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Portishead - Dummy [Go! Discs - 1994]When this CD was released in 1994, the trip-hop history was about to deviate toward a more mainstream status. This is the album that did what Massive Attack couldn't do alone: bring the hypnotic beats to a larger audience and this without compromising the formula (as the Sneaker Pimps later did). Sure some trip-hop bands were getting praise at the time and had cult status, but this is the album that crossed the ocean from England all the way to North America and the rest of the world!The music contained on this CD could be described simply as jazzy trip-hop but, to make it clearer to the non-initiated, let's enumerate what are the ingredients of that sub-genre of electronic music: it takes the elastic beats of hip-hop (the slower and less upbeat ones) and sheds away the rapped vocals, it mixes the whole thing with live jazzy cabaret instrumentation, some samples, a film noir soundtrack feel and great female vocals that sound very sincere and vulnerable. The result is unlike most of the other (older) electronic music, it feels warm, personal and even if the vibe is 'blue', it is not cold or synthetic sounding.This is the kind of music you can put on at the beginning of a romantic candle-lit dinner or late at night when everything is in the shadows and your consciousness is flying away. WARNING: this is NOT party music (well, not my kind of party anyway)!As for the production, I must say it is spotless! Every instrument is audible and has enough breathing room (even if this is not a very 'open' record; not much reverb here!) and the bass is really nice and tight on a good stereo. Even if it's not pushed as far as on the following Portishead album, the attention to detail should be mentioned: from vinyl crackling sounds to bells, vintage analog synths and background noises, everything fits nicely into the ambience.I would definitely recommend this album as a first buy for someone who's new to the world of trip-hop, it was very influential to the genre and there isn't a bad song to be found anywhere in the 50 minutes running time. The follow up, which is self titled, is also highly recommended, even though it's probably harder to get into, at first, than this one; it's darker, more claustrophobic and the production is even more layered. 
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|  | | Portishead - Dummy | When this CD was released in 1994, the trip-hop history was about to deviate toward a more mainstream status. This is the album that did what Massive Attack ...
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| | | The Music of Clay Ruby & Burial H... | Over the last couple of decades Wisconsin native, Clay Ruby has been creating some of the world’s finest dark electronic music under the Burial Hex mon...
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