Maxinquaye

Maxinquaye is the debut album of the English musician Tricky, released in 1995. Expanding on the sonic template of fellow Bristolians Massive Attack, and featuring then-girlfriend Martina Topley-Bird on vocals, Maxinquaye is a dark, mysterious album featuring a combination of hip-hop, soul, dub, rock and electronica.
Maxinquaye, named after Tricky's late mother Maxine Quaye, received critical acclaim. The album was re-issued in the UK on 2 November 2009 by Universal Island with a second disc of remixes as a "Deluxe Edition".
Tricky chose Mark Saunders as co-producer of the album due to his previous work with The Cure on the albums Wish and Mixed Up, and they recorded the album in the first half of 1994 at Tricky's home studio, with later work done at the Loveshack and Eastcote studios in Notting Hill, London.
The sessions for the album were somewhat chaotic, and Saunders, who had the impression that he would serve as an engineer, frequently found himself serving as a DJ and programmer. Tricky frequently instructed him on what to sample, regardless of different tempos and pitches, and asked him to piece the result together, something Saunders achieved by pitch-shifting the respective samples.
Various contributors were occasionally called in to play instruments, such as guitarist James Stevenson, bassist Pete Briquette, the band FTV (on "Black Steel"). The producer Saunders contributed guitar himself, with the resulting improvisations treated as samples. Adding to the free-form atmosphere of the sessions, Martina Topley-Bird's vocals were recorded in the first take without any planning beforehand.