Bristol, the epicenter of trip hop

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Trip Hop Pioneers: The Wild Bunch

At the pique of hip hop's initial popularity in Bristol, a new group called The Wild Bunch created their own spin on the genre.  The Wild Bunch were a collection of artists, Dj's, and audio engineers who were one of the first to created what would become known as "The Bristol Sound", later dubbed Trip Hop. 

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Because there was an audience for Hip Hop, Trip Hop found itself a crowd of dedicated listeners. 

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The growth of downtempo 

While the group disbanded, many members would continue on their own projects that would influence the genre into what it is today:

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• Former members of the Wild Bunch would become Massive Attack, a huge name in trip hop 

• Björk's album Debut was produced by former Wild Bunch member Nellee Hooper

• Tricky, once MC of the Wild Bunch, would release his own music that would receive critical acclaim, as well as collaborate often with Massive Attack

• During the making of Massive Attack's EP Blue Lines, Portishead engineer Geoff Barrow had been working with them in the studio and was inspired by their sound to create his own spin on trip hop.  

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Breaking into mainstream music

Trip Hop expanded out of the Bristol's underground stream of music consciousness with the popularity of Portishead's Dummy.  That was the most exposure the genre got up to that point.

More trip hop released would receive critical acclaim, and while trip hop hasn't necessarily become mainstream, elements of downtempo are incorporated into many popular genres and bands. 

• Artists/Bands: Gorillaz, Radiohead, Beth Orton, Lana Del Rey...

• Genres: Lofi hip hop, illiben, pop...

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