Introduction: Trip Hop Week

As of this week, I'm taking on a bit of a change to the blog. I've decided to see if I can fill out the (roughly) 35 weeks before I go on hiatus whilst I spend a year in Italy and Spain improving my linguistic skills. So, for the next 35 weeks, I'll try to delve backwards in time, and look at some of the different genres of music, using a wide array of artists.

So, for this week, I've chosen Trip-Hop, the weirdly soothing, sort-of-psychadelic late 90s sound that originated with experimental acts like Bjork, and progenitors like Massive Attack, and carried on through heavyweights of the genre like Portishead and Morcheeba. It carried on into the noughties with the big players still involved, as much as groups like Gorillaz, Sneaker Pimps and Télépopmusik. It's just not one of the most widely recognized genres; a lot of people seem to like it, but even so they're all spread out, unlike other genres.

This week's articles will include:

Télépopmusik: Angel Music - A seminal hit from the French trip-hoppers of the noughties. Due for an appearance again this year, with a new album, these guys have always hidden slightly under my radar, but are well worth the listen.

Portishead: Dummy - Arguably the album that began it all; the success that is. It's sound is well-known. Kids have been well-versed in this album, but, they seem to have sunk back into hipster obscurity lately. It would be a crime to discuss trip-hop without this beauty.

Sneaker Pimps: Splinter - Nearing the turn of the century, Sneaker Pimps, one of the mainstays of the original Trip-Hop movement turned to vocalist Kelli Dayton and said "We want to do it our way, and not sound like Portishead" and what they churned out with Chris Corner on vocals was something unique. It was this.

Massive Attack: Blue Lines - Back to where it all began in Bristol. Without this album, the foundations of trip-hop would be slightly wobbly, resting on the shoulders of other Bristolians Portishead.

Gorillaz: Demon Days - I suppose this is where the line blurs, where trip becomes hip, and hop becomes pop. Damon Albarn of Blur takes his little side project to stellar heights with this album, and honestly, as pop as it is, it really does warrant a good listening to!


I hope you'll tune in for the next five days worth of blogs.