Alpha (band)

Last updated

Alpha
Origin Bristol, England [1]
Genres Trip hop [2]
Years active1996present
LabelsDon't Touch Recordings, Melankolic
MembersCorin Dingley
Wendy Stubbs
Hannah Collins
Past membersAndy Jenks
Martin Barnard
Helen White
Peter Wild
Website www.alphaheaven.com

Alpha is an English post-trip hop group. It comprises founding member Corin Dingley, vocalist and lyricist Wendy Stubbs and Hannah Collins; other founding member, Andy Jenks, left the group before the release of their 2007 album, The Sky Is Mine .

Contents

Originally working under the name "Ariel", the duo of Dingley and Jenks came together in 1995 after both had worked on various projects in the Bristol area, home of trip hop groups Massive Attack and Portishead.

Like Massive Attack, Alpha recruited singers to add vocals to their downtempo, beat-driven compositions of the late 1990s, which led to them being included in the category of "post trip hop".

Their debut album, Come from Heaven , was the first release on Massive Attack's Melankolic label in 1997. They are currently on Don't Touch Recordings, a label they founded.

A collaboration with reggae vocalist Horace Andy, entitled Two Phazed People, was released in 2009. [3]

Corin Dingley, one of the founding members of Alpha, continues to release music such as Lockdown (2020) and Loving Nobody(2015) that features vocals from Joe Cassidy (Butterfly Child), Hannah Collins, Jamie Gingell (Secret Shine), Kate Stables (This Is the Kit), Wendy Stubbs and Jesse D Vernon (Morning Star).

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations albums

EPs

Singles

Related Research Articles

Trip hop is a musical genre that originated in the late 1980s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound, often incorporating elements of jazz, soul, funk, reggae, dub, R&B, and other genres, typically of electronic music, as well as sampling from movie soundtracks and other eclectic sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tricky (rapper)</span> British rapper and record producer (born 1968)

Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws, better known by his stage name Tricky, is a British record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Bristol, in southwest England, he began his career as an early member of the band Massive Attack, alongside Robert Del Naja, Grant Marshall & Andrew Vowles. Through his work with Massive Attack and other artists, Tricky became a major figure in the Bristol underground scene, which gave rise to multiple internationally recognized artists and the music genre of trip hop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massive Attack</span> English trip hop group

Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles. The group currently consists of Del Naja, Daddy G and Tricky.

<i>Blue Lines</i> 1991 studio album by Massive Attack

Blue Lines is the debut studio album by English electronic music group Massive Attack, released on 8 April 1991 by Wild Bunch and Virgin Records. The recording was led by members Grantley "Daddy G" Marshall, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, and Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles, with co-production by Jonny Dollar. It also features contributions by singers Shara Nelson and Horace Andy. Generally regarded as the first "trip hop" album, Blue Lines blended elements of hip hop with dub, soul, reggae, and electronic music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horace Andy</span> Jamaican singer (born 1951)

Horace Andy is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass", and "Five Man Army" with English trip hop group Massive Attack. He is also famous for a cover version of "Ain't No Sunshine". Andy is often described as one of the most respected and influential singers in Jamaica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mad Professor</span> Musical artist

Neil Joseph Stephen Fraser known by his stage-name Mad Professor, is a British dub music producer, engineer and remixer. He has collaborated with reggae artists Lee "Scratch" Perry, Sly and Robbie, Pato Banton, Jah Shaka and Horace Andy, as well as artists outside the realm of traditional reggae and dub, such as Sade, Massive Attack, The Orb, Gaudi, the Brazilian DJ Marcelinho da Lua, Grace Jones, and Perry Farrell.

<i>Mezzanine</i> (album) 1998 studio album by Massive Attack

Mezzanine is the third studio album by English electronic music group Massive Attack, released on 20 April 1998 by Circa and Virgin Records. For the album, the group began to explore a darker aesthetic, and focused on a more atmospheric style influenced by British post-punk, industrial music, hip hop and dub music. The album spawned four singles, “Risingson”, “Teardrop”, “Angel” and “Inertia Creeps”. It’s the group’s first album to not feature the input of rapper Tricky and the last to feature Andrew “Mushroom” Vowles. It also marked the first collaboration between Robert Del Naja and producer Neil Davidge.

Paul Andrew "Nellee" Hooper is a British record producer, remixer and songwriter known for his work with many major recording artists beginning in the late 1980s. He also debuted as a motion picture music composer with Scottish composer Craig Armstrong and Marius de Vries for the soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet in 1996.

<i>The Impossible Thrill</i> 2001 studio album by Alpha

The Impossible Thrill is a studio album by Alpha. It was released on Melankolic in 2001. It includes vocal contributions from Martin Barnard, Wendy Stubbs, and Helen White.

<i>Come from Heaven</i> 1997 studio album by Alpha

Come from Heaven is the debut studio album by Alpha. It was released on Massive Attack's record label, Melankolic, in 1997. It includes vocal contributions from Martin Barnard, Wendy Stubbs, and Helen White. "Sometime Later" peaked at number 91 on the UK Singles Chart.

The Paragons were a ska and rocksteady vocal group from Kingston, Jamaica, initially active in the 1960s. Their most famous track was "The Tide Is High", written by band member John Holt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protection (Massive Attack song)</span> 1995 single by Massive Attack

"Protection" is a collaboration between English trip hop collective Massive Attack and Tracey Thorn from English duo Everything but the Girl. The song appears on Massive Attack's second studio album, Protection (1994). Released as a single on 9 January 1995 by Wild Bunch and Circa, "Protection" reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, staying on the chart for four weeks, and also peaked at number 27 in New Zealand. Michel Gondry directed the accompanying music video. The song was also included on Everything but the Girl's compilation The Best of and Like the Deserts Miss the Rain.

<i>The Sky Is Mine</i> 2007 studio album by Alpha

The Sky Is Mine is a studio album by Alpha. It was released in the United Kingdom and Europe on 18 September 2007 and released in the United States on 19 February 2008. Founding member Andy Jenks left shortly after the sessions for the album began, leaving other founding member and producer Corin Dingley, joined by long-time Alpha vocalist Wendy Stubbs and keyboardist Peter Wild, to complete the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Davidge</span> British composer (born 1962)

Neil Davidge is an English record producer, songwriter, film score composer and musician. Once an associate of dance producers DNA, he is best known as the long-term co-writer and producer for trip hop collective Massive Attack. In 1997, he also produced the Sunna album One Minute Science. During that time he has established a career as a film score composer including projects such as Push, Bullet Boy, Trouble the Water, and additional music for Clash of the Titans.

<i>Stargazing</i> (Alpha album) 2003 studio album by Alpha

Stargazing is a studio album by Alpha. It was released on Don't Touch in 2003. It includes vocal contributions from Wendy Stubbs, Helen White, Martin Barnard, and Kelvin Swaybe.

Elvin Estela, better known by his stage name Nobody, is an American hip hop producer based in Los Angeles, California. He is a resident DJ at Low End Theory. He has collaborated with 2Mex, Abstract Rude, Freestyle Fellowship, Busdriver, and Mystic Chords of Memory. He has also been a member of Blank Blue and Bomb Zombies. Better Propaganda placed him at number 73 on the "Top 100 Artists of the Decade" list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angel (Massive Attack song)</span> 1998 single by Massive Attack

"Angel" is a song by English trip hop group Massive Attack, featuring the vocals and songwriting from Horace Andy, and is partially based on Andy's song "You Are My Angel". It was released as the third single from their third studio album, Mezzanine (1998), on 13 July 1998. "Angel" peaked at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart.

Cloud rap is a subgenre of rap that has several sonic characteristics of trap music and is known for its hazy, dreamlike and relaxed production style. Rapper Lil B and producer Clams Casino have been identified as the early pioneers of the style. The term "cloud rap" is derived from its internet origins and ethereal style.

References

  1. Nickson, Chris (January 1998). "Alpha: Melancholy, With A Twist". CMJ New Music Monthly : 9.
  2. Garcia, Guy (25 October 1998). "MUSIC; Trip-Hop Reinvents Itself to Take on the World". The New York Times . Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  3. Dietzel, Andrew (12 November 2009). "Horace Andy and Alpha: Two Phazed People". PopMatters . Retrieved 29 August 2017.