Trip hop isn’t my true musical wheelhouse the way ska punk, garage rock, or Led Zeppelin’s catalog might be — but when this genre hits, it hits.
There’s something about the right mix of hypnotic beats, smoky atmospheres, and whispered menace that feels like you’ve stumbled into a dream at 2 a.m. and don’t necessarily want to wake up from it.
Trip hop itself emerged out of the UK in the ’90s: slowed-down, moodier cousin of hip hop and electronica. And it just so happened that I literally stumbled into it during that era when my man Nirav and I accidentally caught a Sneaker Pimps show in Maidstone, east of London.
Think downbeat grooves, evocative samples, and a vibe that swings from blissed-out chill (Zero 7’s Simple Things) to cinematic dread (Portishead’s Dummy).
This list shows off the variety inside the genre: the canonical (Dummy), the blissfully weird (Beta Band’s The Three E.P.’s), the crossovers into pop and lounge (Bitter:Sweet’s Drama, Röyksopp’s Melody A.M.), and even the crate-digger wizardry of DJ Shadow (The Mountain Will Fall).
Nine different angles on what trip hop can be – each one earning its place in Pop Thruster’s best 1,000 albums ever project.
The Beta Band – The Three E.P.’s (#314 of best 1,000 albums ever)
Take me in and dry the rain.
Portishead – Dummy(#480)
I’m so tired of playing, playing with this bow and arrow. Gonna give my heart away, leave it to the other girls to play.
Thievery Corporation – The Mirror Conspiracy (#640)
Too low to find my way, too high to wonder why.
Sneaker Pimps – Becoming X (#752)
Spin, spin, sugar.
Zero 7 – Simple Things (#883)
Nine to five, living lies, everyday, stealing time.
The Beta Band – Hot Shots II (#885)
Daydream, I fell asleep amid the flowers.
DJ Shadows – The Mountain Will Fall (#906)
Nobody speak, nobody get choked.
Bitter:Sweet – Drama(#917)
Let’s get nuts. Let’s spend some money.
Röyksopp – Melody A.M. (#950)
Blue on blue, heartache on heartache.