Tricky was one of the most candid and down to earth artists I have ever interviewed, and just for the record, he took an in-depth interest in the experiences of Detroit techno auteurs. He can understand as he was never given the same push as Portishead and it was explained to him by label reps that it was because he was a Black artist doing music not generally considered as 'Black'; Portishead were more marketable. He told me that Bjork was a huge fan of Derrick May and an influence on her work. I personally feel that with Tricky's hip-hop-oriented last album he (and his label) focussed too hard on breaking the US when he will never be able to make 'commercia'l hip-hop and his music will never be grasped by a wider audience because of the way music is racially stereotyped. His influences are all over the place - he's a maverick. No wonder he took an interest in Detroit, then.
>Tricky may have gotten caugh up in his own "stardom". Remember, this guy >had a somewhat prominent role in the first half of "The Fifth Element" and >after that, his music took a dive. Some people never get over the "sophmore >slump".
