Just Don't Call It Trip Hop. Reconciling The Bristol Sound Style With The Trip Hop Genre PDF
Just Don't Call It Trip Hop. Reconciling The Bristol Sound Style With The Trip Hop Genre PDF
Just Don't Call It Trip Hop. Reconciling The Bristol Sound Style With The Trip Hop Genre PDF
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Just Don’t Call it Trip Hop: Reconciling the Bristol sound style with the trip hop genre
Jeff Wragg
JEFF WRAGG
PhD candidate, University of Waikato, New Zealand
Email: [email protected]
Trip hop music emerged in the early 1990s, however, as a label examining the work of artists labelled ‘trip hop’
the term ‘trip hop’ has always been problematic. Portishead, through the lens of genre and style. This approach
Massive Attack and Tricky, the artists frequently credited with allows one to identify points of musical continuity
creating trip hop, have unanimously rejected the label, across a range of artists, while also acknowledging the
claiming their music has nothing to do with trip hop. Despite
points of musical difference.
the artists’ objections, music industrialists, fans and academics
This article proceeds as follows. The second section
continually label their music trip hop or its alternate term
‘Bristol sound’, though specifics are never given as to what, if provides further background to this debate by briefly
anything, distinguishes the two terms. This article seeks to discussing some of the reasons new genre labels are
mediate the discussion between opposing viewpoints by invented, and why the term ‘trip hop’ was so maligned.
describing the Bristol sound as a style that relates to the trip There are several reasons the trip hop tag was rejected,
hop genre. Following the introduction, the second section not least because many artists reject any attempt to
discusses the controversy surrounding the term ‘trip hop’ and classify their music, viewing labels as restrictive
suggests possible reasons behind the artists’ rejection of the stereotypes that suggest formulaic composition
label. The third section addresses the terms ‘genre’ and ‘style’ (Walser 1993). However, I argue the rejection was due
and outlines their similar points of reference while also to two processes in particular: genre naming as a
highlighting their different areas of inquiry. The final section
merchandising strategy, and genre naming as cultural
analyses several trip hop songs and identifies common elements
appropriation (McLeod 2001). I conclude the second
that relate to the trip hop genre, before identifying explicit
differences that distinguish the Bristol sound style. The analysis section by briefly discussing the term ‘Bristol sound’,
of style focuses on the spectral quality of the works and draws and note its synonymous use with ‘trip hop’. The third
from Smalley’s (1997) theory of spectromorphology. section, following Fabbri (2007), provides definitions
for the concepts of genre and style. This sets up a
framework for the subsequent analysis. The fourth
section discusses the work of nine trip hop artists and
1. INTRODUCTION
focuses on three areas that relate to genre: the
The term ‘trip hop’ was first used by Mixmag in June prevalence of producer-led outfits, opaque mediation
1994 to describe the track In/Flux by DJ Shadow and (Brøvig-Hanssen 2013) and intertextuality. This
other similar artists on the Mo’ Wax record label section seeks to specify common areas among the nine
(Phillips 2009). Subsequently, Bristol-based artists trip hop artists, therefore lending some validity to
such as Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky were those that use the trip hop label, while also supporting
grouped under the trip hop label, although these artists the notion of trip hop as a genre.
have consistently and thoroughly rejected the tag. This The final section analyses trip hop music through the
discursive conflict raises the issue of whether the label lens of style, and groups the nine trip hop artists into
itself is meaningful and appropriate. three distinct, yet related styles: the Bristol sound,
Authors in the field of popular music studies have post-trip hop and instrumental hip hop. Many
implicitly argued that the validity of labels is not compositional practices commonly found in electro-
necessarily dependent on acceptance from the artists. acoustic music are also relevant to trip hop. Tools from
As Fabbri (2007) notes, it is the community that accepts electroacoustic analysis can therefore yield fruitful
the rules of a genre, and that community is not limited results. Drawing from Smalley’s (1997) theory of
to artists but also includes fans, journalists, record spectromorphology, I consider trip hop in regard to
labels and academics. Accordingly, artists do not have notions of gestural surrogacy, spectra and spatiomor-
carte blanche over how their music is categorised, and phology, and relate each concept to a specific example
yet their opinions cannot be discounted for the same from the genre. This is not to suggest that conclusions
reason: they too are a part of the community. The have been drawn from a single musical work, rather
challenge is then to reconcile the divergent viewpoints. the ideas put forward are the result of a wide range of
This article seeks to mediate in this discussion by analytical listening, with individual works put forward
as representative models. This is not to suggest either developed by people in London, and the people in
that each musical work belonging to the Bristol sound Bristol just had to put up with it’ (Simpson 2008: 1).
style, for example, will adhere to the approaches Although trip hop was initially aligned with the Mo’
described; rather, these observations are more likely to Wax record label, it was subsequently used to describe
relate to works that fall under the Bristol sound the music of Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky,
umbrella. The main aim of this article is to distinguish possibly due to the difficulty journalists had in
the Bristol sound as a style, as these artists are most categorising their music.1 The disparity between the
vocal in their objection to the trip hop label. In order to song-based music of the Bristol artists and the instru-
achieve this aim, however, it is necessary also to discuss mental music on the Mo’ Wax label led many to
the works of other trip hop artists so as to provide a denigrate the term ‘trip hop’ as a corporate invention.
point of reference. When discussing trip hop artists, Barrow said ‘all the
other stuff was kind of made by record companies that
thought Bristol was cool. They were kind of like
2. TRIP HOP AND THE BRISTOL SOUND
products of the media’ (Schild 2011: 6). Others simply
In order to understand why certain artists have rejected reacted to the differences between trip hop and the
the trip hop label, it is necessary to explore some of the Bristol sound, arguing that the term, authentic or not,
motivating factors behind the creation of new genre is simply not an accurate descriptor. Tricky told Ray
labels. The process for naming new genres of music is Gun magazine in 1999 ‘if you listen to trip hop … if you
not just a result of the evolving nature of music. actually listen to what trip hop is, my music doesn’t
Record companies and music magazines create genre sound nothing like it’ (Woodlief 1999: 3).
labels as a merchandising strategy and also to market
music to new audiences. Similarly, subcultures use
subgenre labels as a gatekeeping device to bar entry to 2.2. Subgenre naming as cultural appropriation
those lacking the prerequisite knowledge required to A great deal of electronic music popular amongst
become part of a scene or community (McLeod 2001). white, middle-class audiences is derived from black,
McLeod (2001) describes five motivating factors for urban communities. Creating a new subgenre label can
the creation of new genre labels within electronic/ realign the ‘otherness’ of the original name and assign
dance communities. I argue that two of these moti- new meanings that have less association with black
vating factors are most directly responsible for the culture. Trip hop, as a name, implicitly strips the black
rejection of the trip hop label: subgenre naming as a identity from the music (McLeod 2001) and moves it
merchandising strategy, and subgenre naming as cul- out of the ghettos and into the predominantly white
tural appropriation. I discuss these two strategies rave scene. British music media presented trip hop as a
within the context of trip hop below. I have arrived at safer alternative to hip hop, leading many to criticise
this conclusion based on a wide reading of interviews the genre as exploitative, a chance for middle-class
with the artists, in which they express their aversion to whites to experience a taste of hip hop while
the term ‘trip hop’. sidestepping difficult issues of race, class and poverty.
‘According to this critique, trip hop is merely a form of
2.1. Subgenre naming as merchandising strategy gentrification, a case of middle class whites moving in
when the underclass blacks have moved on or been
Record labels face constant uncertainty over the moved out’ (Reynolds 1999: 324).
success of their product so use genre labels as a means This critical view of trip hop is shared amongst many
of linking producers (artists) with the anticipated people, including some of the artists branded with the
consumers (market) (Negus 1999). Genre labels com- label. Wheaton, author of Dummy (Portishead’s debut
municate meaning to the potential consumer about the album) for the 33 1/3 series, states ‘they [Portishead]
likely sound of the product, thus increasing the hated it then and they probably hate it now. Most of the
likelihood it will meet the consumer’s expectations. credible musicians (Massive Attack, Tricky) felt the
When faced with marketing a new genre to an unfamiliar same way because it was sold, in the music press, as a
market, record companies and music media often work distinctly British “improvement” upon American hip
together to create and promote new labels and generate hop’ (Mistry 2011: 1). Given that the music of Massive
buzz around the new genre (McLeod 2001). However, Attack, Portishead and Tricky is steeped in the hip hop
the manufacture of genre names by record labels and tradition, and given the high esteem in which they hold
music magazines often creates an air of corporate-driven other hip hop artists, one can understand how they
inauthenticity. Accordingly, artists saddled with these
labels will react negatively if they perceive it as a con-
1
trived term created in a corporate office. In an interview New Musical Express described Massive Attack’s Blue Lines as
mixing ‘soul, funk, reggae, house, classical, hip hop, and space
with The Guardian in 2008, Portishead’s Geoff Barrow rock’. http://massiveattack.ie/media/gallery/nme-magazine-review-1/
stated ‘the whole trip hop tag was nonsense. It was (accessed 9 August 2015).
42 Jeff Wragg
(Brøvig-Hanssen 2013). The crackling sound of a vinyl novice listener is unlikely to listen to Portishead’s
record can be clearly heard in Tricky’s Hell is Around Sour Times and identify the sample from the
the Corner, Massive Attack’s Teardrop, Morcheeba’s soundtrack of the Mission: Impossible television series.
Never an Easy Way, Sneaker Pimps’ Becoming X and However, they may well suggest ‘it sounds like spy
U.N.K.L.E’s Lonely Soul. Brøvig-Hanssen (2013: 94) music’.
describes this as a kind of ‘schizophonic experimenta- Intertextual references are common throughout trip
tion’, whereby the characteristic signature of earlier hop and not only reference other works but also other
media is split from its source and inserted into a new, styles, periods and cultures. Intertextuality directly
digital context to produce an aesthetic effect. informs trip hop’s stylistic multiplicity, as references to
Opaque mediation is evident in other ways through hip hop, soul, reggae, jazz and film music intertwine.
these records, such as extreme time stretching, abrupt Additionally, intertextual references occur in a number
edits or the creation of surreal spaces through contra- of different ways, which I shall discuss using Lacasse’s
dictory applications of reverb. Portishead’s Biscuit (2000) terminology. The most common intertextual
takes a vocal sample from I’ll Never Fall in Love Again reference is autosonic quotation, whereby the recording
by Jonnie Ray and reduces the original tempo of 102 of a pre-existing work is inserted into a new work; a
bpm to a languid 68 bpm; the resulting changes in practice more commonly known as sampling. The
vocal timbre drawing explicit reference to the artificial Sneaker Pimps’ 6 Underground, Morcheeba’s Trigger
manipulation. Abrupt edits in DJ Krush’s What’s Hippie, DJ Krush’s Big City Lover, Lamb’s Górecki
Behind Darkness highlight the fact that the recording is and U.N.K.L.E’s Celestial Annihilation are just a few
not of a continuous, human performance, but rather examples. Allosonic quotation describes a work that
an assembly of various sound sources, collected and quotes another work, but not the recording of that
artificially fused together. Additionally, the vocals on work; for example, the way Massive Attack’s
Lamb’s Gabriel are seemingly positioned in a con- Angel references Horace Andy’s You Are My Angel.
sistent environment – medium-sized room with hard, Allosonic allusion describes a work that references
reflective surfaces – yet they are occasionally treated another work without directly quoting from it; for
with a contrasting reverb suggesting an open, caver- example, the way Portishead’s Half Day Closing
nous space with many reflective surfaces. Opaque references The American Metaphysical Circus by the
mediation is evident in several different ways but is a United States of America. A cover is a work that
consistent thread running through trip hop, leading remakes another work in the style of the covering
Brøvig-Hanssen (2013: 96) to suggest ‘the most artist, such as Tricky’s cover of Black Steel in the Hour
characteristic aspect of trip hop may in fact be the of Chaos by Public Enemy. Finally, plunderphonics
particular ways in which the music foregrounds its describes a work that is assembled from a large number
mediation’. of pre-existing works, such as DJ Shadow’s In/Flux.
Intertextuality is one of the most significant traits of
4.3. Intertextuality trip hop, evidenced by the sheer number of specific
intertextual references that exist, as well as the variety
Intertextuality describes the presence of a specific and of ways they are implemented.
identifiable work within another work. Frith discusses
intertextuality as one of Fabbri’s rules of semiotics, as
it refers to ‘how music works as rhetoric … [and] the 5. STYLE ANALYSIS
ways in which “meaning” is conveyed’ (Frith 1996: 91).3 Having identified three common traits that may help
Intertextuality can exist in a musical work in a number define trip hop as a genre, it is possible to note differ-
of ways but the most common is quotation.4 The ences in musical style within this label. The aim of this
significance of quotation is that it not only references section is to apply electroacoustic analysis techniques
musical gestures but also the cultural and historical and identify specific musical differences that suggest
associations of that gesture, and just as a performer can the existence of three distinct styles related to the trip
transform a quoted melody, cultural and historical hop genre. The argument is that, while trip hop may be
associations can also be transformed (Metzer 2003). an appropriate umbrella term, it does not account for
To understand these associations, it is not necessary the variations that exist between artists.
that the listener identify the intertextual reference. Analysis of form, rhythm and harmony may assist in
Borrowing often acts on the original source as a drawing distinctions between the various styles, however,
stylistic topic (Leydon 2010), and it is the associations a more relevant focus may be the manner in which trip
implied by a work’s style, performance technique, hop artists manipulate the sonic and spectral elements of
or timbre that carry cultural resonance. For example, a their work. This is not to diminish the significant
3 musicological differences that exist within trip hop,
Italics and quotation marks in original.
4
For further discussion of quotation and intertextual references, see however, it is the sound that can identify a tune, band, or
Wragg (2015). musician (Brøvig-Hanssen and Danielsen 2013).
Reconciling the Bristol sound style with the trip hop genre 45
than relinquishing space to known instruments, the timbre is not important, rather that it is perceived as
unknown sounds continue, drawing the listener’s unmediated and ‘pure’, and can be easily reconciled
attention as they explore the sonic space, left to right, with the original source. The song Unreal from
background to foreground. During the first verse, the U.N.K.L.E is indicative of this approach. The struc-
only sounds we recognise are vocals, drum set and tural texture of the song is composed of drum set,
electric bass, and of the three only the bass provides a string bass and organ, and in each of the instruments
pitch reference, with the exception of decorative vocal the spectral quality appears to be unimpeded, as can be
swells at 0:47 and 1:13. The second verse continues in a heard at 1:08. An acoustic guitar is frequently
similar manner, with second and third order surrogacy employed to provide decoration, and its timbre is
equally responsible for defining the texture. At 2:35 a likewise unmediated. One may suggest that the listener
new sound is introduced, its ‘artificial’ source and does not focus attention on the particular sound of the
pulsating gesture are unknown. This sound provides guitar, merely identifies it as a guitar. Spectrographic
the basis for the next two minutes of the song until the analysis of Unreal demonstrates important details
initial unknown sounds return at 4:30 to close regarding the spectral space commonly found in
the track. instrumental hip hop. The spectral space is extensively
filled, the density is compressed, and there is little
5.2. Spectra evidence of empty space. The spectral energy becomes
slightly more concentrated as we move from the
The second area of analysis concerns the artists’
canopy, through the centre, and down to the root,
treatment of spectral information and space. A parti-
however, it is generally diffused throughout the space.
cularly useful tool to distinguish between the styles is
There are traces of horizontal streams of energy,
the notion of inharmonic saturation – the adding of
though they do not stand out in stark relief, and there
spectral components to move a harmonic note towards
appears to be no intervening spaces separating them.
inharmonic noise. A note has an absolute pitch that
can be precisely identified, whereas noise does not and
5.2.2. Post-trip hop
must be described spectromorphologically. However,
the border between the two extremes is not clear. Post-trip hop employs a similar approach with respect
Spectral components can be added to a note to move it to inharmonic saturation. Instrumental timbres are left
towards noise, just as the colour and resonance of noise unmediated, allowing the listener to perceive the nat-
can be manipulated to move it towards note. If the ural sound of the instrument. The purity of the
composer takes an interventionist approach, the instrumental tones is one of the factors that give post-
balance between note and noise can be manipulated, trip hop its ‘polished’ sound, suggesting that great care
and as a note moves towards noise the listener’s has been taken to preserve the richness of the original
attention shifts away from the fundamental pitch and timbre. This approach can be seen in Trigger Hippie by
towards the spectral qualities. As a consequence of this Morcheeba. The structural texture of the song com-
approach, the sound that the listener perceives is not prises vocals, electric bass, drum set and synthesiser –
dictated by a harmonic instrument’s natural timbre, playing sustained notes with a gentle organ sound.
rather it arises as a result of the composer’s interven- Each instrument projects a pure sound, unaltered by
tion in the mediation process. Alternatively, if the spectral interference. An electric slide guitar plays
composer takes a naturalist approach, the natural melodic fills as embellishments and likewise, the timbre
timbre of an instrument is largely responsible for its is clean and pure, as can be heard at 1:20.
spectral quality. Within the post-trip hop style one begins to find
The notion of spectral space is also pertinent. Here, examples of spectral space that, while dense, start to
spectral space may refer to the distance between the become more opaque than those found in instrumental
highest (canopy) and lowest (root) audible sounds. hip hop.
Important factors concern the distribution of sound Trigger Hippie serves as a useful model and spec-
within this spectral space – whether it is densely packed trographic analysis shows a more diffuse spectral space
or sparsely filled, and whether the sounds are dis- with less concentration towards the root, and a less
tributed evenly, concentrated, or separated into compressed density: one can perceive gaps in the
streams with intervening spaces. Findings in each area texture. Some horizontal streams of spectral energy
help to shape how the listener perceives the sound. can be observed, with a small degree of space separ-
ating them.
5.2.1. Instrumental hip hop
5.2.3. The Bristol sound
Within instrumental hip hop, spectral components are
rarely added to a note. Rather, the instruments’ Artists working in the Bristol sound style employ a
natural timbres are most responsible for their colour different approach in terms of both inharmonic
and character. This is not to suggest that the note’s saturation and spectral space. Spectral components are
Reconciling the Bristol sound style with the trip hop genre 47
often added to a given note, thus shifting it towards reflect artificial spaces that do not exist in nature.
noise and altering the balance between pitch and Artificial spaces can become surreal to the extent
timbre as they vie for the listener’s attention. The that ‘what is heard departs from the convention for
composer’s hand is evident in the mediation process normal sound production within a particular context’
from source to listener, and the sound that we are (Brøvig-Hanssen and Danielsen 2013: 75). Smalley
finally confronted with differs from the original source. develops six categories to discuss the spatial style of a
A common approach in the Bristol sound style is to work, two of which are pertinent to this analysis.
overload a signal pathway in the mediating process, A single spatial setting relates to music that is situated
resulting in an overdriven preamp that fuses the note within a single spatial environment. The environment
with distorted noise. This has the effect of creating a can be perceived at the outset or it may be revealed
very ‘dirty’ sound and may encourage the listener to over time as the work progresses. ‘Spatial awareness is
pay greater attention to the spectral quality of a note in cumulative, and the listener eventually realises that
addition to the pitch. For example, Portishead’s there is a global spatial topology into which the whole
Wandering Star opens with a bass whose timbre is work fits’ (Smalley 1997: 124). Spatial simultaneity
noticeably distorted, produced from the fusion of note relates to music that is situated within different spatial
and noise. The bass retains this sonic signature environments simultaneously. For example, a listener
throughout the track, suggesting that this particular may perceive a very direct and intimate sound where
spectral quality of the bass functions as an integral low-level detail is evident, suggesting a tightly enclosed
element of the texture. This approach can encourage space, while simultaneously perceiving a distant sound
the listener to consider the actual sound of the bass, obfuscated by large reverberation and/or echo.
rather than simply identifying it as a bass. Smalley also raises the idea of microphone space,
Noise that moves towards note is also frequently which he describes as a ‘compositional tool for creating
heard, and often functions as part of a track’s texture. proximate spaces which beam to us small and micro-
For example, on Portishead’s Elysium a continuous scopic presences and details of spectral space’ (Smalley
noise accompanies the drums, and its resonance gives 2007: 43). Microphone space therefore becomes a
the suggestion of pitch (0:12). Its continued presence means of creating what Moore (2012) calls the intimate
along with the drums significantly alters their tone and zone within his model of proxemics, whereby the
draws the listener’s attention towards the kit. Each of vocalist is within touching distance of the listener by
these types of sound often appear as integral aspects virtue of microscopic vocal nuances.6 The use of micro-
of a track’s texture, rather than as decorative phone space to create intimacy between singer and
embellishments. listener is a frequent occurrence in the Bristol sound.
Turning to the treatment of spectral space, one
begins to find a much more transparent density in the
Bristol sound. As demonstrated by spectrographic 5.3.1. Instrumental hip hop
analysis of Wandering Star, spectral energy is often Instrumental hip hop is generally enclosed within a
concentrated around the root, opening up significant single spatial setting, and the listener is aware of this
gaps in the centre and canopy. Horizontal streams are space within the first few moments of a work. Vocal
clearly evident, they are compacted and separated by narratives are not often heard in instrumental hip hop,
intervening areas of space. These approaches can give however, when they are, the vocalist generally inhabits
an impression of emptiness to a listener, but also allow the social zone (medium distance from the listener and
for a more nuanced perception of micro-level details. situated in the centre of the soundbox). Big City Lover
If ‘high density is the enemy of low-level detail’ by DJ Krush serves as an example. The track opens
(Smalley 1997: 121), transparent density can be its ally. with saxophone and vocals and the reverb suggests a
large, empty space with numerous hard surfaces. As
5.3. Spatiomorphology the drums enter, the long reverb tail of the snare drum
is consistent with the elongated space and we perceive
Spatiomorphology is concerned with the exploration the drummer positioned towards the centre of the
of spatial properties and spatial change within a soundbox. At 0:36 the instruments suddenly stop
musical work. My focus is on spatial properties as they playing and the reverb decay is clearly heard for two
exist within Moore’s (2012) model of the soundbox, the seconds, giving the listener a clear sense of the enclosed
three dimensional space revealed by the ‘laterality of space. As the track progresses, the listener perceives
the stereo image, the perceived proximity of aspects of each instrument as being placed at a specific location
the image to a listener, and the perceived frequency within the soundbox. Certain instruments such as the
characteristics of sound-sources’ (Moore 2012: 31). saxophone are perceived as being at a greater distance
Spatial properties can reflect actual physical environ- from the listener while others, such as the vocals and
ments that the listener relates to a previously experi-
6
enced space, such as a room or concert hall, or they can For a full discussion of vocal proxemics, see Moore (2012).
48 Jeff Wragg
bass guitar, are perceived as being closer, yet each the reverb tail as it dissipates. During this time, the
instrument can be situated within the same environment. listener is aware of two spaces occurring simulta-
The spatial properties are explicitly communicated to the neously: the tightly enclosed space of the bass and
listener within the first 30 seconds of the work and, once hi-hat and the larger open space of the snare drum.
stated, do not deviate throughout the remainder of the When the vocals enter at 0:35, they are positioned
track. The vocalist is positioned in the social zone, there extremely close to the listener with only a minimal
are no microscopic vocal sounds, and she is integrated amount of reverb, suggesting the vocalist is placed
within the space rather than being positioned in within a small room whose surface absorbs most of the
front of it. reflections. At 1:00 a string section enters and their
implied space is very large with multiple hard surfaces
5.3.2. Post-trip hop spaced some distance apart. This creates a recycling
echo effect that obscures the attack of the strings and
Post-trip hop is also generally enclosed within a single highlights the vast number of reflections. At 1:24 a
spatial setting. At times the spatial properties are female voice enters and the reverb suggests a larger
revealed to the listener at the onset, however, they can room than her male counterpart, with more reflective
also be revealed over time as the work progresses. surfaces. The listener is now aware of five simultaneous
Vocalists tend to inhabit either the social or personal spaces: (from near to far) male voice; bass and hi-hat;
zone, whereby the singer is within arms’ length from female voice; snare drum; string section. The whisper-
the listener near the front of the soundbox. In Lamb’s ing quality of the vocal performance and the audible
Górecki the opening suggests a large hall with a intakes of breath place the vocalist within the intimate
medium-long decay. At 0:41 hand drums enter and zone. The close placement of the vocalist and minimal
widen the stereo spread and at 1:18 a string bass enters reverb allow for a nuanced listening of many low-level
and expands the depth of the space. At 2:00 decorative details, such as the grainy quality of the voice when he
percussive hits expand the vertical space and the sings the word ‘love’ at 0:42.
listener perceives the soundbox as expanding gradually The preceding analysis relates to the sound of trip
as the work progresses. At 2:30 the drum set enters and hop, as it is the sound that may lead to identification of
the full scope of the spectral space is revealed. The an artist or style. The analysis shows there are three
vocalist is positioned within the personal zone, slightly distinct areas in which the sound of the Bristol sound
back from the front of the soundbox. The vocalist’s differs from other trip hop-related styles. When
projection varies from soft to medium and we can listening to the Bristol sound, one is more likely to
perceive occasional vocal nuances such as a breath encounter sounds whose source and/or gesture is
intake before singing a phrase. Like instrumental hip unknown, creating an ‘otherworldly’ impression.
hop, different instruments are placed strategically Furthermore, timbres will often be distorted, resulting
around various points of the soundbox but each in a ‘dirty’ and ‘grainy’ sonic quality. Finally, surreal
instrument can still be reconciled into a singular spatial spatial environments contribute to the ‘otherworldly’
setting. quality, while perceptions of space and emptiness
allow for greater recognition of low-level details,
offering more subtle nuances to the listener.
5.3.3. The Bristol sound
In the Bristol sound we are more likely to find examples
6. CONCLUSION
of surreal spaces, as developed by the simultaneous
presentation of contradictory acoustic environments. The term ‘trip hop’ has always been problematic,
The contradictory environments do not fit easily largely due to its continued use by fans, industry and
into Moore’s model of the soundbox, as a work can academics, despite the artists’ objections. Rather than
often not be resolved into a single spatial setting. promoting one side of the discussion over the other,
Rather, the listener is aware of multiple environments I argue that the more accurate way to position these
simultaneously. Vocal performances are often based artists is within distinct styles related to the trip hop
within the intimate zone, the singer is placed at genre, as shown in Figure 2. By approaching the
touching distance from the listener and microscopic discourse through the lens of genre and style, I have
vocal nuances can be perceived. The immediate open- demonstrated three significant areas that unite trip hop
ing of Tricky’s Suffocated Love suggests a tight artists: prevalence of PLOs, opaque mediation and
enclosed space with a reasonable amount of absorbent specific intertextual references. These common areas
material. The bass guitar and hi-hat are very dry and that exist within trip hop, in addition to the importance
positioned very close to the listener, suggesting a very of the community’s viewpoint regarding genre labels,
small reverb with a fast decay. Three seconds into the may provide support to those who continue to use the
track the first snare drum hit carries a noticeably larger term. Conversely, I have demonstrated unique sonic
reverb and longer decay, and we can clearly perceive signatures of the Bristol sound regarding gestural
Reconciling the Bristol sound style with the trip hop genre 49
surrogacy, inharmonic saturation, spectral space and Mistry, A. 2011. Why Portishead Still Matters. Toronto
spatiomorphology. As it is the sound or a recording Standard. www.torontostandard.com/culture/why-portis
that may initially engage the listener, these differences head-still-matters/ (accessed 24 July 2015).
cannot be overlooked. In this article I have argued that Moore, A. F. 2012. Song Means: Analysing and Interpreting
the opposing viewpoints need not contradict each Recorded Popular Song. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.
Moorefield, V. 2005. The Producer as Composer: Shaping
other, rather they can be reconciled into a holistic
the Sounds of Popular Music. Cambridge, MA: MIT
model that may ultimately benefit artist and Press.
community alike. Negus, K. 1999. Music Genres and Corporate Cultures.
New York: Routledge.
Phillips, D. 2009. Superstar DJs Here We Go. London:
Acknowledgement
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back from Ian Whalley and Nick Braae. Trance – the Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age.
New York: Bloomsbury.
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