Maxinquaye

by Tricky

Overview

Tricky's debut, Maxinquaye, is an album of stunning sustained vision and imagination, a record that sounds like it has no precedent as it boldly predicts a new future. Of course, neither sentiment is true. Much of the music on Maxinquaye has its roots in the trip-hop pioneered by Massive Attack, which once featured Tricky, and after the success of this record, trip-hop became fashionable, turning into safe, comfortable music to be played at upscale dinner parties thrown by hip twenty and thirtysomethings. Both of these sentiments are true, yet Maxinquaye still manages to retain its power; years later, it can still sound haunting, disturbing, and surprising after countless spins. It's an album that exists outside of time and outside of trends, a record whose clanking rhythms, tape haze, murmured vocals, shards of noise, reversed gender roles, alt-rock asides, and soul samplings create a ghostly netherworld fused with seductive menace and paranoia. It also shimmers with mystery, coming not just from Tricky -- whose voice isn't even heard until the second song on the record -- but with vocalist, Martina Topley-Bird, whose smoky singing lures listeners into the unrelenting darkness of the record. Once they're there, Maxinquaye offers untold treasures. There is the sheer pleasure of coasting by on the sound of the record, how it makes greater use of noise and experimental music than anything since the Bomb Squad and Public Enemy. Then, there's the tip of the hat to PE with a surreal cover of "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos," sung by Topley-Bird and never sounding like a postmodernist in-joke. Other references and samples register subconsciously -- while Isaac Hayes' "Ike's Rap II" flows through "Hell Is Around the Corner" and the Smashing Pumpkins are even referenced in the title of "Pumpkin," Shakespear's Sister and the Chantels slip by, while Michael Jackson's "Bad" thrillingly bleeds into "Expressway to Your Heart" on "Brand New You're Retro." Lyrics flow in and out of consciousness, with lingering, whispered promises suddenly undercut by veiled threats and bursts of violence. Then, there's how music that initially may seem like mood pieces slowly reveal their ingenious structure and arrangement and register as full-blown songs, or how the alternately languid and chaotic rhythms finally compliment each other, turning this into a bracing sonic adventure that gains richness and resonance with each listen. After all, there's so much going on here -- within the production, the songs, the words -- it remains fascinating even after all of its many paths have been explored (which certainly can't be said of the trip-hop that followed, including records by Tricky). And that air of mystery that can be impenetrable upon the first listen certainly is something that keeps Maxinquaye tantalizing after it's become familiar, particularly because, like all good mysteries, there's no getting to the bottom of it, no matter how hard you try. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	10/20/2023
Label:	Universal Import
UPC:	0602448849120

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tricky   Primary Artist,Vocals,Co-Producer
Gravediggaz   Primary Artist,Vocals
Alison Goldfrapp   Primary Artist,Vocals
Ragga   Primary Artist,Vocals
Lucia   Primary Artist,Vocals
Kidd Rasta   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Sukie Smith   Primary Artist,Vocals
Martina Topley-Bird   Primary Artist,Vocals
RZA   Primary Artist,Vocals
New Kingdom   Primary Artist,Vocals
Marta   Primary Artist,Vocals
Pete Briquette   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Tom Schneider   Keyboards
Jose Maria   Vocals,Featured Artist,Featured Artist
FTV   Drums,Guitar
James Stevenson   Guitar,Guitar (Bass)
Mark Saunders   Keyboards,Co-Producer
Tony Wrafter   Flute
Tobias Humble   Drums
Marie-Claire Schlameus   Cello
Mariin Kallikorm   Guitar,Guitar (Bass)
Martine   Vocals

Technical Credits

Sadler   Composer
Robert Diggs   Composer,Producer
New Kingdom   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Substance   Remixing,Remix Engineer
Alex Reece   Remixing,Remix Engineer,Additional Production
David Alvarez   Design,Art Direction
Marcella Detroit   Composer
Alison Goldfrapp   Composer
Slick Rick   Composer
Charlie Francis   Remix Engineer
Fil Bucchino   Remix Engineer,Remixing
Cally   Design,Art Direction
Kevin Petrie   Producer
Bungle   Remix Engineer
Barratt   Composer
Jose Maria   Remix Engineer
Tricky   Musical Producer,Mixing,Composer,Producer,Remixing
Blacksmith   Remix Engineer
Ian Caple   Remix Engineer
Isaac Hayes   Composer
Ricky Walters   Composer
Ultramagnetic MC's   Remix Engineer
Eric "Vietnam" Sadler   Composer
Mark Saunders   Producer
Gareth Bowen   Remix Engineer,Remixing
Sabian Maire Deirdre Fahey   Composer
Ed Zych   Mixing
Bernstein   Composer
T.H.E.M.   Remix Engineer
Diana Lawrence   Engineer
Richard Barratt   Composer
Adrian Thaws   Composer
Adrian Matthews   Composer
Al Riley   Remixing,Remix Engineer
Erik Sadler   Composer
Howie Bernstein   Composer
Andrew Hockey   Mixing,Recording
Badja   Remix Engineer
Eric Sadler   Composer
Tony Campbell   Composer
Siobhan Fahey   Composer
Leftfield   Remix Engineer
S. Fahey   Composer
Howie B   Composer,Producer
Detroit Nix   Composer
Hank Shocklee   Composer
Geoff Pesche   Mastering Engineer
Martine   Composer
William Drayton   Composer
Carlton Ridenhour   Composer
Scott Harding   Mixing
Dobie   Mixing,Producer,Remixing,Remix Engineer