_Trip-hop is a genre of electronic music born out of a small city called Bristol in the UK, around the late 80’s/early 90’s. I actually only live a couple of hours away from Bristol, which is itself a fairly pointless fact._ Ahh, classic painfully dry, undeniably British humor. (Yes, I mean this as a compliment)
While he might be a little more in the experimental category than "pure" trip-hop, I can highly recommend anyone into trip-hop the works of the artist Amon Tobin.
Great recommendation. I listened to his first three albums, which I read were his classic ones, and loved them. My favorite at the moment is Supermodified, it immediately grabbed my attention. His style may not be "pure" trip hop, but definitely has influences of it. Anyway, any idea to where to go next with his music?
No doubt 5 essential trip-hop albums. Worth also mentioning Moon Safari by Air for a continental European take on the genre. I would also highly recommend Tricky's second and third albums "Nearly God" and "Pre-Millenium Tension" as even more experimental and dark takes on trip-hop.
Other great trip hop records are : Laika's Sounds Of The Satellites , Monk & Canatella's Care in The Community. Dj Cam's Substance, the first Jay Jay Johanson album, the Ollano LP, Goldfrapp's Felt Mountain; the excellent compilation by Bristolian label Cup of Tea, The Impossible Thrill and Comefromheaven by Alpha, Radar by Earthling, Acacia's first EP. Londinium by Archive, A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular by Hooverphonic.
This has to be one of the best music channels I've seen on RU-vid. I love the fact that you're so passionate, knowledgable and expressive about the music. Really great work, keep at it & the channel should grow pretty exponentially. Btw, UNKLE's Psyence Fiction should be recommended to anyone trying to get into Trip Hop.
Dummy is easily one of my favorite albums of all time. I've watched the "Live at Roseland" video at least twenty times and hope they release at least one more album so I can see them live.
@Squii Yeah but Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire and Einsturzende Neubauten are not Nine Inch Nails, Ministry and Marilyn Manson. Yet both are referred to industrial. Of course one could bridge the two but you run into some problems. What role do you give to Depeche Mode? To skinny Puppy? How do you explain that 90s industrial is very heavy metal and synth pop heavy when 80s industrial wasn't (or differently when it comes to synth)? Then you need to introduce the previously mentioned Depeche Mode, stuff like Gary Numan as well as 80s heavy metal, which is a movement contemporary to 80s industrial but has nothing to do with it. 90s industrial was referred to as such despite having far more in common with other styles and here lies the problem.
Really good choices. 'Blue Lines', 'Dummy' and 'Maxinquaye' are givens, but I was intrigued to see what you'd choose for 4 and 5. BTW 'Maxinquaye' is pronounced as 'Max-in-kway' and is named after Tricky's late mother Maxine Quaye, who is related to Finley Quaye - I'm sure I've read a few times that Finley is an uncle of Tricky, but that could have just been a rumour in the 90's.
Great job! Dummy is one of the best albums ever... imo. It changed my life or at least how I view music and there's only a handful of albums or groups that have done that.
Great channel. Essentially any 5 album introduction to trip hop is going to be Dummy, Maxinquaye, one of Massive Attack's first 3 albums & 2 others. Personally I'd have gone with Earthling's Radar and Nightmares On Wax's Smokers Delight. Agree with your choice of Blue Lines as an introductory album, Protection mines the same vein very well & Mezzanine is not a beginners level album for the genre.
Very well done video as always. Anytime you cover a genre I know nothing about, it's always very eye-opening and the albums you recommend tend to be very accessible. Then you cover a genre I'm very familiar with, and I don't think I could've made a better list myself. Good stuff, please keep it up.
Thanks mate I really appreciate that, I try to make these guides as accessible as possible without dumbing too much down. If you have any genre suggestions let me know!
Absolutely brilliant channel! I hope to get more people to check it out. I love the depth of your analysis and insight - there really isn't anyone else doing it this well on YT. Bravo.
Quite informative and pretty well structured.I love how even if someone disagrees with the placing,I think everyone can agree to the objective points that each record holds on each place
Awesome video could you do a part II ? I would like to see your thoughts on 1- Breathe from Another by Esther ( I think its one of the best ,well rounded Trip-Hip album ever made ) 2- Simple Things by Zero-7 ( so so many great songs on this ) 3-vfsecret or VF's World by VFsix 4- Silent Hill 2 soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka ( chill, creepy experimental ) 5- Silent Hill 3 soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka ( outstanding )
just listened to the silent hill soundtracks because of this comment and holy shit. so experimental, ominous, and refreshing. thank u for the recommendations! listening to the rest now
@@kylahphillips5588 Awesome I’m glad you liked it . Silent Hill 3 has some awesome tracks .If you liked that you might like Life In Mono by Mono and Bleed by Tapping the Vein( Very dark and ominous )
@@casualcadaver all dope as hell! 10/10 recommendations, u have me watching great expectations and i bought an electric guitar so i can learn how to play psychedelic rock!! the guitar in bleed is literally amazing. thank u!!!!
Dummy, Blue Lines, and Maxinquaye. Thanks for making these videos, i see video essays and analysis of film all over youtube and have just been waiting for someone to do music analysis right and i think you're hitting the nail on the head! keep it up!!!!!!
Fab work as usual Oliver and I actually have all 5 of those albums and I didn''t even know I was into Trip Hop!. I was fascinated when you talked about all the new albums, thinking, "" Surely not Tricky and then no way, Morcheeba."" They get a good listen to as well and for many years. I love Blue Lines on a really humid day listening sleepily. Cheers Oliver. Awesome work!
Wouldn't exactly call it the easiest album in the world but I do like Cibo Matto's Viva! La Woman. Pretty easy album to overlook due to its rather surrealist nature but man, that thing is creative. Can't think of another record quite like it.
Incredibly well put together piece, and super useful. One thing: you mentioned "African Gamelan" when you talked about the Tricky album. Gamelan is a specifically Indonesian form of traditional music. Again, just wanted to say how great this video is, and I can't wait for Deepcuts season 2!
I have to thank you for that one. I noticed that I actually love this subgenre unknowingly. With albums like Endtroducing..... and Dummy along with musics like Les Nuits and You Wish (by Nightmares on Wax) I've made myself into this subgenre more. Endtroducing..... is already in my favorite albums!
you forgot to mention how trick repurposed most of the lyrics on Maxinquaye from his Massive attack verses. It's really cool to see how his words from Eurochild are put over the beat of Glory Box to make Hell's round the corner.
Blue Lines is less trip hop, and more hip hop/soul. I think Massive Attack evolved into a trip hop act, although I have it on good authority if you call them TH to their faces, you'll probably get twatted. They hate the tag. Mezzanine is their finest hour IMO. Anyways, good selection, nicely reviewed.
Allflaws - Apparitions Sneaker Pimps - Becoming X Morcheeba - Who Can You Trust Great albums. All deep, dark and soulful records that must be checked out.
Bristolian here . I paid a visit to the M Shed Museum last week and was pleasantly surprised to see one of The Wild Bunch's pink painted Technics turntables on display.
Ya I was basically a kid when Heligoland came out and I listened to it a lot at summer camp haha. Mezzanine still scared me back then so I didn't listen to it much but Heligoland stuck with me a lot. Also, if you've heard the Ritual Spirit EP, it's fantastic, and makes me think that they could still make another album
My parents listened to so much Björk and Portishead when I was growing up, and it totally scared the crap outta me bc I didn't really get it and I thought it was creepy. I first heard Angel because it's used in the Season 4 Finale of the West Wing (which I watched religiously growing up) in a very intense scene, so that scared me too. Of course, at some point I got old enough to want to listen to things that scared me, and then I went right to Björk, but my favourite was definitely massive attack.
Great video and great selection. Did you find the doc you were talking about? for trip-hop lovers I suggest also: Esbe, Free the Robots, Chinese Man, 9 Lazy 9, The Herbaliser. Also Bonobo and Tycho seem to have few TripHop elements
If you're looking for more to listen to, definitely go listen to Hooverphonic's "A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular", a trip hop album from 1996 Belgium that crosses the lines with multiple genres like alternative rock and shoegaze multiple times.
I would add that the first Zero 7 album albeit more than half a decade to a full decade after Trip Hop was created and popularized, its still a great album in the Trip Hop world, just on the more downtempo side.
I can remember getting really into these records back in the early days of Trip-Hop: DJ Krush- Strictly Turntablized, Mo Wax- Headz 2. Ninja Tunes Funkjazzical Tricknology, Depth Charge- Nine Deadly Venoms, Thievery Corporation- Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi, David Holmes- Let's Get killed, Nightmares on Wax- Smokers Delight, The Herbaliser- Blow Your Headphones, and then you had Funki Porcini, Dj Vadim, Red Snapper, Coldcut, and Wagon Christ all making genre-defining records.
I enjoyed this video, but one thing I must point out is that no music from Dummy was used in To kill a dead man, short sections of the film were used as a video for sour times, but the film had its own soundtrack.
Purple Penguin's Question is an underappreciated gem in terms of Trip Hop, as a bridge between that and instrumental hiphop. Produced by Scott Hendy and Ben Dubuisson (better known as Dynamo Productions and Hundred Strong respectively), its a crisp, easy listen, well worth digging up.
i'd say dj krush is one of the most important trip hop artists as well, although i don't know which one of his albums i'd choose, almost all of them are fantastic and unique.
I would replace Blue Lines with Mezzanine from Massive Attack personally, but great list! If there are any gamers in here, the horror franchise "Silent Hill" features some wonderful trip hop tracks, courtesy of an amazing composer and sound designer Akira Yamaoka.
Yep, I agree with Blue Lines. This is albums to get you *into* trip-hop, not albums for people who already love it ;) Mezzanine is great, but it sounds a lot darker, and personally threw me off a little the first time I heard it. Blue Lines is lighter, and easier to listen to if you're not familiar with the genre. I really love this record.
The long known rumour that robert of massive attack is Banksy has become more convincing recently since the bbc confirmed that from a very old interview before Banksy blew up really big his real name was confirmed to be robert, or 'robbie' as he himself said he preferred.
Didn't realise how much I like trip hop.. Mezzanine is one of my all time favourites. I'll have to listen to more Morcheeba since I've only heard Charango
I think it says a lot that I'm going to check these albums out even though I've never really been into trip hop. Your other videos are good enough that I trust your opinion. It would be terrific if you could get permission to sample songs in the background. That's probably hard, though.
There is ever a Portishead poster in the game. Akira Yamaoka who did the soundtrack also has other trip hop influenced game soundtracks. Especially for Suda51 games from Grasshopper Manufacture.
I love all of these albums. Entroducing being a top 5 for me of all time. However, I would argue that Shadow is not Trip Hop. I think Shadow more falls into Instrumental hip hop or Sample- more aligned with Prince Paul, Kid Koala, Cut Chemist and paving the way for Dilla, Madlib, and MF DOOM's instrumental albums. Agreed it is genius. This really solidified the argument catalyzed by Paul's Boutique, Three Feet High and Rising and It Takes a Nation... that Sampling was a artform and creation of it's own and not just a copying and pasting of the past. If I could add a "Trip Hop" album to the list it would be Sneaker Pimps Becoming X. Underrated and still brilliant.
The Silent Hill video game soundtracks, composed by Akira Yamaoka, actually have some pretty stellar trip hop tracks. Especially the soundtrack for Silent Hill 2. Really fantastic stuff, I highly recommend it
I love trip hop and I've listened to the five albums you mentioned thousands of times and I never get tired. Absolutely brilliant channel! I love the depth of your analysis and insight. Besides that, your voice is so sexy 😉 Send you warm greetings from Brazil 🌻
I consider Portishead to be one of the best live bands ever (Live In NY). All 3 of their studio LP’s are superb. I was expecting you to reference Spiritualized!
I would add interesting german band named Tarwater. You covered it pretty much like I would, except for the order - Tricky, Massive, Portishead. And I would not go too far with Morcheeba, although they do have elements of genre in there.
Would you consider doing a 5 albums to get you into UK Garage/Dubstep, things like Burial - Untrue, The Streets - Unfinished Pirate Material, The Bug - London Zoo etc.
Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks to the author for his attention to such an intellectual genre. Well for you, my friend, who is interested in trip-hop, I highly recommend you to immerse yourself in merging with the following sounds: Tricky (+ Marta separately, + Francesca Belmonte separately), Massive Attack, Portishead (and also Beth Gibbons separately, she has a new release in 2024), Dj Krush, Dj Shadow, Morcheeba, Sneaker Pimps, UNKLE, Thievery Corporation, Lamb, Neneh Cherry (old), Hooverphonic, Björk (Post album from 1995, also recorded by Tricky), Smoke City. Also, Trentemøller (Fixion album), it's different but the influence is definitely there. David Lynch (as a musician) also flirted with aesthetics more than once, but it's already thin ice there. Have a nice listen.
For years of my life, I had the curse of sharing my name with rocky's wife and a funny but shit diarist, and then, thankfully, my name became synonymous with Tricky, and the guitarist from Portishead, a definite improvement. It came to my mind when I heard Roots Manuva (Rodney) talk of the joy he had when he first heard Rodney P, and realised that not all associations with his name had to involve Only Fools And Horses.
Seems you might like Archive - You all look the same to me. Already the opening is long 16 minute song something you might find on those old Progressive rock albums usually in the end.
This may be the most definitive list of all genres examined thusfar. However, I find Endtroducing to be just behind Blue Lines in regard to relevancy and importance to the genre's legitimacy. Side note, I wish I could enjoy Morcheeba more.
