What's the Difference Between Instrumental Hiphop and Trip-hop and Ninjatune and whatnot?

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Hi y'all--seeing as to how nice you guys were to help lil me out. I have a new question--what the heck is the difference between instrumental hiphop and trip-hop and some downtempo and some collage-pop like Solex and some of the Ninjatune stuff? I don't get it--my roomie just got a bunch of RJD2 from our college station, and uh, it sounds great but it doesn't sound anything like hiphop and it does sound lots like other electronica. Help me define my ignorance!

― Jubaleeque, Monday, 23 August 2004 03:35 (twenty-one years ago)

ignorance, in this case = bliss

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Monday, 23 August 2004 03:37 (twenty-one years ago)

My attempt:
Does anyone still use the term "trip-hop", anyway?
I guess trip-hop would be described as "smoky", "cinematic", and "really really blunted". All this over warped, slowed-down hip-hop beats (was trip-hop:hip-hop = slowcore:indie rock?).
Ninjatune stuff leans more toward turntablism.
Instrumental or abstract hip-hop gets applied to everything else in blanket fashion.

― Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Monday, 23 August 2004 03:48 (twenty-one years ago)

No definable difference -- if you listen to say, the instrumental version of "C.R.E.A.M." and some, say, Portishead, they would sound almost generically identical.

― Leeeter van den Hoogenband (Leee), Monday, 23 August 2004 03:57 (twenty-one years ago)

the difference is usually which label they're released on

― oops (Oops), Monday, 23 August 2004 04:00 (twenty-one years ago)

ninja tune songs have "hilarious" vocal samples

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 23 August 2004 04:30 (twenty-one years ago)

and are usually titled something like "zenfunkatastic beats & eats"

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 23 August 2004 04:32 (twenty-one years ago)

its all the same but no-one likes to call it trip-hop any more.

― Savin All My Love 4 u (Savin 4ll my (heart) 4u), Monday, 23 August 2004 05:16 (twenty-one years ago)

where does downtempo fit in, oh my

― cutty (mcutt), Monday, 23 August 2004 10:42 (twenty-one years ago)

this is the going to be the next big thing in 2004

Diplo - Florida
http://www.bigdada.com/release.php?id=865

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Monday, 23 August 2004 10:48 (twenty-one years ago)

i doubt it..

i mean, i like the album, but i don't know about next big thing

― cutty (mcutt), Monday, 23 August 2004 11:12 (twenty-one years ago)

get the promo version of Florida if you can. they are having to clean Martina Topley Birds vocals off her collab. with Diplo - big shame as its a standout track on the album.

new Mr Scruff Solid Steel on ninjatune is fine fine fine. and i dont like his normal stuff - a fairly standard situation actually. i find that the solid steel mixes always impress me more than the proper lps.

― mark e (mark e), Monday, 23 August 2004 11:34 (twenty-one years ago)

this is going to be big as well:

Khonnor - Handwriting
http://www.typerecords.com/releases/full.php?id=7

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Monday, 23 August 2004 11:57 (twenty-one years ago)

the difference depends on if you go to university or not

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Monday, 23 August 2004 12:00 (twenty-one years ago)

This stuff is pretty interchangeable. I think of downtempo as slower still, with more space.

― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 23 August 2004 12:18 (twenty-one years ago)

That Martina Topley-Bird track is going to be on the final release... it just won't say so on the package you see.

― superultramega (superultramarinated), Monday, 23 August 2004 13:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Awwww thanks! Now that my ignorance has been defined, it apparently has also been expanded. So basically, calling trip-hop instrumental hiphop is like Avril Lavigne nu-punk? SWEET! I do like Martina Topley-Bird, but she's like, R&B and a little trip, no? Hmmm.... confusion setting in. Diplo seeketh me.

― jubaleeque, Monday, 23 August 2004 16:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Doesn't Ninja Tune fetishize the addition of live instruments a bit? Also, jazz elements?

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 23 August 2004 16:06 (twenty-one years ago)

big up on the diplo album - genius!!!

― stevie (stevie), Monday, 23 August 2004 17:09 (twenty-one years ago)

i used to stay away from ninjatune re the jazz element. but this seems to have been kept to a minimum in recent times. blockhead, skalpel, diplo are all fine instrumental hip hop albums. yes skalpel is constructed out of banned polish jazz samples but its still a fine fine album.

― mark e (mark e), Monday, 23 August 2004 19:18 (twenty-one years ago)

crap, that Skalpel album bores me to tears.
its all the same. mo'wax, ninjatune,...

if you compare that skalpel album with say the early "Headz" comps (undeniably trip-hop), its the same shit - just cleaner production.

that lovage instrumentals album? cf portishead instrumentals (well the first album anyway).?

― Savin All My Love 4 u (Savin 4ll my (heart) 4u), Monday, 23 August 2004 23:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Have you checked Sixtoo's latest, or Amon Tobin's last few releases? Both fall totally outside of the "looped drum break and goofy sample" stereotype, no? Same for jaga jazzist, Loka, Kid Koala... just sayin'. Ninja Tune has switched it up quite a lot since 1995. There must be a c/d or s/d around here somewhere.

― superultramega (superultramarinated), Monday, 23 August 2004 23:47 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

because this is the top search for google... on the difference between the two I added what I found on another site:

Trip Hop is most recognizable for its down beats, jazzy chords, experimental riffs and psychedelic samples, often fronted by a female vocalist.

Downtempo or Abstract Beats takes Trip Hop a step further towards experimental, tonal innovations sometimes skipping melody and vocals for chill beats and sonic progressions.

― beav1s, Friday, 26 May 2006 18:56 (twenty years ago)

"sonic progressions." aha. I always wondered what that was.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Friday, 26 May 2006 19:06 (twenty years ago)

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