Tricky is the stage name of Adrian Thaws, a musician and producer from Bristol, United Kingdom, born in 1968. He is associated with electronic, hip hop and trip hop, and is widely linked with the Bristol trip-hop scene, although he rejects that label.

Background and style

Tricky grows out of Knowle West, Bristol, and becomes known for a whispering, half-rapped, half-sung vocal style. As a producer, he favours an imperfect, layered sound rather than polished finish. His work often mixes rock and hip hop, and he is noted for crossing cultural lines between white and black British identity, as well as between high art and pop culture.

Career and releases

His debut album, Maxinquaye, remains his most commercially and critically successful release. Although it draws heavily on American hip hop, he describes aiming for a fast, hard punk record. He later says that he makes records such as Nearly God and Pre-Millennium Tension in part to move away from the trip-hop tag.

Over time, his style shifts from sample-based textures towards a more contemporary electronic sound. He also covers Siouxsie and the Banshees’ Tattoo, and his lyrics often create a more ambiguous treatment of sexuality than is usually found in hip hop.

Collaborations and related work

Tricky collaborates with a wide range of artists across his releases, including Björk, Alanis Morissette, Cyndi Lauper, Anthony Kiedis, John Frusciante, Flea, Martina Topley-Bird and Alison Goldfrapp. He is also in Massive Attack.

His credits extend beyond records: he appears in The Fifth Element and in the video for Tool’s Parabola.

Labels and projects

After his early success in the late 1990s, he sets up the label Durban Poison. He later heads the imprint Brown Punk and is also associated with False Idols.