The early 90’s saw the concept of ‘musical genre’ cross breed and speciate in a way that puts the entire Cambrian explosion to shame. The UK in particular was a hot spot for this rapid blending and iteration of style with bands like Massive Attack taking elements from Hip-Hop and Soul and blending them with the darker more moody tones of new wave and a sluggish tempo borrowed from the burgeoning world of LoFi electronica. But instead of turning into a kind of forgotten, unholy Frankenstein, the way many such experiments did in the 90’s, the sound stuck and from it emerged what we know today as TripHop.
Vanessa Tottle is a die hard, unabashed TripHop enthusiast, and her new album Take Control stands as a testament to her love for the genre and feel for the ethereal stylistic elements that make up its DNA. Take Control opens with Take It Easy and sets the overall tone for the Album, here Vanessa Incorporates groovy yet complex digital production with subtle elements of live instrumentation, in this case a gently skanked, almost reggae like guitar riff, and running through it all, forming the backbone of the album itself, is Vanessas soulful vocals, clearly inspired by the stylistic female lead vocals that became almost synonymous with TripHop after Portishead dropped their genre defining debut album Dummy in 1994 and together with Elizabeth Fraser’s collaboration with Massive Attack on Tear Drop helped see TripHop evolve into its most iconic and recognisable form.
While Take Control comfortably falls under the TripHop banner, Vanessa brings in just enough of herself to make it her own and something unique. Her music has the raw, self-reflective authenticity of a singer songwriter, and after learning a little bit about her, it’s hard not to see tracks like Let The Music Take Over and Making Up For Lost Time as an autobiographical journey through the ever present and often crippling self-doubt, that sees most creative endeavours die in the crib, to her writing, recording and releasing an EP and now an album after only emerging onto the scene in 2023, not to mention hosting a weekly TripHop podcast, something she recently turned into a two hour live show performed at Auckland’s Portland Public House and beyond.
It’s hard to overstate the difficulty and courage it takes to embark on a creative project for the first time as an adult, the time, cost and energy it takes can seem almost overwhelming and to do this at a time when most of your peers are pursuing stability and the familiar, to put yourself out there and chase your creativity is something most people just don’t have the fortitude for.
This struggle and her path to overcoming it materialises in The song Phoenix Rising a classic downbeat TripHop track with Vanessa’s soulful vocals capturing the essence of the journey she has been on and her resilient commitment to keep on rising.
Honing her craft on Auckland’s open mic circuit over the last two years Vanessa has taken head on the often terrifying rite of passage many bedroom/studio artists forgo, instead veering towards the anonymous safety of digital releases, but something that (in my opinion) is absolutely vital to your growth as a musician. Performing live not only helps you fine tune your music, seeing what works and what doesn’t, but it allows you to connect with the audience directly in a way, that when it hits, is an experience unique and intoxicating in a way I simply can’t put into words.
Vanessa Tottle has gone all in on following her passion for music in a way that is truly inspiring. performing, writing and releasing tracks at a pace that puts artists with decades more experience to shame, I expect this is only just the beginning of what she has to offer and am eager to see where her passion and creativity will take her next.
