Trip-hop arose in British Bristol in the early 1990s as a “slower,” introverted, psychedelic answer to hip-hop. Its hallmarks are unhurried, “heavy” beats, deep bass, samples, scratching, a hazy cinematic atmosphere, and often mournful, sensual vocals.
The genre's classics — Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky — created a sound of the night-time city, of loneliness and melancholy, that became the soundtrack of a whole decade. Trip-hop combined elements of hip-hop, dub, soul, and electronics into a new, deeply atmospheric quality. Its influence is felt in contemporary pop, electronic, and even film music; it is one of the most refined and poetic currents of the electronic age.
