Maxinquaye

Maxinquaye
Studio album by Tricky
Released	20 February 1995 (1995-02-20) (UK) 18 April 1995 (1995-04-18) (US)
Recorded	1994–1995, Tricky's home studio, Loveshack Studios, Eastcote Studios, London
Genre	Trip hop
Length	57:13
Label	Island
Producer	Tricky, Mark Saunders, Howie B, Kevin Petrie
Tricky chronology
Maxinquaye (1995) Nearly God (1996)

Maxinquaye is the debut album of the English musician Tricky, released in 1995. Expanding on the sonic template of fellow Bristolians and frequent collaborators Massive Attack, and featuring then-girlfriend Martina Topley-Bird on vocals, Maxinquaye is a dark, mysterious album featuring a combination of hip hop, soul, dub, rock and electronica.

Maxinquaye, named after Tricky's late mother Maxine Quaye, received critical acclaim. The album was re-issued in the UK on 2 November 2009 by Universal Island with a second disc of remixes as a "Deluxe Edition".^[1]

Album background

Tricky chose Mark Saunders as co-producer of the album due to his previous work with The Cure on the albums Wish and Mixed Up, and they recorded the album in the first half of 1994 at Tricky's home studio, with later work done at the Loveshack and Eastcote studios in Notting Hill, London.^[2]

The sessions for the album were somewhat chaotic, and Saunders, who had the impression that he would serve as an engineer, frequently found himself serving as a DJ and programmer.^[2][3] Tricky frequently instructed him on what to sample, regardless of different tempos and pitches, and asked him to piece the result together, something Saunders achieved by pitch-shifting the respective samples.^[2][3]

Various contributors were occasionally called in to play instruments, such as guitarist James Stevenson, bassist Pete Briquette, the band FTV (on "Black Steel"). The producer Saunders contributed guitar himself, with the resulting improvisations treated as samples.^[2] Adding to the free-form atmosphere of the sessions, Martina Topley-Bird's vocals were recorded in the first take without any planning beforehand.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Robert Christgau	A+[5]
Clash	9/10[6]
Entertainment Weekly	A[7]
The Observer	[8]
Q	[9]
Record Collector	[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]
Slant Magazine	[12]
Spin	8/10[13]

• Q (6/00, p. 75) – Ranked No. 36 in Q‍ '​s "100 Greatest British Albums"
• Q (12/99, p. 84) – Included in Q‍ '​s "90 Best Albums of the 1990s".
• Q (2/96, p. 67) – Included in Q‍ '​s 50 Best Albums of 1995.
• Rolling Stone (13/5/99, p. 80) – Included in Rolling Stone‍ '​s "Essential Recordings of the 90's".
• Rolling Stone (25/1/96, p. 41) – Ranked No. 3 in the 1995 Critics' Poll.
• Spin (9/99, p. 125) – Ranked No. 14 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s."
• Spin (12/95, p. 62) – Ranked No. 2 on Spin‍ '​s list of the '20 Best Albums of '95'.
• Melody Maker (23–30/12/95, pp. 66–67) – Tied for No. 1 on Melody Maker‍ '​s list of 1995's 'Albums of the Year'.
• Village Voice (20/2/96) – Ranked No. 2 in Village Voice‍ '​s 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.
• Mojo (p. 57) – Ranked No. 77 in Mojo‍ '​s "100 Modern Classics".
• The New York Times (5/1/96, p. C16) – Included on Jon Pareles's list of the Top 10 Albums of '95.
• NME (23–30/12/95, pp. 22–23) – Ranked No. 1 in NME‍ '​s 'Top 50 Albums of the Year' for 1995.^[14]
• Pitchfork Media - Ranked No. 66 in Pitchfork Media's "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s" list.^[15]
• The album is listed in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Track listing

Track notes

• The lyrics of "Overcome" and "Hell Is Round the Corner" are the same lyrics that Tricky raps in the songs "Karmacoma" and "Eurochild" from Massive Attack's 1994 album Protection.
• The song "Black Steel" is a cover of the Public Enemy song "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos".

Singles

UK singles, with release dates and peak positions in the singles chart:

• "Aftermath" (24 January 1994) – No. 69
• "Ponderosa" (25 April 1994)
• "Overcome" (16 January 1995) – No. 34
• "Black Steel" (3 April 1995) – No. 28
• The Hell E.P. ("Hell Is Round the Corner") (24 July 1995) – No. 12
• "Pumpkin" (30 October 1995) – No. 26

Soundtrack appearances

• Hell Is Round the Corner appeared in the film Transporter 3 and the TV series Skins, Sleeper Cell, Rescue Me, "My Mad Fat Diary" and New York Undercover.
• Overcome appeared in the films City of Industry and Strange Days.
• Abbaon Fat Tracks appeared in the films The Book of Revelation and Virtuosity.
• Aftermath appeared in Veronica Guerin, Silent Cry, Le confessionnal and Alien Autopsy.
• You Don't appeared in Boiler Room and Go Now.
• Pumpkin appeared in Go Now.
• Black Steel appeared in Beavis and Butt-Head.

Personnel

• Howie B – composer, producer ("Ponderosa")
• Pete Briquette – bass ("Suffocated Love")
• FTV – guitar, drums ("Black Steel")
• Alison Goldfrapp – vocals ("Pumpkin")
• Martina Topley-Bird – vocals
• Kevin Petrie – producer ("Aftermath")
• Ragga (Ragnhildur Gísladóttir) – vocals ("You Don't")
• Mark Saunders – keyboards ("Overcome"), guitar, producer ("Overcome", "Black Steel", "Hell Is Round the Corner", "Brand New You're Retro", "Suffocated Love", "You Don't", "Strugglin'", "Feed Me")
• James Stevenson – guitar ("Brand New, You're Retro")
• Mark Stewart – vocals ("Aftermath")
• Tricky – Composer, vocals, producer
• Tony Wrafter – flute ("Aftermath")
• Ali Staton – mixing ("Suffocated Love")
• David Alvarez – art direction, design
• Cally Callomon – art direction, design
• Richard Baker – artwork
• Rob Crane – artwork
• Andy Earl – photography
• Paul Rider – photography
• Valerie Philips – photography

References