The 15 Song Album collection:

Up tempo is higher BPM ( beats per minutes).
Trip Hop being slow bpm by nature ( most tracks are below 120 bpm).
Of course it'will depend of genre: eg in D&B the standard is 175/190 bpm, anything in 150 bpm range would be 'slow'. In ambient there is often no beats so... any tracks with very slow evolving sound could do ( 20mn tracks...). ;)
Trip Hop: Massive Attack,Tricky, Portishead, Dj Shadow, Mo'Wax label...
Appeared during 90's as a down tempo variant of hip hop, originated (mainly) from UK, more accurately around Bristol.
I'm just wondering how/where one learns this kind of things, maybe learning to play a musical instrument or to sing? :sing:

However, even though I've already forgotten that, thank you very much! :cheers:
 
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If you are not musician people usually don't care about tempi ( BPM).
If you play instruments you intuitively know there is differences between feelings expressed at 60 bpm and 240 bpm. ;)

Style are often described by their tempo: in electronic music, House is around 130bpm, Techno around 150/160bpm, Hardcore 180 bpm, Breakcore 190 and up...
The same exist in rock and roll ( mid tempo), metal ( up tempo), reggae ( mid tempo),...
 
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Trip Hop: Massive Attack,Tricky, Portishead, Morcheeba, Dj Shadow, Londinium, Mo'Wax label,...

Appeared during 90's as a down tempo variant of hip hop mixed with dub, soul,etc,etc... originated (mainly) from UK, more accurately around Bristol (Massive Attack and Tricky are from Bristol, Portishead is the name of a small village nearby,...).
From USA Dj Shadow 2 first album ( Endtroducing, and The Private Press).
People like Air ( France), Hooverphonic (Belgium) produced tracks in the style.
MO'WAX had 'Headz1 and 2' as sampler of the style including different artists from around the globe.
Thanks for that, although having listened to all the artists you've listed, I can't really see any connection to hip hop, which to me seems pretty much all words and no tune.
All the artists you've listed sound like soul to me, very melodic.
Then again, to be honest i don't really see how whoever classifies music into genres arrives at their conclusions.
 
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Hi Patrick,
Well classifiyng makes no sense we agree. But all those artists emerged more or less at the same time, from the same place ( at least for the 'main' ones ) and they had a sound of their own, ahead of what was availlable at the moment. They shared slow tempo, very 'atmospheric' tunes,... there is links to all other genres UK invented at the time ( 3D which is MA leader was a grapher ( street art/graffity, rumors says he is Bansky) in same crew as Goldie which was one of the inventor of D&B and whose girlfriend was Bjork at the time...).

I definitely see links with hip hop ( Listen to Massive Attack's 'Karmacoma' or 'Day Dreaming' there is very 'hip hop' rap- now defined as 'boom bap' by new school rappers) but slower and more melodic.
The genius way you from UK have to twist music and make it something different and new ( how jealous we are from you! At least i'am! :) ).

If you listen to Dj Shadow 'endtroducing' which is mostly instrumental, you'll hear too why it's 'hip hop' inspired: the whole album is produced with a pair of Technics 1200, a huge collection of vinyl and an Akai MPC. Same gear/production technique used by hip hop artists of the time ( Wu Tang Clan, Cypress Hill,...). It's a real masterpiece no instruments were used except turntable and mpc, at the time he was compared to Hendrix and how he revolutionised the guitar, but for Shadow instrument was the sampler. Sound is more 'USA' to me too.

It's present in Massive Attack too but the Caraibean influence is bigger which is not surprising given 2 of the three founding members originated from those community. And they put in front great voices female and male ( they gave Horace Andy a second carreer, had Shinead O'connor, Tracey Thorn, Nicolette, Elizabeth Frazier, Terry Callier, Madonna,...)

Portishead never understood why they were associated with this genre. In their first album there is scratch used and samplers too but the overall feel is really different. And they made a point to never release anything close to their previous album soundwise. Hence few album released since 93 ( 3 album+ 1 live). Maybe Beth Gibbons voice in front is part of their association with trip hop ( such a great voice).

There was other less known bands like Earthling or derivative from New-York ( Dj Spooky) or other place ( Dj Cam, Dj Krush, Archive, Goldfrapp,...).

Classifying probably comes from press. Anyway it helped to define a kind of sound/band.

Nothing more or less... like all ( most?) artists they are all unique.
 
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