porkchop

Hello everyone, expanding my musical horizons for what feels like the millionth time this year. I'm going to start discovering Trip Hop artists by starting off with Portishead, what I am wondering right now is what album should I start off with?

And if I enjoy Portishead, which artists should I move to from there?

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SATCHMO

I'm sure many will recommend Dummy aas Portishead's best album, but I prefer their self-titled album. The production is so much better and all in all I feel it's a better listening experience start to finish.

For other trip hop albums I'd definitely recommend Tricky's Maxinquaye, DJ Shadow's Endtroducing, and Massive Attack's Mezzanine as staples of the genre.

porkchop

Thanks. Would you recommend listening to both the self titled and Dummy as opposed to just picking one?

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Paedantic Basterd

Mezzanine is quintessential.

SATCHMO

Well, Dummy was their most successful album, so it could easily be argued that it's essential listening; I just prefer their self-titled album. It's your world though.

porkchop

I'm currently a little past halfway through Dummy. I have never heard Trip Hop before so I literally did not have a single idea of what to expect. It's quite mellow and relaxed really. The name made me expect something for high strung people. I can dig it and listen to it. Don't know if it's going to go into my top 25 genres to listen to though. However, I can see the appeal of it and will certainly dig deeper into the genre and listen to the current recommendations.

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SATCHMO

I don't think that Portishead is the epitome of trip hop. I kind of consider them more down tempo, however if pressed to define the genre, I really couldn't. It's criteria is fairly vague, but Pedestrian is definitely right about Mezzanine. It's a genre-defining album. That and Maxinquaye by Tricky.

porkchop

Well, I am thinking when Dummy is finished I'll move on to their self-titled and then onto the other recommendations. I have been doing some reading on it while listening, as far as I can gather it is a highly experimental genre. I'll have a go at Mezzanine sometime tonight, since it is somewhat a genre-defining album and let you guys know how I feel about it.

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Zer0

I endorse everything that's been mentioned already, also Massive Attack's Blue Lines is nearly just as essential as Mezzanine.

I also recommend Lamb's self-titled album from 1996. There's a nice drum 'n' bass influence flowing through their music which makes them stand out from the likes of Portishead and Massive Attack. It's definitely an album you need good headphones for as the production is amazing.

Here's a little taster:

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Cuthbert

C/s

I would start with Blue Lines.