Alpha is an English post-trip hop group. It comprises founding member Corin Dingley, vocalist and lyricist Wendy Stubbs and Hannah Collins; other founding member, Andy Jenks, left the group before the release of their 2007 album, ''
The Sky Is Mine''.
Originally working under the name "Ariel", the duo of Dingley and Jenks came together in 1995 after both had worked on various projects in the
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
area, home of trip hop groups
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall.
The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was release ...
and
Portishead.
Like Massive Attack, Alpha recruited singers to add vocals to their downtempo, beat-driven compositions of the late 1990s, which led to them being included in the category of "post trip hop".
Their debut album, ''
Come from Heaven'', was the first release on Massive Attack's Melankolic label in 1997. They are currently on Don't Touch Recordings, a label they founded.
A collaboration with reggae vocalist
Horace Andy
Horace Andy (born Horace Hinds, 19 February 1951) is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass" and "Five Man Army" with English tri ...
, entitled ''Two Phazed People'', was released in 2009.
Corin Dingley, one of the founder members of Alpha, continues to release music such as Lockdown (2020) and Loving Nobody(2015) that features vocals from Joe Cassidy (
Butterfly Child
Butterfly Child were a Northern Irish group led by singer/songwriter Joe Cassidy, based in Chicago, Illinois. Described as "purveyors of shimmering, oceanic rock," they have released three full-length albums and numerous singles/EPs. Their latest ...
), Hannah Collins, Jamie Gingell (
Secret Shine
Secret Shine are a British indie band formed in the early 1990s, who were signed to Sarah Records. Their early releases with Sarah and A Turntable Friend followed a pop style, before the band went in a more shoegaze direction with the 1992 rele ...
), Kate Stables (
This Is the Kit), Wendy Stubbs and Jesse D Vernon (Morning Star).
Discography
Studio albums
* ''
Come from Heaven'' (1997)
* ''
The Impossible Thrill
''The Impossible Thrill'' is a studio album by Alpha. It was released on Melankolic in 2001. It includes vocal contributions from Martin Barnard, Wendy Stubbs, and Helen White.
Critical reception
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average s ...
'' (2001)
* ''
Stargazing
Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers m ...
'' (2003)
* ''Made in Space'' (2003)
* ''
Lost in a Garden of Clouds
''Lost in a Garden of Clouds'' is a series of albums by Alpha
Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value ...
: Part 1'' (2004)
* ''Lost in a Garden of Clouds: Part 2'' (2006)
* ''
The Sky Is Mine'' (2007)
* ''Two Phazed People'' (2009)
* ''Eleventh Trip'' (2012)
* ''Loving Nobody'' (2015)
* ''Failure'' (2021)
* ''Dust'' (2022)
Compilations albums
* ''
Pepper: Remixes & Rarities'' (1998)
* ''
Without Some Help
''Without Some Help'' is a 2006 compilation album by Alpha. It consists of 8 songs by other artists, which were remixed by Alpha, and 4 collaborations between Alpha and guest vocalists.
A download-only, 11-track version, ''Without Some Help. Net ...
'' (2006)
EPs
* ''South'' (2001)
* ''Revolution'' (2002)
* ''Ariel'' (2009)
* ''L'hiver'' (2012)
* ''Salt'' (2015)
* ''Sounds of the Cosmos'' (2020)
* ''Lockdown'' (2020)
Singles
* "Sometime Later" (1997)
* "Slim" (1998)
References
External links
Official websiteBandcamp*
*
{{Authority control
Trip hop groups
British electronic musicians
Downtempo musicians
Musical groups from Bristol