21st August 1999
Tricky
Tonight's Playlist

 
Tonight rage plays videos by Tricky, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim & Others

Even among the chosen few artists currently experimenting with the sonic structures of black pop music, Tricky walks to the beat of a different drum-machine. "I’ve always felt comfortable doing things the hard way instead of going for the obvious," says Tricky. "I’ve never been into compromising my sound for anyone else."

On his latest opus, entitled Juxtapose, Tricky has fallen down a surrealist rabbit hole where player slayers dwell and blunted beats have become the constant soundtrack; an illmatic world where electric-guitars blare, gleaming turntables scream, and above it all Tricky’s inimitable vocals moan in the mix. "I chose to name this disc Juxtapose because the concept was to create a hybrid of my favourite music," says Tricky.

"I developed a passion for music an early age," remembers Tricky. "I listened to everything from reggae to punk but it was the sound of hip-hop that would change my life."

Transfixed by the powerful sounds of America’s gritty underground, which included the holy trinity of Rakim, Chuck D and Slick Rick, young Adrian (Tricky) Thaws’ entire musical aesthetic shifted once he began to absorb these boastful, foreign voices from across the ocean. "The first time I heard Slick Rick doing ‘La-Di-Da-Di’, I’d never heard anything like it in my entire life. "From that moment, I started telling my homeboys I was a rapper; in fact, I told people I was a rapper for a year before I even wrote my first rhyme."

Over a decade later, when Tricky began mixing the monster movie funk and spooky electric spunk of his sonic cocktails – smoky dub – Maxinquaye (1995), Pre-Millennium Tension, Angels With Dirty Faces (1996) and countless side projects, he still embraced the words of rap-speak. "When I first came out everyone considered me an alternative artist, but, in my opinion there is no music more alternative than hip-hop," says Tricky. "And, in the same way I think producers like Premier and Rza are wicked, there are hip-hop producers who have been checking my style."

Witness Juxtapose, an album that marks the first time Tricky has decided to loosen his creative reigns in favor of boombastic collaborations. "I’ve never allowed another producer to incorporate their music into my albums," explains Tricky. "But there are dudes like DJ Muggs (of Cypress Hill fame) and Grease (Ruff Ryders, DMX producer) that I really wanted to work with," says Tricky. "And with Juxtapose I feel that my original vision has become a reality."

"I was familiar with Grease’s work, so I felt privileged that he wanted to work with me," says Tricky excitedly. "We went into the studio and straight away he played me material that just blew me away. Unlike a lot of hip-hop producers, Grease has this ability to make big songs with a diverse sensibility that goes beyond the genre."

On "Born Born Diggy," the first track that Tricky and Grease worked on together, it’s obvious that these two creative darlings were made for each other. The track also introduces the potent rhyme style of Mad Dog (from the UK hip-hop outfit London Posse), perhaps the illest rapper to rise above the London fog.

Listening to the intense "Hot Like Sauna," which also utilizes Mad Dog’s bark and Grease’s slippery sound, "Tricky also finds room to showcase his latest vocal discovery Kioka. "It was decided that Martina would concentrate on creating her solo album, so I had to find a different voice," explains Tricky, who has also signed Kioka to his Durbin Poison label. "Her voice is almost magical."

Tricky recorded the track "She Said", with its futuristic Latin beat and lush production, while hanging with DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill fame in Miami. "I never hung out more in my life," recalls Tricky. "And in Miami, there were a lot of Spanish girls who were always talking to me. It was the beautiful Cuban women of Miami that the song was written about." In addition, Muggs co-produced the first single off the album, "For Real," the song asks other creative artists to tone down their own gangsta-centric language on wax.

"Of course there were true artists like Biggie who had an understanding of real violence, but there are many others who just get a kick out of being shocking. For most it’s not about struggling but being an urban cowboy and that can be very boring.

Stephane Sednaoui who directed the acclaimed "Christiansands" video from Pre-millenium... will be behind the camera for the "For Real" video.

Although most of his fans are aware of what hip-hop has offered Tricky, one is still curious of what he can offer the culture itself. "Hip-hop is part of my history and I feel my musical stance brings a different perspective to an art form that I love and respect. I’m not trying to be a tough guy or a pimp and I feel that Juxtapose can bring a different way of thinking about hip-hop."