4 cover stories in our archive
Behind the Covers' archive includes 4 album covers documented under the "trip hop" design theme, all from the 1990s. These covers sit within the electronic, alternative tradition and feature work by Tricky, Massive Attack, Portishead. Each entry below includes the cover artwork, the designers and photographers behind it, and a short story about the visual choices that defined the release.
Tricky's debut album cover features a stark black and white portrait that perfectly captures the dark, intimate atmosphere of his groundbreaking trip-hop masterpiece. The minimalist design became an iconic representation of mid-90s alternative culture.
The stark, minimalist cover for Massive Attack's second album features a simple white background with delicate typography, marking a dramatic shift from their debut's graffiti-style artwork. Designer Tom Hingston created one of the most understated yet influential covers of the 1990s trip-hop era.
The grainy, noir-ish photograph with a woman's face partially obscured in shadow creates an atmosphere of nocturnal melancholy — the purest visual expression of the 'Bristol Sound' aesthetic of dark, cinematic trip-hop.
Nick Knight's extreme close-up of a stag beetle — rendered with scientific precision in high contrast — is simultaneously beautiful and menacing, perfectly matching the album's dark, claustrophobic, paranoid atmosphere.