Trip hop revival

After years of obscurity, genre makes full-fledged return to the spotlight

By: Dan Kaplan

Posted: 9/23/08

With today's release of "Radio Retaliation," the new album from Washington, D.C.-based Thievery Corporation, audiences get not just an album, but also a continuation of the revival of trip hop.

The UK-based genre got its start in the early 90s, ripping from the emerging hip hop phenomenon and incorporating down-tempo electronic music.

Serving as ballads for cell phone commercials and anthems for eccentric early 20-somethings, the genre has maintained a cult following.

Here's a look at what some of its most prominent artists have been up to in its renaissance, and what we can expect from the trip hop rise in coming months.

Massive Attack

One of the original trip hop masters, Massive Attack continues to expand and redefine the genre.

Group members Robert Del Naja and Grantley Marshall combined elements of jazz, rock and soul on their 1991 debut "Blue Lines," effectively inventing the trip hop genre.

Later releases "Protection" and "Mezzanine" introduced electronic music into its sound, leading to successful singles like "Angel" and "Teardrop." Along the way, collaborations were made with vocalists from David Bowie to Madonna.

In 2003, Rolling Stone officially recognized the duo's achievements, placing both "Blue Lines" and "Mezzanine" on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all-time.

The group's fifth studio album, tentatively titled "Weather Underground," is set to release in 2009. Rumored vocal collaborators include Tom Waits, Mos Def and Damon Albarn.

Portishead

Portishead entered the realm of trip hop a bit later, but has been no less influential to the genre.

Keyboardist Geoff Barrow's love of hip hop and jazz provided the band's musical foundation, but perhaps the strongest asset was the presence of a permanent vocalist in Beth Gibbons.

Gibbons' silky, yet ominous croon provided the dark undertones that continue to drive the band's sound.

Portishead's debut album, "Dummy," spawned the hit single "Sour Times," and is widely considered one of the most influential albums of the 1990s. In 1995, it won the Mercury Music Prize for the year's best British album, beating out albums from PJ Harvey and Oasis.

Portishead released its third studio album, appropriately titled "Third," in April. The album debuted in the top ten on both sides of the Atlantic, marking the band's first Top 10 album on the Billboard 200. It has sold nearly a million copies worldwide.

Gorillaz

Though Gorillaz sometimes sport more of an alternative rock sound, the group's foundations are all trip-hop.

Gorillaz emerged as a virtual band of cartoon characters in 2001, the result of a collaboration between Blur vocalist Damon Albarn, producer Dan the Automator and "Tank Girl" comic artist Jamie Hewlett.

Singles like "19-2000" and the smash hit "Clint Eastwood" propelled the band's self-titled debut album to sales of over seven million copies worldwide.

The album's follow up, "Demon Days," earned the band a Grammy Award for the song "Feel Good, Inc." Gorillaz is featured in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band.

In November 2007, the band released "D-Sides," its second compilation of b-sides and remixes (the first being called "G-Sides"). Despite the lack of a proper single or promotion, the album still charted on the Billboard 200.

sdkaplan@syr.edu