What is trip-hop and where did it originate?
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Listen to Beth Gibbons’ haunting isolated vocals on Portishead song ‘Roads’
Portishead formed in 1991 after Beth Gibbons and Geoff Barrow met in the unlikely surroundings of an Enterprise Allowance course in Bristol. After realising a shared interest in music, the pair recorded their first track, ‘It Could Be Sweet’. Shortly thereafter, the early recording fell upon the ears of jazz enthusiast and producer Adrian Utley while they were jamming at Coach House Studios.
The three musicians swiftly bonded over a mutual sonic goal, named themselves after Bristol’s neighbouring coastal town and set to work on recording their debut album, Dummy.
In 1994, Portishead completed production on Dummy and had even found the time to work on a short film together. To Kill A Dead Man is a classy ten-minute noir short depicting a plot entangled with espionage and murder. The film was a conduit for exposing the world to their artistic style, featuring the eponymous soundtrack number as well as the Dummy single ‘Sour Times’ over the closing credits.
For the packaging of Dummy, Portishead selected a blurry still of Gibbons from To Kill A Dead Man. Upon its release, the debut album was nothing short of a blinding sensation. The music came as a darker, more introspective take on the blooming trip-hop sound initiated by Bristol neighbours Massive Attack.
The unique atmosphere of the album was achieved with a selection of soul and jazz samples layered with Gibbons’ shrill and poignant vocals and quaking, distorted guitar runs. Determined to record the album with a vintage feel, the band opted for analogue recording methods over the modern digital alternatives.
The analogue crackle heard throughout Dummy was produced by a collection of pre-existing and newly-recorded vinyl that had been purposefully scraped across the floor. Something unthinkable for any vinyl enthusiasts out there, but I’m sure we can all agree the outcome makes it entirely justified.
Over the past three decades, Portishead have remained somewhat reclusive, having only released a further two albums in 1997’s eponymous LP and 2008’s Third.
Earlier this year, Portishead played their first live show together in seven years at Bristol’s O2 Academy as part of a Ukraine War benefit concert. Their half-hour limit meant they had some difficult choices to make for the setlist. Understandably, the set was dominated by selections from Portishead’s 1994 Mercury Award-winning debut, consisting of ‘Mysterons’, ‘Wandering Star’, ‘Magic Doors’, ‘The Rip’ and ‘Roads’ for the finale.
‘Roads’ was the perfect closer for the charity event with its haunting, emotive presence and Gibbons’ intensely pertinent lyrics: “We’ve got a war to fight”.
Listen to the classic Dummy track, ‘Roads’, through Beth Gibbons’ haunting isolated vocals below.
