Sunday, November 7, 2010

Tricky - Mixed Race



Tricky, the man behind some of the most famous lyrics in early trip hop, has a new album out. Most people probably remember hearing Tricky's vocals on Massive Attack's Blue Lines. He worked with Massive Attack on that album as well as wrote some of the lyrics for Protection, at the same time his debut album Maxinquaye was receiving huge acclaim in the UK. 

Personally, it was 1997's Pre-Millenium Tension that introduced me to Tricky as a solo artist. "Makes Me Wanna Die" featuring the vocals of Martina Topley-Bird was one of those songs that stuck me deep from the first time I heard it and became a treasure hunt to regain that sense memory later in life.

The new album Mixed Race (available at Amazon) is definitely a mix of all the different influences Tricky has channeled throughout his career. Blues, trip-hop, jazz, reggae, and dance are all present on this album. Featured is a track called Kingston Logic (sometimes listed as UK Jamaican) which is actually a really kool collaboration of Daft Punk, Tricky, and a couple of other artists. I'm not sure if Terry Lynn was a part of this production. Murder Weapon was the first single put out from this album. Using the familiar Peter Gunn guitar riff, it's a catchy sound but otherwise not my choice for a featured track.

The lead song, Every Day is a heavily blues infused trip hop song which will quickly get stuck in your head. Ghetto Stars is more the dark, punk electro trip hop style I loved from Pre-Millenium Tension. Time To Dance is a really interesting track simply because it sounds a lot like some of the chill-wave we hear these days from acts like Miami Horror. Early Bird is classic jazzy Tricky with his signature voice crawling all over and under your skin.
 

--p.a.t.t.

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