Music to Make Love to Your Lady By
Trip-hop was born twice and likewise died two deaths. This moody, sample-heavy music came to the fore both in the United States and in England, although the British sound (most specifically that from Bristol) is the one most readily labeled with the tag.
The two schools of trip-hop came from different backgrounds to produce two similar, yet distinctive sounds. The American school, typified by DJ Shadow, had its most immediate
roots in hip-hop, which established sampling as a key production technique. The British school pulled from more sources, adding in rock song structure and dub reggae production techniques along with orchestral flourishes. In both cases, the music was lo-fi, atmospheric, and spacey.
The music saw a peak in the late nineties, after which the genre lost its high profile. The hip-hop school was reticent from the start to adopt the trip-hop label, while the Bristol sound saw a glut of mediocre acts which turned off an over-saturated public. Some of the same techniques remained in the larger downtempo genre, and some of the acts are still around today, but the hype machine moved on.
Locally, there are some people that are still holding up the trip-hop flame. Some of the acts from Fourthcity (often seen at the Lo-Fi) can be classified as trip-hop, although they've extended the sound even further to incorporate laptop production. There is also Xentropic, a monthly night at the Mercury dedicated to the genre. Rather than merely playing what would amount to Trip-Hop's Greatest Hits, the resident DJs play a set of these staple artists as well as an international mix of their stylistic descendants. It's very much a night where you're as likely to hear tracks from France, Portugal and Japan as those from Bristol. Regardless of origin, the music and dimly lit space are perfect for getting your slow groove on, or merely bobbing your head as you sip your drink (and they know the art of the slow pour, so pace yourself). Trip-hop may be dead to the mainstream, but it lives on in the underground.
Xentropic
The Mercury, 1009 Lower E Union St (Down the Alley between Auto Battery and
the thrift store)
3rd Thursday of the Month (yes, that's tonight)
9pm-2am
$4
