Genres / Trip Hop

Trip-hop is a music genre also known as the Bristol sound. The Trip-hop description was applied to the musical trend in the mid-1990s of downtempo electronic music that grew out of England's Hip Hop and House scenes. It is often rejected as a term by those artists to whom it is applied. It has also been described as "Europe's alternative of choice in the second half of the '90s", and a one-up fusion "of Hip-hop and Electronic until neither genre is recognizable." It is thus categorized as a fairly experimental genre, and sometimes with elements of Dance.

The style is characterized by the reliance on Breakbeats and a sample-heavy, often moody sound pioneered by Coldcut's remix of Eric B. & Rakim - Paid in Full. Trip Hop gained notice via popular artists such as Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky, Björk, Thievery Corporation, Amon Tobin, and rock-influenced sound groups such as Ruby, Bristol band Ilya, California's DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, U.N.K.L.E., and the UK's Gorillaz, Howie B., MORCHEEBA, originating from Hythe in Kent, Londoners Glideascope, New York's Bowery Electric, and Seattle's Anomie Belle are also often associated with this sound. Massive Attack's debut album Blue Lines, is seen as the "blueprint" for the genre. Various American Hip Hop artists and albums have been influenced by Trip Hop. Examples include the Deltron 3030 (album), artists Cannibal Ox, Mos Def, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, and producers Dan The Automator and Madlib.