Follow You Through Oceans Of Time

For someone as prolific as Tricky, I did a double take when I read that Different When It's Silent is his first solo album since Fall To Pieces in 2020.

But then, Tricky is also a prolific collaborator and the releases in between have been partnerships and projects, taking in Lonely Guest (2021), Fifteen Days (2024) with Mike Theis as Theis Thaws and Out The Way (2025), credited to long-time foil Marta Zlakowska alone, but very much a paired release.

And it's no surprise really that describing Different When It's Silent as a solo Tricky album is a red herring. Fellow Bristolian Mitch Sanders features up front on 12 of the 14 songs and, on current single I'm Yours, Tricky's vocal presence is heard only as a menacing background growl.

I'm Yours is a great song, Tricky and Mitch's sand-in-the-honey vocals an effective combination against the compelling bass and drums rhythm tracks, with counterpointing keys and guitar, the latter erupting into a fuzzy shower come the chorus. If I was a teen and this was playing at an alternative club night, I'd be straight on the floor, giving it some.

I'd same the same for previous single and album closer Out Of Place. Marta's sole vocal contribution to this album, with Tricky more prominent, their call and response exchanges are always something special and this is no exception. 

The percussion is more insistent, with added strings and trilling samples and squelchy synths. The lyrics reference Tricky's daughter, who died suddenly in 2019, and is the link between Fall To Pieces and Different When It's Silent. 

Fall To Pieces, released the year his daughter's death, was raw and visceral in its pain. The two singles from Different When It's Silent reflect Tricky in a different place, the pain and loss remain, but to paraphrase his own words, a person who has been emotionally paralysed finding the ability to move again.

Never one to stand still, the detour from one Tricky album to the next via his collaborations have clearly been critical steps in Adrian Thaws' journey. A real one-of-a-kind whose work is both catharsis and celebration, I am looking forward to hearing Different When It's Silent in full when it is released in a couple of weeks' time.

Swallow It Up

In case you missed it, Lee 'Scratch' Perry's final album - and last recorded performance in his lifetime - was released earlier this year.

 

King Perry was issued on Tricky's False Idols label and the album represents Perry's desire “to do something new, something different but still with a dub framework”.  Working with producer Daniel Boyle, the 12-track album includes guest appearances from Greentea Peng, Fifi Rong, Marta Zlakowska, Rose Waite and a memorable performance from Shaun Ryder on Green Banana.

There are a bunch of remixes available separately too, from Dubkasm, No. 1 Special, Daddy G v Robot Club and Tricky himself. Tricky also co-produces a couple of tracks and appears with Marta on the penultimate song Future Of My Music.

In a sad irony, King Perry's final song Goodbye features the last vocals that Scratch recorded before he passed away in August 2021. It's all the more touching in this context.

 

King Perry is available on vinyl, CD and digital formats and one to add to the list for Bandcamp Friday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You Think You're Right But You're Just Numb

At 1,154 seconds (that's 19:14 in common parlance), When It's Going Wrong by Marta and Tricky is a strong contender for the shortest album of 2023, but it's packed full of great ideas, delivered with a assurance that's come from years of studio collaboration and on-stage performance.

Marta Złakowska is based in Krakow, Poland and her musical journey took a markedly different route when she met Tricky in November 2017. Marta has been a staple of Tricky albums and live concerts since and, despite the co-credit, When It's Going Wrong is her debut album, produced by the visionary Bristolian.

 

Like Tricky's own releases, there's an instantly recognisable sound and feel that runs through his music without ever sounding repetitive. None of the songs outstay their welcome: the longest is 2:42; nearly half are under the 2-minute mark.

 

The title track falls into the latter and presents a challenge for video director Mateusz Miszczyńsk, who presents a short sharp narrative set on a night-time bus, the camera panning a couple of times to Marta as the story comes to an inevitable rest.

 

Moving Through Water is another highlight, the opening riff coming on like Man Size by PJ Harvey, Marta's voice against a steady back beat and Tricky's backing vocals. The song hits even harder when you realise that it's a homage to Tricky and Martina Topley-Bird's daughter Mazy, who's life tragically ended in 2019 at the age of 24. 

 

Now I'm swimming, I'm moving through water
And I'm singing, I sing for my daughter 

 

A video was also released for the album's second song, Today. It's a visually arresting montage of early 20th century clips given a 21st century spruce up and again, an interesting companion piece to the words and music. If the lyrics sound vaguely familiar, it's because Today is a cover version of a 1967 song by this band.

When It's Going Wrong closes with a another cover, this time of  of a Polish song, Czarno Czarny, presented here almost as a lullaby and a ray of hope that things can move on and be better.

For all it's brevity, this is not an album of musical sketches and half-formed ideas. When It's Going Wrong is a full and enriching performance, all the more astonishing given that some albums deliver less with twice (or more) the running time.

 

As a complementary set, here's an utterly engrossing hour in the company of Tricky, posted on 5th March this year for the ARTE Concert YouTube channel. There's a 10-song live set filmed at Ground Control in Paris, Marta sharing the stage and giving a powerfully understated performance. Moving Through Water and When It's Going Wrong get a preview ahead of the album's release later that month. 

 

The gig is peppered with cutaways to Tricky being interviewed in a record shop. Tricky is still the Knowle West Boy, never losing the Bristol burr or his grounding, success measured by the ability to do what he wants (musically) and keep collaborating with other artists and continue to release records, year on year.

When It's Going Wrong by Marta and Tricky is an incredible album on many levels and worth repeated listening. Track down a physical copy if you can in your favourite record store or add the digital version to your shopping list for the upcoming Bandcamp Friday.

In The Room That Renders Me Unintelligent

Lonely Guest is not a Tricky album, rather a collaborative project born, like so many, out of the global lockdown that channeled artists' creative energies in new directions. It's easy to draw comparisons with Tricky's Nearly God album from nearly 30 years ago, but this is no nostalgic look back. 

 

The eponymous album features Maxïmo Park’s Paul Smith, Rina Mushonga and Nanna Øland Fabricius aka Oh Land. A standout is Pre War Tension, featuring Marta Zlakowska and IDLES' Joe Talbot. It's one of three Lonely Guest tracks that have been remixed and released on a digital EP this week.

Not (yet) remixed, but another cracking song on the album is Atmosphere, this time featuring Marta Zlakowska and Tricky with the late, great Lee 'Scratch' Perry.

Pre War Tension (Album Version) (ft. Joe Talbot & Marta Zlakowska) 

Pre War Tension (No 1 Special Remix) (ft. Joe Talbot & Marta Zlakowska)