【コラム】トリップ・ホップ深掘り：Massive Attack / Portishead / DJ Shadow / DJ Krush

Column en Abstract Hiphop Rap Triphop

21 Sep 2025

【コラム】トリップ・ホップ深掘り：Massive Attack / Portishead / DJ Shadow / DJ Krush

##Trihop Recommendations by age, anecdotes, and documentaries.”

Text: mmr｜Theme: Trip hop (abstract hip hop) Recommended works by era, anecdotes and legends told in the field

Trip hop (abstract hip hop) is a genre that blends sampling/turntable culture with a cinematic sonic sensibility.Here, we will delve into the four groups of Massive Attack, Portishead, DJ Shadow, and DJ Krush, including their recommended works by decade, as well as anecdotes and legends told in the field.

History and present of trip hop (abstract hip hop)

Originating in Bristol, England in the 1990s, Trip-Hop is a unique musical style that is based on hip-hop rhythms and combines downtempo, dub, jazz, ambient, and more. Led by artists such as Massive Attack, Portishead, and Tricky, its cinematic, melancholy sound was sometimes referred to as “abstract hip-hop.”

Trip hop is more than just a music genre, it has spread to the world of soundtrack production, fashion, and contemporary art, and it has new possibilities in the age of AI music generation.

Trip hop genealogy

flowchart TD A["1990s: Birth of Bristol Massive Attack"] --> B["Portishead: Noir sound"] B --> C["Tricky: Fusion with hip hop"] C --> D["2000s: Expanded to DJ Shadow and UNKLE soundtrack production"] D --> E["2020s: Connecting with AI music generation"]

Recommended by age group

flowchart LR MA90["Massive Attack: 1990s Blue Lines / Protection / Mezzanine"] MA00["2000s 100th Window / Live works"] MA10["2010s Heligoland / Soundtrack Activities"] SH90["DJ Shadow: 1990s Endtroducing...."] SH00["2000s The Private Press"] SH10["2010s〜2020s The Less You Know... / Our Pathetic Age"] PK90["Portishead: 1990s Dummy / Portishead"] PK10["2008 Third Deepening of Experimentality"] KR90["DJ Krush: 1990s Strictly Turntablized / Meiso"] KR00["2000s~Present Jaku/Saisei - Integration of Japanese elements"] MA90 --> MA00 --> MA10 SH90 --> SH00 --> SH10 PK90 --> PK10 KR90 --> KR00

Representative artists and works

Massive Attack

Masterpiece

1990s: Blue Lines (1991), Protection (1994), Mezzanine (1998)

2000s: 100th Window (2003)

2010s~: Heligoland (2010), music provided for movie soundtrack

Anecdote

Derived from the Bristol sound system “Wild Bunch”.3D (Robert Del Naja) is also famous in the street art world (rumored to have a relationship with Banksy).

Production technology

Rather than using a turntable, he “turns the studio into an instrument” and blends samples and live music.Characterized by deep bass and dub-like spatial processing.

Video works

There are short documentaries such as Unfinished: The Making of Massive Attack.Live footage can also be viewed on [Official YouTube] (https://www.youtube.com/user/massiveattack).

Portishead

Masterpiece

1990s: Dummy (1994), Portishead (1997)

2008: Third (Revival work with strong experimental flavor)

Anecdote

Beth Gibbons’s ennui vocals are said to reflect the tension and loneliness she feels on stage in her sound.

Production technology

A fusion of turntable and live instruments.Multilayered use of sampling and analog recording.

Video works

There are documentaries about 90’s tours such as “Welcome to Portishead”.

DJ Shadow

Masterpiece

1990s: Endtroducing…..(1996)

2000s: The Private Press (2002)

2010s〜: The Less You Know, The Better (2011), Our Pathetic Age (2019)

Anecdote

Endtroducing…. is set in the Guinness Book of World Records as the ``first album constructed entirely from samples.’‘Completed using MPC and turntable.

Production technology

Making full use of breakbeat reconstruction, beat juggling, and time stretching.Treat the turntable as a “collage tool”.

Video works

Appeared in DJ culture documentary “Scratch” (2001).

DJ Krush

Masterpiece

1990s: Strictly Turntablized (1994), Meiso (1995)

2000s〜: Jaku (2004), in recent years fusion with Japanese instruments and Japanese sounds

Anecdote

Presenting “Japanese tranquility” globally through world tours.He is respected by the Western hip-hop scene.

Production technology

A style that regards the turntable as an “instrument” and attempts to combine it with Japanese musical instruments and environmental sounds.Specializes not only in scratching but also in spatial production.

Video works

Appeared in DJ culture documentary “Scratch” (2001). There are archive DVDs such as “History Of DJ Krush”.

Soundtrack production × AI music generation

The cinematic feel of trip hop is perfect for creating soundtracks.In recent years, AI music generation tools have become capable of reproducing the “dark floating feeling” of trip-hop style in a short amount of time.For filmmakers, collaboration between AI and humans is opening up new creative possibilities.

summary

Trip hop evolved through the heaviness of Massive Attack, the ennui of Portishead, the sample aesthetic of DJ Shadow, and the Japanese serenity of DJ Krush. Today, it is evolving into a new era by combining AI music generation and soundtrack production.

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