Hayes' Soul, Tricky's Shadow

Tricky's Maxinquaye transforms Isaac Hayes's 1971 soul samples into dark, gritty trip-hop, a sound that defines Bristol's mid-90s scene alongside Massive Attack and Portishead.

Tracklist

  1. 'Ike's Rap II' — Isaac Hayes
  2. Hell Is Round The Corner — Tricky
  3. Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic — Isaac Hayes
  4. Ponderosa — Tricky
  5. Karmacoma — Massive Attack
  6. Numb — Portishead
  7. Christiansands — Tricky

Transcript

Welcome to OffStereo. Hope your afternoon's going well. Let's dig in.

Trace the sample: Isaac Hayes's "Ike's Rap II" inside Tricky's "Hell Is Round the Corner. Let me frame the thread before we drop into the music.

'Ike's Rap II' — Isaac Hayes

We're going straight to the source of that iconic melancholic piano, bassline, and drum groove. This is the original foundation sampled by Tricky.

Hell Is Round The Corner — Tricky

Tricky's "Hell Is Round the Corner" masterfully recontextualizes Isaac Hayes's "Ike's Rap II." Tricky, with co-producer Mark Saunders, heavily altered the original's melancholic strings and woozy bassline, slowing them down and pitching them into a gritty, paranoid backdrop. Saunders recalled Tricky's preference for sounds that were "really slow and grainy and screwed-up."

Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic — Isaac Hayes

The original "Ike's Rap II" comes from Isaac Hayes's 1971 double album, *Black Moses*. Hayes's work on that record, and in tracks like this one, "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic," showcases his signature, cinematic orchestral soul arrangements, which became a goldmine for samplers in later decades.

Ponderosa — Tricky

This transformation of Hayes's smooth, introspective soul into a dark, atmospheric trip-hop anthem defined Tricky's sound. *Maxinquaye*, his 1995 debut solo album featuring tracks like "Ponderosa," delivered a "groove-oriented downbeat, hazy and fragmented sound" that pushed the genre's boundaries.

Karmacoma — Massive Attack

Tricky's debut followed his departure from Massive Attack, and the Bristol music scene was a hotbed of such innovation. Massive Attack's "Karmacoma" shares a similar dark, introspective mood and groundbreaking use of samples, providing crucial context for Tricky's unique artistic vision.

Numb — Portishead

The simultaneous sampling of "Ike's Rap II" by both Tricky and Portishead for their 1995 single "Glory Box" highlights the interconnectedness of Bristol's artists. Despite some contention, both songs, along with Portishead's "Numb," are considered impressive and unique masterpieces of production.

Christiansands — Tricky

Tricky continued to evolve his sound, moving further into unsettling and experimental territory. "Christiansands," from his follow-up album *Pre-Millennium Tension*, demonstrates a progression towards more aggressive and industrial textures, maintaining his signature dark atmosphere beyond *Maxinquaye*.

Thank you for listening to OffStereo. It's truly amazing how a familiar voice can be reborn, finding new purpose and telling a completely different story.

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