Rock has lost a considerable amount of popularity in recent decades. Electronic dance music (EDM) – sometimes also referred to as synth pop – is a favourite among the under-50s. But by no means everyone is keen to be hyped up by the heavy beat of dance music from early morning until late at night. There is a range of ‘quieter’ genres available that you can listen to in a relaxed manner, whilst still feeling your taste is up to date. The main examples are ‘trip hop’ and ‘ambient’, collectively referred to as music for chilling out. If you go for a drink or sit down to read a book in a hotel lounge in the evening, there’s a good chance you’ll hear this sort of music.
This and the next blogpost are about music for chilling out’. In this instalment, you’ll look at and listen to ‘trip hop’. The next instalment will cover genres often grouped under the heading ‘ambient’.
Trip hop
Like hip hop, trip hop is largely produced electronically and features a (subtle) beat. The timbre (tone) has a more psychedelic feel, with an emphasis on atmosphere. Musical influences come mainly from pop, jazz, funk and reggae. The music is primarily intended for listening.
Below are the five groups and artists who defined the contours of trip hop: Massive Attack, UNCLE, Tricky, Portishead and Morcheeba.
They are all rooted in Bristol. This city is regarded as the epicentre of trip hop. This is likely due in part to the thriving Jamaican music culture there, which produces much more laid-back music than that from the inner-city slums of American cities.
Massive Attack
This group, formed in 1988, released her debut album Blue Lines in 1991, widely regarded as the first album of the ‘trip hop’ genre. The band’s line-up has varied over the years, centring on Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja and Grant ‘Daddy ‘G’ Marshall. Thanks to this group, trip hop secured a place on the European charts. The single ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ became a hit across Europe, including reaching number one on the Dutch Top 40. Watch the video here.
The third album, Mezzanine (1998), reached number one in the UK and remains the group’s biggest commercial success to date. The album was particularly praised for its heavier sound and atmospheric style. The singles ‘Angel’ and ‘Teardrops’ also fared well. According to critics, the album ranks among the best records ever made in the UK. The follow-up album, 100th Window (2003), was particularly successful outside the UK. One of the tracks features Sinéad O’Connor. Listen to the track ‘Everywhen’ here. Heligoland (2010) was also a success, featuring a large number of renowned guest musicians.
In July 2020, Massive Attack released a politically charged audiovisual EP entitled Eutopia, named after Thomas More’s 16century book. This EP was created during a period of global lockdown. It is a collection of three music videos, on which three influential academics collaborated. The footage was created by Robert Del Naja, amongst others, and designed using generative algorithms by AI art pioneer Mario Klingemann.
Each of the three videos focuses on a political issue: The first part deals with global systemic change required to tackle the climate crisis (with the collaboration of Christiana Figueres, co-author of the Paris Climate Agreement). The commentary in the second part is provided by the founder of the principle of a universal basic income, Professor Guy Standing. For the third part, it is Professor Gabriel Zuchman, an advocate for tackling tax havens. Each video ends with a quote from Thomas More’s Utopia. Watch and listen here to one of Massive Attack’s contributions, the track ‘Antistar’, performed live here at Pinkpop (2003)
Tricky
Tricky is the stage name of Adrian Thaws, a former member of Massive Attack. His debut album, Maxinquaye (1995), was well received. On this album, he collaborated with singer Martina Topley-Bird, a partnership that has continued since then. His work is known for its dark, layered musical style that blends genres, including hip hop, alternative rock and reggae. Over the course of his career, he has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Terry Hall, Björk, Alanis Morissette, Grace Jones and PJ Harvey. From this album, you can listen to ‘Aftermath’. He has an almost whispering voice with which he delivers abstract lyrics.
He later released two more albums: Nearly God (1996), featuring Björk, and Knowle West Boy (2008), which refers to his troubled and criminal youth in the deprived neighbourhood of the same name. Tricky has also gained a certain fame as an actor in various films, including Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element (1997).
UNKLE
Like Massive Attack, UNKLE consists of a small core group (currently just James Lavelle), who calls upon renowned guest artists for each new album. The first ’s album, Psyence Fiction (1998), featured, amongst others: Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Mark Hollis (Talk Talk), Mike D (Beastie Boys), Newsted (Metallica) and Richard Ashcroft (The Verve). Reviews of this album were mixed. You can listen to two tracks here: Rabbit in Your Headlights and Be There.
The second and third albums – Never, Never, Land (2003) and War Stories (2007) – were also produced using this formula. You can listen to ‘Chemistry’ from the latter album here.
The album War Stories inspired several artists to create works of art. These have been on display since March 2008 in the exhibition War Paint, with contributions from Robert Del Naja, Warren du Preez, Nick Thornton Jones, Will Bankhead and Ben Drury, amongst others.
New albums include Where did the night fall (2010) and The road, part 1 (2016), which features the single Cowboys or Indians, amongst others. This album was also accompanied by an exhibition of artworks at the Lazarider Gallery in London.
Portishead
This band consists of Beth Gibbons (vocals), Geoff Barrow (various instruments, production) and Adrian Utley (guitar). The group’s debut album is Dummy (1994), which was released alongside a short film made by the group, To Kill a Dead Man. The album received rave reviews and sold well. Melody Maker described it as “musique noire for a movie not yet made”. The album spawned three singles. You can listen to one of them, ‘Glory Box’, here. The following year, the band won the Mercury Music Prize for the best album of that year in the UK.
The second album, Portishead (1997), makes greater use of live instrumentation and relies less on sampling. Three singles, “All Mine”, “Over” and “ Only You ”, were released, the first of which reached the Top 10 in the UK. Listen here to a live performance at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. The band is accompanied for this occasion by a full orchestra.
The band members would reportedly spend the years following this album on solo projects; over a decade later, the third album was released, aptly named Third (2008). The album’s release was accompanied by an extensive tour. You can listen to and watch Magic Doors here
Morcheeba
The band was formed in the mid-1990s by singer Skye Edwards and brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey. Their music is a mix of trip hop, rock and folk rock, styles that reflect the band members’ backgrounds. Over the years, they have released ten studio albums, two of which reached the UK top ten. Their debut album, Who Can You Trust (1996), set the tone for later albums, not least because of Edwards’ soulful voice. Listen to the track ‘Moog Island’ here.
On the following album, *Big Calm* (1998), ‘folk’ elements push the trip-hop character somewhat into the background. It is, however, one of the band’s most popular albums. You can watch and listen to a live recording of the track *The Sea* here.
The fourth album, ‘Charango’ (2002), was also a great success, with the band returning to their ‘roots’ in the eyes of their fans. For the fifth album, ‘The Antidote’ (2006), a replacement had to be found for Edwards, due to growing personal and artistic differences between her and the Godfrey brothers. After several unsuccessful attempts, no fewer than five different vocalists were used on Dive Deep (2008). Eventually, Edwards returned to the band. At the same time, Paul Godfrey left, tired of constant touring. Edwards and the remaining brother, Ross, continued under the name Skye & Ross, which is also the title of their new album (2014). Here you can watch and listen to an acoustic version of the song Light of Gold.
The following albums are being released again under the name Morcheeba. From *Blaze Away* (2018), you can watch and listen to *Never Undo* (2021) here, filmed during a live performance at the Rock Palast. From the tenth album *Black & Blue* (2021), you can watch and listen to a live recording of the track *Sounds of Blue* below:
Finally, I’d like to mention the recently released eleventh album, Call for Love (2025). You can listen to the previously released single, We Live and Die.
Due to its slow tempo and relaxed nature, trip hop belongs to a broader genre that is not electronic in the first place and is also more varied in terms of rhythm and sound. In the next post, I’d like to introduce you to artists and groups for whom ‘trip hop’ is too narrow a term and for whom the term ‘ambient’ is more appropriate.
Music: Listen, Look and Enjoy 