Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but trip hop was a term coined for the UK scene in the mid-90s with groups like Tricky, Portishead, Amon Tobin etc... it started off as a blend of hip hop and electronica, but evolved like all music. In essense, trip hop is downtempo.

If I was you, I'd categorize it all as downtempo.

Chill out.

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tricky is awesome.

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quote:

Originally posted by corjay9 Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but trip hop was a term coined for the UK scene in the mid-90s with groups like Tricky, Portishead, Amon Tobin etc... it started off as a blend of hip hop and electronica, but evolved like all music. In essense, trip hop is downtempo. If I was you, I'd categorize it all as downtempo.

your correct on the history behind it. Do you think I should still categorize groups like Tricky, Portishead, Massive Attack under the same genre. I mean if you listen to them and then you listen to a group like Pretty Lights, you can tell there is a distinct difference.

Pandora kind of explains the difference:

They say that "Downtempo is an all-inclusive term for laid-back electronic music that falls between electronic dance music (house, trance, techno) and ambient music (Brian Eno, Steve Roach, etc.). Like electronic dance music, downtempo has a definite beat and structure. However, it is slower, and is more likely to use dub-like hypnotic effects a la ambient music."

They say that "Trip-hop in its broadest scope is any type of electronic music with enhanced texture over beats from rap music. Trip-hop was developed in England in the 1990s, and gained popularity through artists like Portishead, Massive Attack, and Tricky.

Musicologically, trip-hop is characterized by the heavy use of samples and breakbeats, mellow tempo (85-110 bpm), minor key tonality, swung 16th notes, and heavy emphasis on sung vocals. "Trip-hop roots" refers to music that utilizes the musical aspects of trip-hop."


However, what I've found is that there are select songs that Theivery Corporation has produced that have "dub-like hypnotic effects a la ambient music" for example the outernationalist and radio retaliation just to name a few. DJ Krush has a song called "On The Dub-Ble" (Fabulous song by the way) that also shares these effects as well. The problem with this, is that they are both categorized as Trip-hop. That's my main problem. I'm a bit anal when it comes to organizing music, so I hate for this to be anyone's problem, i just maybe need an easy way/better way to explain each genre. That way, I'll be able to distinguish between the two. My instincts tell me that the two are quite different from one another. There are obvious differences, but describing them is the most difficult.

Thanks,

Mikey

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I've found some more things. This actually makes it easier for me to understand. One guy posted on another forum that the differences is:

"If a track is mellow, with strong soul, jazz and/or house elements, but too slow for working up a sweat on the dancefloor, that's downtempo.

If a track is slow, dark, with surreal or trippy effects and a heavy, reverbed beat, that's trip-hop."


And then http://www.triphop-music.com/faq#1 has posted what trip-hop consisted of.

Now I'm about 90% positive I know the difference between the two now. Does anyone disagree with anything I've said thus far?

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Too slow = down-tempo

Trippy elements = trip-hop

kk

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The main difference between the two is tempo, trip hop is usually mid tempo while downtempo, well is just that. Also Trip Hop is typically funk drum beats, but some rock fusion as well. Trip Hop also usually incorporates other techniques that are standard traits, like sampling drums or a loop from an old track and using it in the new track "Turntablism", scratching or other Hip Hop techniques.

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I remember being that anal about organizing my music too, however these days I'm glad I grew out of it, especially after seeing posts like this. Completely pointless dilemmas and needless headaches that are only good for diverting your attention from the music itself.

You'll have to understand that there are no official rules for genre naming, and that there are no electronic music headquarters that have all the electronic music classified by some standards. Everyone has a different label for a certain area of music, and you'll get nowhere if you try to reach an agreement over some questionable label (like downtempo) over the forum.

So it's best to discard the labels all together, but if you really have to have the "genre tag" filled up it's best to do it the way you think it fits. At the end, it's not really a tragedy to have Massive Attack categorized under downtempo, together with Ulrich Schnauss and The Orb for example.

Sljiva is right. When you just start learning about all the different genres out there you think they are scientific categories with specific meanings. After a couple of years, you realise they're the opposite.

"Downtempo" is not a genre. It just means "slow music".

"Trip-hop" is a term coined by Mixmag to refer to the solemn, soulful hip-hop coming out of Bristol at the beginning of the 90s.

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I don't think it's really that bad to spend time categorizing stuff so long as you aren't totally conditioned or obsessed

so I took a shit and thought about this ...

they are both subgenres of breaks & basically interchangeable terms. "downtempo" is a little more inclusive while "trip-hop" is historical.

SYSTEM-J, you are definitely wrong about "downtempo" - house and techno both have tracks below 110bpm but they still retain their genre characteristics.