Trip Hop

[Ginevra]

I've been just downloading stuff lately because the genre sounds interesting or perhaps the title of the song sounds cool and I've been finding some interesting things. One of the songs that I downloaded, well, there was no way I could even remotely classify it. The featured group is classified as hip hop but the overall song, well, as I said, there was just no way that I, in my limited musical capacity, could assign it a genre.

I asked a guy at work, who I sometimes "talk music" with how he would classify it and he called it "trip hop".

Is anyone else familiar with this classification of music? If so, could you cite other examples so that I have some comparision?

[Black Sunday]

Usually it's breakbeats (beats sampled from other records, then looped) and most of the time it's a female singer trying to sound sultry. It's usually slow. It's sort of like hip hop but instead of rap it has a pop singer.

Some examples:

Portishead

Hooverphonic

Olive

Mono

Tricky

Massive Attack

[Ginevra]

If it's any help, here is the song in question. I've posted about it before but I was hoping that it would have gotten more response than it did (although what I did get was amusing).

It's a flash presentation with the music.

[Scary Guy]

I'd call that bad rap. I hate rap and modern R&B.

Trip hop doesn't always sound like hip hop either. I actually like some of it example, Tricky's cover of XTC's "Dear God". However I don't really like their song "You Don't Wanna" which has harmony but sounds lot like modern R&B and just seems to rub me the wrong way. Goldfrapp is also a good example of trip hop. Sneaker Pimps counts too.

I'd say it has elements of techno, jazz, and dark lounge in it.

Actually just go to http://www.di.fm/edmguide/edmguide.html and click on downtempo at the bottom.

[Ginevra]

Thanks for the responses, guys :

[Marblez]

My son watched this with me last week. He just remembered it and asked to hear it again. I love it when he remembers things like this. I know he is getting older, he just turned 5, but it still amazes me.

He wants to hear "the downtown song", "you know when the can't get down".

I love being a mom.

[Ginevra]

lol We should have him translate the lyrics for me. I still can't entirely understand what they're saying

[Hermine]

No speakers set up yet :unhappy:

So, does Portishead count as trip hop? 'Cause I really enjoy them & would love to find more bands like them. Plus I need chill out music right now.

[Scary Guy]

Yeah Porta Shead does

Check out http://www.gnoosic.com/tripex.php

[Daniel]

The term trip hop came about because of the use of hip hop beats. Generally, they sampled uptempo hip hop beats, and slowed them down, and wrote fresher, more moody music on top of it. Of course, the genre took twists, and not all of it uses hip hop beats anymore. Most of it is moody, or dark, with female vocals. Im not sure why the female vocals became such a predominate feature, but it almost seems to be a prerequisite for anything to be called trip hop anymore.

Most trip hop is very dated. It was more of a mid to late 90's trend, but it is a great sound.

[lullaby1031]

There's nothing wrong with Portishead. But then again, I listen to a variety..

[Ginevra]

I just wanted to revisit this thread again. I still go to the website listed above once in a while to listen to the song by Evil Nine. I don't know why, but I liked it the first time I heard it and anything of this sort is not normally something I like but this one sort of grew on me.

Wanted to see what other folks thought about it since it'd been a while since I originally posted this.

[Guest Megalicious]

Well if you want more stuff like it PM me .... I have a collection of Aseop Rock and other things you might like ... however I dont have any evil nine. I would say its Hip hop, people dont understand that there is such a huge difference between rap and hip hop .. well to me anyway ....

[Guest Game of Chance]

That is definitely not trip hop.

[Nevaeh]

i do love me some trip hop.

Tricky-Maxinquaye has to be one of my favorite albums

[MarsDustDoug]

i do love me some trip hop.

Tricky-Maxinquaye has to be one of my favorite albums

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I will agree whole heartedly Maxinquaye is one of the best triphop albums ever. "Hell is Around the Corner" is one of my favorite tracks ever written. Pre-Millenium tension is a god disc too (hehe got the whole tricky catalogue even the side projects and co-ops he has done) The firat track on Blowback is also in my top ten tracks ever for triphop. it was in the movie Ghost Ship as well (love the move or hate it the track still rocks)

If you want a great trip-hop DJ with some absolutely mind blowing sets check out Andrea Parker. Her DJ Kicks is a decent example. She opens the set with an acapella of Depeche Mode "it's no good" mixed with some really bassy slow beats and some slow yet really technical scratchng over it (the album gets a little electro-y at times so be warned it isnt all trip-hop)

I could go on about trip-hop for days... HIGHLY RECOMMEND----> HOOVERPHONIC

Magnificent Tree, Blue Wonder Power Milk, and Jackie Cain are all straight through no need in skipping tracks good listens. the early stuff (Blue Wonder...) is even a bt comical cause they are from Belgium and still didnt quite grasp the english language and the lyrics are a bit nonsensical, but still amazing song writing.

other things I would say are must haves

Lamb (anythign they have done)

Thievery Corporation (start with their DJ Kicks album and then get Mirror Conspiracy)

Zero 7

Morcheeba (Big Calm)

Sneaker Pimps (yeah rememeber them? they gt MUCH better. Becoming X was a great disc but Splinter and Bloodsport were much better. they ditched the female vocals and went with the male vocalist)

Andrea Parker- Kiss My Arp (great trip-hop/down-tempo stuff)

DJ Krush does some good stuff

DJ Cam (a staple in trip-hop DJ's arsenal)

Kruder and Dorfmeister (funny names, good writing)

Nightmares on Wax (can get really hip-hoppy at times but still good)

ok ill stop now... :devil

Doug

PR/Marketing

www.MarsDust.com

[the eternal]

That is definitely not trip hop.

I was wondering if you'd weigh in. I remember you namedropping on now listening to.

I haven't had a chance to truly get into the more underground artists.

But Im a fan of the Titans of Trip hop--Trick, Massive Attack, and Portishead.

The song Sour Times by Portishead may have been the most popular trip-hop song. If you dotn recognize the name it's one of those--"I know it when I hear it."

It's simpler and more straightforward than almost anything else in the genre, but Ill be damned if I dont ALWAYS come back to it. LOVE IT LOVE IT

Maybe it's genius is in its simplicity and smooth melancholy.

Someone should link to that track to give others a trip-hip intro.

(Other big trip-hop hits. Unfinshed Symphony and Teardrop. Both by Massive Attack)

IF YOU HAVE $20, GO ON EBAY AND ORDER PORTISHEAD-DUMMY & MASSIVE ATTACK-MEZZANINE Great melancholic albums that defined the genre.

(even if the entire movement was kick-started by the admittedly very good Massive Attack's Blue Lines--it's a little too upbeat for me)

Here's more than you wanted to know.

Trip hop (also known as the Bristol sound) is a term coined by British dance magazine Mixmag, to describe a musical trend in the mid-1990s; trip hop is downtempo electronic music that grew out of England's hip hop and house scenes. Characterized by a reliance on breakbeats and a sample-heavy sound pioneered by Coldcut's remix of Eric B. & Rakim's "Paid in Full", trip hop gained notice via popular artists such as Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky, and rock-influenced sound groups such as Ruby, California's DJ Shadow, and the UK's Howie B. Londoners Morcheeba and Glideascope are also often associated with this sound. The latest additions to this line of performers are Jem and Australia's Spook. The Bristol Sound came out of the wider Bristol Urban Culture scene.

The “trip” in “Trip-Hop” refers to the “out-of-this-world” state following the use of a drug. This provides insight into Trip-Hop’s strong connection with the senses. Furthermore, the “hop” in “Trip-Hop” explains how Trip-Hop is derived from Hip-Hop.

The style is perhaps typified by the song "Unfinished Symphony" which has frequently been described as one of the best songs of all time, according to polls produced by MTV2, NME, and various other magazines and reviewers. [1] A reviewer for the BBC has said that: "More than a decade after its release it remains one of the most moving pieces of dance music ever, able to soften hearts and excite minds just as keenly as a ballad by Bacharach or a melody by McCartney."

Trip-Hop originated in the 90's in Bristol, England, during a time when American Hip-Hop was taking over Europe's music industry. British DJs decided to take Hip-Hop to a whole new level. They developed Hip-Hop into a different style, marking the birth of Trip-Hop. The originators in Bristol devloped Hip-Hop with a laid-back beat (down tempo). Bristol Hip-Hop (Trip-Hop's predecessor) is characterized by the emphasis on slow and heavy drum beats, the sampling of old records, and the elimination of all rap elements that exist in American Hip-Hop. The group Massive Attack, by releasing their debut album "Blue Lines" in 1991, spear-headed the "Bristol Hip-Hop movement" (known as the "First Coming of Bristol Sound"). One also has to note that the inventors of Bristol Hip-Hop did not intend to create a "dark" atmosphere with their music.

1994 and '95 saw Trip-Hop near the peak of its popularity. Massive Attack released their second album entitled "Protection." Those years also marked the rise of Portishead and Tricky. Portishead's female lead singer Beth Gibbons' sullen voice was mixed with samples of music from the '60s and '70s, as well as sound effects from LPs, giving the group a distinctive style. Tricky's style was characterized by murmuring and low-pitched singing. Artists and groups like Portishead and Tricky led the second wave of the Bristol Movement (a.k.a. "Second Coming of Bristol Sound"). This second wave produced music that was dreamy and atmospheric, and sometimes deep and gloomy. The British press termed this style of music "Trip-Hop," refering to this evolved style of Hip-hop.

Incidentally Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky actually had a common history. Massive Attack's three members used to work with Tricky, under the group "The Wild Bunch" (headed by Nellee Hooper in 1982), explaining why many Massive Attack songs feature Tricky. Portishead member Geoff Barrow also previously helped produce Massive Attack's "Blue Lines."

[edit]

The Bristol sound

The Bristol sound was the name given to a number of bands from Bristol, England, in the 1990s. These bands spawned the musical genre trip-hop, though many of the bands shunned this name when other British and international bands imitated the style and preferred not to distinguish it from hip-hop.

It is characterised by a slow, spaced-out sound that a number of artists in the early and mid 1990s made synonymous with the city. These artists can include the aforementioned original Bristolians Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky and others such as Way Out West, Smith and Mighty, Up, Bustle & Out, and The Wild Bunch.

The Bristol Sound was part of the wider Bristol Urban Culture scene

[edit]

Post Trip-Hop

Early Trip-Hop lacked diversity and variety, as the genre was in its early stages of developments. As electronic music became developed and pioneers like Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky released new albums in '94 and '95, a new generation of Trip-Hop artists emerged. "Post Trip-Hop" artists included Morcheeba, Alpha, Mono, The Aloof, Glideascope, Cibo Matto, etc. These artists integrated Trip-Hop with Ambience, R&B, Brit-Hop, Breakbeat, Drum N' Bass, Acid Jazz, New Age, etc. Furthermore, vocals expanded beyond melancholy female voices. Eventually Trip-Hop developed into a diversified genre that was no longer limited to the "deep, dark style" of the early years, eliminating the original impression of Trip-Hop as "dark and gloomy."