Blue Lines is widely considered to be the first trip-hop album; it holds the defining sound of the genre and when listening to other artists, one can trace the elements back to it. Blue Lines is dark, brooding and beautiful, maintaining a deep atmosphere. Track 6, Unfinished Sympathy is widely considered to be one of the greatest songs of all time (NME, MTV2, various polls) and in my opinion, rightly so. It is an incredibly dynamic piece of music and has a duality of texture- at first the percussion is hard and almost uninviting, but the strings and vocals are warm- a perfectly balanced contrast. In between these fits the piano, sharing characteristics of both. There notes are distinct, but there is just enough reverb to smoothly fit them into the mix.
To speak about trip-hop in general though, many artists, particularly Tricky, have displayed a disliking for the term and consider it to be a name forced upon the style by the media. In my eyes, early trip-hop should be referred to as what it is- The Bristol Sound. It has a very particular aesthetic, and is common among only a small number of musicians (namely Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky and others from Bristol, where the movement began). Anything beyond these early roots, both in time and location can be considered ‘trip-hop’- Morcheeba, Télépopmusik, etc. (The likes of which I may be covering in the near future.) These other artists have abandoned things which had perhaps almost become clichés in the genre, such as melancholic female vocals and dark lyrics.
Outstanding Tracks:
- Safe From Harm
- Be Thankful For What You’ve Got
- Unfinished Sympathy

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