tempo style. This approach differed from the fast-paced house music gaining popularity elsewhere in Europe. The soundsystem culture provided party music for economically deprived areas where some members originated. As the scene matured, the Wild Bunch signed a record deal and evolved into Massive Attack. Jonny Dollar and Nellee Hooper contributed production duties alongside the core trio. Gary Clail's Tackhead soundsystem also influenced this development. Mark Stewart experimented with experimental rock and dub, producing a primitive version of what would follow. Kirsty MacColl released "Angel" in 1993, one of the first examples crossing over to pop.
Trip hop tracks often feature bass-heavy drumbeats derived from slowed-down breakbeat samples. Female vocals dominate many recordings, drawing from R&B, jazz, and rock styles. Beth Gibbons of Portishead delivered sullen, fragile vocals that brought wide acclaim to the genre. Rhodes pianos, saxophones, trumpets, and flutes appear frequently within these compositions. Unconventional instruments like the theremin or Mellotron sometimes enter the mix. Tricky covered Siouxsie and the Banshees' song "Tattoo" for his 1996 album Nearly God. This track opened his second album and referenced a proto-trip-hop song originally recorded in 1983. The melancholic sound stems partly from post-punk influences. Massive Attack sampled and covered "Metal Postcard" by Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1997 for The Jackal movie soundtrack. The Cure's "The Lovecats" also received a cover treatment by Tricky. These choices created an atmospheric tone distinct from gangsta rap's hard-hitting lyrics. John Martyn and other experimental folk acts of the seventies influenced the overall mood.
Massive Attack released Blue Lines in 1991, achieving huge success in the United Kingdom. Shara Nelson provided R&B vocals on the orchestral hit single "Unfinished Sympathy." Horace Andy sang on several other tracks throughout the album. Protection followed in 1994, marking a significant shift away from the Wild Bunch era. Portishead debuted with Dummy in 1994, featuring Beth Gibbons alongside Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley. Their background differed from Massive Attack as they drew primary influence from 1960s and 1970s film soundtrack LPs. Dummy won the Mercury Music Prize in 1995 as the best British album of the year. Tricky released Maxinquaye in 1995 to great critical acclaim. Martina Topley-Bird sang many songs on this debut solo album while Tricky whispered abstract stream-of-consciousness lyrics. Björk released Debut in 1993, produced by Nellee Hooper, containing elements of trip hop. Her 1995 album Post further embraced the genre through collaboration with Tricky and Howie B. Homogenic, her 1997 release, has been described as a pinnacle of trip hop music.
After mid-1990s success, artists like Archive, Baby Fox, Bowery Electric, and Morcheeba incorporated trip hop into ambient, soul, and drum and bass genres. The first printed use of "post-trip hop" appeared in an October 2002 article describing Second Person. Gorillaz, Emancipator, Nine Inch Nails, Travis, PJ Harvey, and Beth Orton all displayed influence from the genre. Kylie Minogue's 1997 album Impossible Princess featured tracks with trip hop beats. Janet Jackson used fashionable trip-hop grooves and overt sampling on The Velvet Rope. Radiohead and Madonna also absorbed elements of the style. Norwegian avant-garde band Ulver included trip hop in their 2004 album Perdition City. Rob Dougan proposed mixing trip hop beats with orchestral music and electronics. Zero 7 released Simple Things in 2006, achieving significant popularity with its lead single Destiny. Gotye debuted Like Drawing Blood in 2006 featuring down-tempo hip-hop beats reminiscent of trip hop. Daniel Nakamura, aka Dan the Automator, released Deltron 3030 in 2000 as a concept album about a future rapper.
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Common questions
Who created the trip hop sound in Bristol during the late 1980s?
DJ Milo Johnson, known as DJ Nature, is widely credited with creating the local sound that would become trip hop. He gathered a group of DJs and MCs on council estates to play music for public spaces under the name Wild Bunch.
When did Massive Attack release their debut album Blue Lines?
Massive Attack released Blue Lines in 1991, achieving huge success in the United Kingdom. Shara Nelson provided R&B vocals on the orchestral hit single Unfinished Sympathy from this record.
Which artist won the Mercury Music Prize for the trip hop album Dummy in 1995?
Portishead won the Mercury Music Prize in 1995 as the best British album of the year for their debut album Dummy. The band featured Beth Gibbons alongside Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley.
What instruments are commonly found in trip hop compositions?
Trip hop tracks often feature Rhodes pianos, saxophones, trumpets, and flutes within these compositions. Unconventional instruments like the theremin or Mellotron sometimes enter the mix to create an atmospheric tone.
How does the trip hop genre differ from house music popular in Europe during the late 1980s?
The Wild Bunch crew mixed Jamaican dub rhythms with hip-hop beats to create a laid-back, slow tempo style that differed from the fast-paced house music gaining popularity elsewhere in Europe. This approach created party music for economically deprived areas where some members originated.