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"Karmacoma" | ||||
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Single by Massive Attack | ||||
from the album Protection | ||||
Released | 20 March 1995 [1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 5:21 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Massive Attack singles chronology | ||||
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"Karmacoma" is a song by British trip hop collective Massive Attack, released as the third and final single from their second album, Protection , on 20 March 1995. It contains rap vocals from band members 3D and Tricky. Tricky also recorded his own version of "Karmacoma", renamed "Overcome" for his debut studio album, Maxinquaye .
Massive Attack themselves recorded a second version of the song (without Tricky) renamed "Fake the Aroma" on The Help Album , a compilation album for the charity War Child. The music video for "Karmacoma" was directed by Jonathan Glazer, his first.
The main rhythmic structure of the track is a loop taken from Nusret Fateh Ali Khan qawali 'Dam mast qalender mast mast'. [2] The melodic refrain (at 0:54) is taken from the opera Prince Igor by Russian composer Alexander Borodin, and also includes a sample of Tuvan throat singing also used by The KLF in "Dream Time in Lake Jackson", both of which come from the documentary 'Herders of Mongun Taiga'. [3] The bass line sample featured on the Portishead remix is the same bass line used by Serge Gainsbourg in the song "Melody" from his 1971 album Histoire de Melody Nelson . [4] The "Napoli Trip Mix" of the song by Italian band Almamegretta contains samples from Roberto Paci Dalò's record "Napoli", released in 1993. The Startled Insects wrote the music for this track (Tim Norfolk and Bob Locke).
"Overcome" | ||||
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Single by Tricky | ||||
from the album Maxinquaye | ||||
Released | January 1995 | |||
Genre | Trip hop | |||
Length | 4:30 | |||
Label | 4th & B'way Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Tricky | |||
Producer(s) | Tricky, Mark Saunders | |||
Tricky singles chronology | ||||
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Tricky remade "Karmacoma" for his 1995 debut album Maxinquaye under the title "Overcome", enlisting Martina Topley-Bird to sing his lyrics and incorporating a sample of Shakespears Sister's 1992 song "Moonchild". [5] It was released as the third single from the album, a month before the album release. David Bennun from The Quietus later called his version "a thick, unquiet fever dream – and an almost cubist vision of a moment in time that encompasses within the same frame a couple walking through quiet suburbs as the Gulf War rages three thousand miles away". [6] In an interview for Melody Maker , Tricky was asked about the sexual nature of the song and other material on Maxinquaye, to which he responded:
No, no, not at all. Even the parts that are about sex ain't about sex. Like in Overcome: ‘You and I walking through the suburbs / We're not exactly lovers’. Then it goes, ‘And then you wait / For the next Kuwait’. You could be walking down the street with your girlfriend, and at the same moment Kuwait is getting bombed. It's to do with a moment in time. I'm trying to be three dimensional. It's about the world. I suppose there is a lot of sex and violence in the world. We're like – Martina, what's that word – sociologists? Is that a word? We're documentarians. That's what we do. We document the situations around us. Violence. Death. Sex. Money. Deviousness. [7]
According to AllMusic critic Amy Hanson, the intensely "breathless and claustrophobic" song is still one of trip hop's best works: "Featuring Martina Topley-Bird's clear, otherworldly vocals, the song is constructed around a thrumming slow, low heartbeat bass beat and looped catch of breath that becomes earnest yearning – an act of foreplay which frames the lyrics, 'don't want to be on top of your list, and never been properly kissed.'" [5] The song was featured on the soundtrack to the 1995 film Strange Days . [8]
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 forms of electronic music, as well as sampling from movie soundtracks and other eclectic sources.
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.
Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The group currently consists of Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall.
Downtempo is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may be played in relaxation clubs or as "warm-up or cool-down" music during a DJ set. Examples of downtempo subgenres include trip hop, ambient house, chillwave, psybient and lofi hip hop.
Dummy is the debut studio album by English electronic music band Portishead, released on 22 August 1994 by Go! Beat Records.
Martina Gillian Topley-Bird is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who first gained fame as the featured female vocalist on trip hop pioneer Tricky's debut album, Maxinquaye (1995). She also worked with him on his subsequent albums, Nearly God and Pre-Millennium Tension. In 2003, Topley-Bird released her debut solo album, Quixotic, which was critically praised and earned her a Mercury Prize nomination.
Protection is the second studio album by English electronic music group Massive Attack, released on 26 September 1994 by Wild Bunch Records and Circa. DJ Mad Professor remixed the album in 1995 under the name No Protection.
"Milk" is a song written and produced by American alternative rock band Garbage from their self-titled debut studio album (1995). The song was released internationally the following year as the album's fifth and final single. Garbage collaborated with trip hop musician Tricky on a new version of "Milk" for single release. Much media comment was made regarding a rumoured fall-out over the sessions, when it became known that Garbage produced a further mix of "Milk" that only incorporated Tricky's vocals from that session.
"Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" is a song on the American hip hop group Public Enemy's 1988 album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. It was released as a single in 1989. The song tells the story of a conscientious objector who makes a prison escape. It is built on a high-pitched piano sample from Isaac Hayes' "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic", from 1969's Hot Buttered Soul.
Histoire de Melody Nelson is a 1971 concept album by French singer and songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. Produced by Jean-Claude Desmarty, the album was released on March 24, 1971 through Philips Records. Its narrative follows an illicit romance which develops between the middle-aged narrator and fourteen-year-old girl Melody Nelson, portrayed on the album and its cover art by Gainsbourg's then-partner Jane Birkin.
Quixotic is the debut album by English singer-songwriter Martina Topley-Bird. The album spans several musical styles including trip hop, electronic and rock. It was co-written and produced by Topley-Bird and received positive reviews from music critics upon its release and was shortlisted for the 2003 Mercury Music Prize. Quixotic also includes a collaboration with musician Tricky, with whom Topley-Bird collaborated prior to her solo work.
Maxinquaye is the debut album by English rapper and producer Tricky, released on 20 February 1995 by 4th & B'way Records, a subsidiary of Island Records. In the years leading up to the album, Tricky had grown frustrated with his limited role in the musical group Massive Attack and wanted to pursue an independent project. Shortly after, he met with vocalist Martina Topley-Bird, who he felt would offer a wider vision to his music, and signed a solo contract with 4th & B'way in 1993. Tricky recorded Maxinquaye the following year primarily at his home studio in London, with Topley-Bird serving as the album's main vocalist, while Alison Goldfrapp, Ragga and Mark Stewart performed additional vocals.
Nearly God is the unofficial second album by English rapper and producer Tricky. It was released in February 1996 under the pseudonym "Nearly God", which originated from an interview during which Tricky was asked "so how does it feel to be God... well, nearly God."
Pre-Millennium Tension is the second album from English rapper and producer Tricky, released in 1996. It was a conscious effort by Tricky to depart away from the trip hop label with which critics had described his previous music. The album was well received by critics, being named the ninth best record of the year in the 1996 Pazz & Jop poll.
DJ-Kicks: Daddy G is a DJ mix album, mixed by Daddy G of the band Massive Attack. It was released on 25 October 2004 on the Studio !K7 independent record label as part of the DJ-Kicks series.
Angels with Dirty Faces is the third album of English musician Tricky, released in 1998. The title is taken from the film of the same name.
The discography of British trip hop group Portishead consists of three studio albums, one live album, one compilation, ten singles and one video album. The Bristol-based band consists of Geoff Barrow, Beth Gibbons and Adrian Utley.
Singles 90/98 is a limited edition 11 disc compilation album by Massive Attack released in 1998. It features all their vinyl and CD singles collected until 1998 with B-sides and a host of remixes totalling 63 tracks.
Ian Caple is an English recording engineer, record producer, programmer and mixer.
Ununiform is the thirteenth studio album by English trip hop artist Tricky. It was released by False Idols on 22 September 2017. Three singles were taken from this album, 'The Only Way', 'When We Die' and 'Running Wild', all of them released before the album. And alternative version of 'The Only Way' was uploaded on Tricky personal Soundcloud account a few weeks after the original, and later released as a single in 2018, this version was also included in the physical releases of the album, but unlisted in the back cover. The album features a variety of guest vocalists, including Russian rappers, American vocalists, his usual collaborator Francesca Belmonte, and Tricky's frequent-collaborator and former girlfriend Martina Topley-Bird.