Trip-hop originated in Bristol, UK in the late 1980s and early 1990s, combining elements of hip hop, electronic music, and R&B. Key artists who helped define the genre include Massive Attack, Portishead, and Tricky. Trip-hop tracks are typically downtempo, with atmospheric and sample-heavy compositions featuring soulful female vocals over bass-driven beats between 80-110 BPM. The genre emphasizes mood and texture over lyrics, with an overall psychedelic and melancholic tone.

1. TRIP-HOP
BY ANTHONY RICHARDS

2. ORIGINS
• The term was first coined in 1989 to describe DJ Shadow’s ‘In/Flux’ single.
• The genre came to be associated with the city of Bristol due to its cultural diversity -
combining hip hop, world music and R&B - and its native Wild Bunch group (comprised of
Tricky, Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja, Andrew ‘Mushroom’ Vowles and Grant ‘Daddy G’ Marshall).
This group eventually signed a record deal and became Massive Attack.
• Trip-hop came to mainstream international attention when Massive Attack’s debut album
‘Blue Lines’ (1991) reached #13 on the UK Album Charts. The album’s first single
‘Unfinished Sympathy’ brought critical notice with a largely sample-based rhythm that
differentiated it from traditional hip-hop.
• Bjork’s albums ‘Debut’ (1993), ‘Post’ (1995) and ‘Homogenic’ (1997) came, along with
‘Protection’ and ‘Mezzanine’ by Massive Attack, to define the genre. In addition, artists
such as Tricky with ‘Maxinquaye’ (1995) and Portishead with ‘Dummy’ (1994) also had
critical success in the charts.

3. MODERN DAY
• Trip-hop has influenced the music of Morcheeba, Gorillaz, Nine
Inch Nails, Beth Orton and Beck.
• In addition, Massive Attack have continued releasing material
with ‘Heligoland’ (2011) and DJ Shadow released ‘The Less You
Know, the Better’ in 2011.
• London Grammar released their debut ‘If You Wait’ in
September 2013, evolving the genre into a more pop, slower
sound.

4. MAIN ARTISTS
• Massive Attack
• Tricky
• Bjork
• Portishead
• DJ Shadow
• London Grammar
• Sneaker Pimps
Massiv
e
Attack
DJ
Shadow
Tricky

5. COMMON MUSICAL FEATURES
• Bass-heavy drumbeat – 80-110 bpm.
• Female vocals – often emulating soul, R&B and jazz vocals.
• Melancholy tone, due to the influence of post-punk bands.
• Often include piano, saxophone, trumpet and flute samples.
• Songs focus on atmospherics over lyrical content, often containing
long instrumentals.
• Similar to hip-hop in the use of sampling, breakbeat rhythms and
turntable scratching.

6. STYLE/ATTITUDE
• Trip-hop usually differs from gangsta rap in terms of attitude
by eschewing the grittier, reality-based lyrics of the former and
adopting a more relaxed, psychedelic atmosphere with lyrics
mainly concentrating on stream-of-consciousness thought
process.
• A major factor in trip-hop’s style originates from the heavy use
of marijuana and hallucinogenic drugs, resulting in a more
chilled form of music.

7. MUSIC VIDEOS
• Trip-hop music videos often feature long, tracking shots due to
the melancholic pace of the shots.
• They also normally conform to the conceptual formats because
trip-hop artists do not play instruments and the psychedelic
lyrics do not translate well to a coherent narrative.
• They are generally quite downbeat because of the laconic pace
and lyrical content of the music.