Searching for a primer on Trip Hop is like trying to find Atlantis. There are a lot of clues pointing you in the right direction, but nobody just tells you where it's at. In order to ease some of the pain, I've developed an introductory course to begin your trip hop studies.
1. Portishead – Dummy
Widely considered to be one of the defining Trip Hop albums, Portishead’s Dummy cleverly mixes hip hop beats with jazz guitar and Beth Gibbons’ emotionally jarring vocals to create a unique and driving film noir landscape. Album highlights "Glory Box", "Strangers", and "Sour Times" really set the tone while the rest of the tracks solidly support a dark and satisfying downbeat experience.
2. Tricky – Maxinquaye
Tricky’s first solo album is also one of his finest. Featuring Martina Topley-Bird and Allison Goldfrapp on vocals, Maxinquaye manages to purvey electronic hip hop soul to the core. With this album, Tricky has made musical genius. It features a great cover of Public Enemy’s "Black Steel" as well as the beautiful "Hell Is Around The Corner" and a freestyle-laden "Brand New You’re Retro."
3. Massive Attack – Mezzanine
Mezzanine is a work of art. "Angel" sets the pace, "Inertia Creeps" takes it up a notch, it settles in on "Dissolved Girl", and eventually cools down on "Exchange". The album was plagued by disagreement among the three producers, but managed to overcome the tribulations and become a standard in any British clubber’s collection.
4. DJ Shadow – Endtroducing
DJ Shadow is a hip hop producer in a trip hop world. He throws away the lyricists and instead focuses on inventive beats and unique samplings. Endtroducing features a large bit of beat manipulation with Shadow altering time signatures and blending jazz licks with dirty drum and bass. As other reviewers have noted, Endtroducing is about as close to a perfect album as they come.
5. Esthero – Breath From Another
It’s a rare occurrence when a producer finds a perfect vocalist on their debut outing. In the case of Esthero, her producer Doc found a singer that is not only versatile enough to handle multiple styles of music, but also has a definitive smokey sound. Breath From Another manages to differentiate itself by having soaring production behind Esthero’s warm and sultry vocals. By treading dangerously close to pop, Esthero has created the ideal album for those late night ventures.
Article comments
1 - seth
This is a great intro, but don't sleep on acts like Lamb, Dj Food, Freight Elevator Quartet, RJD2, Thievery Corporation & pretty much anything off the Ninja Tune label!
2 - djradiohead
I have MA's "Protection." I haven't heard Mezzanine. Which of the two do you prefer? Why?
I am curious. I dabble in the trip hop, so I would love to hear some thoughts from someone who is more of an officianado (I probably misspelled the shit out of that).
3 - mrbenning
Both Protection and Mezzanine are great albums. The only reason I prefer Mezzanine is because it feels like more of a complete work (remember, this is just my opinion) than a collection of singles.
Seth,
RJD2 and Lamb are both great acts. After much thought, I came to the conclusion that the two were a little more difficult to get into on initial listens.
Most of the Ninja Tune acts I've listened to were closer to hip hop, and I've always been a bit conflicted over Thievery Corporation. I really love some of their stuff, and have a hard time swallowing the rest.
Great recommendations, however, for people looking to stretch their musical muscles.
4 - visualsimplicity
I'll go ahead and toss up some other names too. If you're going for some fairly easy to swallow trip hop-like tunes, try Hungry Lucy (they even label themselves trip pop), Frou Frou, Jem, or even Bjork. They're a little bit more mainstream and easier of a transition I think.
Other ones with a little bit more different flavor would include Goldfrapp (her solo efforts outside of what she did with Tricky), Dot Allison, Mandalay, Air, Zero 7, Blonde Redhead, Everything but the Girl, Morcheeba, Sneaker Pimps, and Weekend Players just to name a few.
And if you're feeling really experimental, try Deerhoof.
PS. I feel the same about Thievery Corporation.
5 - Eric Olsen
super list Michael, thanks! I dig them all, I also agree with Vis on Morcheeba and Sneaker Pimps in particular. Some Ninja Tune is trip-hoppy, like Kid Koala and Funki Porcini. I love Air, Everything But, and Zero 7 but I'm not sure how much trip hop I hear in them. I would also toss in some Moloko, Kruder and Dorfmeister, Chemical Brothers, Wagon Christ, and Supreme Beings of Leisure
6 - seth
man i'm so stupid for leaving out Zero-7 & Sneaker Pimps....gotta say their first album "Becoming X" is what got me into trip hop into the first place.
"Splinter" is also a good album, although a little more rock than trip hop i think...
7 - elley
i have disovered triphop from australia. there's an artist called majella o'shea (i got her album through cdbaby.com)- she's kind of like a cross between lamb and bjork- great vocal and chilled beats with kind of mobyish piano.
8 - iBuddha
Sample some great new trip-hop from the group, Silver Atlas. Blue Summer is my favorite:
9 - veebee
elley - I also found that CD from majella o'shea. It's super-cool and very different. Not often you find something different and interesting, but also high quality.