The Essential Trip-Hop Records Everyone Should Own

“What we were trying to do was create dance music for the head, rather than the feet,” said Daddy G about Massive Attack’s seminal debut. It was a mission statement adopted by every act hooked by its narcotic blend of slow-motion grooves, spliff-friendly atmospherics, and samples that would impress even the most discerning muso. Blue Lines draws upon the talents of Nellee Hooper, Tricky, and Shara Nelson – all former members of the Bristol trio’s previous sound system collective, The Wild Bunch – with the latter providing the achingly soulful heart of glorious mini-symphony “Unfinished Sympathy.” Although trip-hop hadn’t entered the musical lexicon yet, this is the scene’s first true masterpiece. 

Whether recording through a clapped-out amplifier or deliberately stomping across their vinyl samples, Portishead sure thought outside the box while producing their Mercury Prize-winning debut. That largely explains why Dummy is so inherently disquieting and also why it continually sounds like it’s from another planet. Beth Gibbons’ beautifully fragile voice has an otherworldly quality, too, encapsulating “the blackness of darkness forever” she sings of in “Wandering Star.” Geoff Barrow, meanwhile, delivers a crate-digging masterclass – Isaac Hayes’ oft-sampled “Ike’s Rap II” was first given a new lease of life on “Glory Box” – resulting in a claustrophobic, cinematic collection of deconstructed torch songs that still inspires awe 30 years on. 

Having put his spin on acid-jazz for his self-titled debut, Japanese producer Hideaki Ishi, aka DJ Krush, then switched his attention to another distinctly British sound for follow-ups Strictly Turntablized and Meiso. It was the latter where the polymath perfected his East-meets-West approach, combining homegrown samples with ambient electronica, hip-hop beats, and lyrical flows from various American rappers, including C.L. Smooth, The Roots’ Black Thought, and the late Guru. And on standout “Duality,” Krush joins forces with his Stateside counterpart DJ Shadow for a nine-minute instrumental workout in which both parties bring their A-game.

Stifled by the creative restrictions of his work with Massive Attack, Tricky launched himself as a solo artist with a deeply unsettling record drenched in paranoia and pre-millennial tension. Named after his mother, who tragically committed suicide when he was aged just four, Maxinquaye tackled themes of failed relationships, mid-90’s drug culture, and general societal decay in an intriguing stream-of-consciousness style that was part-street poet, part-rambling man. This sense of danger – beautifully complemented by then-girlfriend Martina Topley-Bird‘s ice-cool melodies – made its sonic cocktail so intoxicating.

“Why don’t they call it Trick-hop?” the man himself wondered when asked about his pivotal role within the scene. He had a point.

The departures of founding members John Halnon and Kevin Harper appeared to inspire a wave of creativity in their former partner-in-crime. Indeed, Leeds producer George Herbert Evelyn gave partygoers still on a high – natural or otherwise – plenty of time to wind down, with Smokers Delight clocking in at just over 72 minutes. The follow-up to ground-breaking debut A Word of Science continued to push the boundaries of a scene that had taken on a life of its own in the intervening four years, incorporating elements of Latin funk, lovers rock, breakbeat, and dub.

Hailed by the Guinness World Records as the first album made entirely from samples (not strictly true due to snatches of newly recorded vocals from future wife Lisa Haugen, Lyrics Born, and The Gift of Gab), Endtroducing was another trip-hop game-changer. Indeed, DJ Shadow (aka California producer Joshua Paul Davis) borrowed from artists as diverse as jazz composer David Axelrod, comedian Murray Roman, and Italian prog rockers Osanna for a dreamlike musical collage that took the relatively new art of plunderphonics to new heights. It could all easily have fallen into the trap of pure gimmickry. But somehow, Shadow works all his turntablism trickery into a cohesive, spell-binding whole that sounds as fresh today as it did in 1996.  

The James Bond-sampling digital lushness of “6 Underground” – a U.K. Top 10 hit at the second time of asking – positioned Sneaker Pimps at the tasteful dinner party end of the trip-hop spectrum. But its parent album Becoming X was scuzzier and spikier than anything served up by Morcheeba, Hooverphonic, et al. See the squalling punk guitars of opener “Low Place Like Home,” the haunting cover of Wicker Man soundtrack cut “Willow’s Song,” or the nervy synth-rock of “Spin Spin Sugar,” later remixed by Armand Van Helden as a speed garage trailblazer. And with her ability to flit between coquettish and fearsome in the space of a chord change, lead vocalist Kelli Dayton – unfathomably replaced by guitarist Chris Corner for their flop follow-up – also kept listeners on their toes throughout.

Hailing from an area of Northern England more synonymous with ‘mad for it’ indie pop, beatmaker Andy Barlow and expressive vocalist Lou Rhodes proved Mancunians could soundtrack both the party and the afterparty, too, with a charming eponymous debut that skillfully melded the sounds of trip-hop and drum n bass. Sampling the titular Polish composer’s Third Symphony, the fourth single, “Gorecki,” remains one of the scene’s most ubiquitous hits, popping up in everything from the video game Tomb Raider to Baz Luhrmann’s senses-assaulting Moulin Rouge. But “Cottonwool,” “Gold,” and “Closer” are also fine examples of how Lamb took the genre into an intriguing percussive direction.

Many critics were initially left underwhelmed by UNKLE’s Psyence Fiction, the brainchild of DJ Shadow and the boss of trip-hop’s most prominent label Mo’ Wax, James Lavelle, its detours into alt-rock and an arbitrary guest list perceived as a betrayal of their underground roots. However, it’s since deservedly been reevaluated as a thrilling prototype of the genre-hopping, all-star vehicles that have become the norm.

While Metallica’s Jason Newsted and Beastie Boys’ Mike D bring the noise on “The Knock,” Richard Ashcroft, Ian Brown, and Thom Yorke all help tap into the more sobering mood of Cool Britannia’s collapse, with the latter’s contribution on “Rabbit In Your Headlights” also foreshadowing the giant leap forward that Radiohead would take with Kid A.  

Damon Albarn’s trip-hop journey didn’t exactly start in auspicious circumstances. His contribution to Tricky’s 1996 side project Nearly God disappeared at the last minute following a reported clash between the two musical chameleons. Luckily, the general public did get to hear his forays into the genre five years later as the voice of a “blue-haired, black-eyed god” named 2-D. From “Tomorrow Comes Today” and “Sound Check (Gravity)” to the Odetta-sampling “New Genius (Brother),” and, of course, the monster hit “Clint Eastwood,” Gorillaz’s playful self-titled debut regularly took its cues from the Bristol sound whose commercial rise aligned with Blur’s. And the cartoon band has continued to give it the dystopian treatment ever since.