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Tricky

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Tricky, born Adrian Thaws in 1968 in the Knowle West district of Bristol, is one of the founders of trip hop. As a boy he hung around the sound system The Wild Bunch, from which Massive Attack emerged. There he was given the nickname Tricky Kid. On Blue Lines (1991), Massive Attack's debut, he can be heard as a rapper.

Music and breakthrough

His first solo album, Maxinquaye (1995), is named after his late mother, Maxine Quaye. He recorded it largely in a home studio in Kilburn, with Mark Saunders as co-producer. Most of the vocals come from Martina Topley-Bird. Her clear voice stands beside his whispered, hoarse raps. Tricky piled up samples, slow beats and noise into a stifling whole. The album reached number three in the British album chart and was nominated for the Mercury Prize, which went to Portishead's Dummy. In the critics' year-end poll of NME, Maxinquaye was the best record of 1995.

Influence

After that his work became darker still, with Pre-Millennium Tension (1996) and the project Nearly God from the same year. Where the softer trip hop ended up in lounges and on chill-out compilations, Tricky stayed with raw, restless sounds. The New York Times called Maxinquaye in 1996 the first album-length masterpiece in trip hop. The album is cited as an influence on electronica, underground hip-hop and British hip-hop. Tricky kept making records and in 2016 was back on stage with Massive Attack.

Listening

Listening tip. Hell Is Round the Corner runs on a slowed-down loop from Isaac Hayes's Ike's Rap II (1971). Portishead used the same loop in Glory Box, reportedly by coincidence. Put them side by side and hear how one sample carries two very different songs.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (en): Tricky (musician
  2. Wikipedia (en): Maxinquaye
  3. songfacts.com
  4. skiddle.com
Categories: ArtistsTrip hop