By Ryan J Nims
In 1982, in Bristol, UK, a sound system called Wild Bunch popped onto the scene. While mostly a local thing throughout the 80s, by the time the 1990s rolled around, the group had proven wildly influential. Members of Wild Bunch Robert “3D” Del Naja, Grant “Daddy G” Marshall and Andrew “Mushroom” Vowles formed Massive Attack. Tricky initially worked with Massive Attack before embarking on a successful solo career of his own. Nellee Hooper went on to become a sought-after producer working with the likes of Björk, Garbage and many others. Even Swedish singer Neneh Cherry had close ties to the burgeoning Bristol scene. By the time Portishead made waves with their debut Dummy, the Bristol sound, now known as triphop, was fully formed.
Using the Bristol scene as a jumping-off point, DJ Creech brings you the best triphop and downtempo every Friday at 8:00 PM. I caught up with DJ Creech to find out a little more about the show:
1. Can you give us a quick description of Creature Feature for people who may not have heard the program?
Creature Feature is an hour-long dive into the origins and evolution of the triphop, downtempo, and the leftfield music scenes that originated in the late 1980’s in Bristol, England. I take a look at the traditional genre fits, the not-so traditional genre fits, and songs from today that seem to maintain those low tempo/sultry vocals/instrumentations.
2. How long has Creature Feature been on the air at KOOP?
The first airing of Creature Feature was on February 14th, 2025 as a mid-season program replacement. Valentine’s Day was an interesting start but pairs well with Creech’s love of corn and romanticism.
3. What was the original show pitch? And has the scope changed since the original concept?
The original pitch was to have a show at a very strange time on a weekday night. Creature Feature was an evolution of a short television pilot where I would act as a character named Creature who very sweatily and in ill-fitting suits would do weekly “Berry Reports” to update viewers on the various berries and fauna around the Trail.
When I made the pitch to the Programming Committee, they surprised me that they had an open spot on Friday evenings and Friday nights at 8pm have been my home ever since. The format has changed since this February; I added a theme song from DJ Shadow’s “In/Flux” single and have started doing interviews with artists and players which has been pretty neat.
4. What is your favorite thing about volunteering with KOOP?
I enjoy volunteering at KOOP because at any one point I am surrounded by so much talent and can glean and learn from it as much as I am able. The creative forces here are on another level; we have volunteers and programmers from all sectors that volunteer so much of their time to give back some of that passion and enrich the community they cherish. It is an honor to be a part of that in this city I still love and care for.
5. What was the first album that sparked your love of trip-hop?
Great question. It’s sectioned for me and like most things in my musical history it is tied to my iPod. My first introduction to triphop was through my sister who showed me Portishead’s second album Portishead and the first two Sneaker Pimps albums Becoming X and Bloodsport. The combination of the pained yet effortlessly breathy vocals from Beth [Gibbons] and Kelli [Dayton] with the drum machines and exotic instrumentation was something I hadn’t heard before and it stuck with me. Along with RJD2’s Deadringer, I ended up taking these artists with me through high school and beyond by adding them to my iPod which helped them survive my other musical phases.
I started listening to Massive Attack’s “Mezzanine” more once I embraced public transportation and started walking around downtowns; it is a great beat to walk to, around people/crosswalks and had a really outsized effect on me. That song continued to bring me back into the downtempo scene and once I started listening to 101 X’s “Chillville” I knew that these sub genres were important and worth staying current on.
6. Is there anything you’d like to add for your listeners?
I am very thankful for the support as I continue my study into triphop, downtempo, and the leftfield genres. My goal is to keep evolving the show to always have a traditional foundation of classic triphop songs from the 90’s, songs from 1985-1989 that paved the way, and songs from later periods that may have been influenced from this beloved yet messy genre. It would not be possible without your support, your recommendations, your stories, and your verve. Please join this Creature on Friday evenings at 8pm on the stream as we continue to evolve the Feature.
If downtempo and triphop are your thing, or else you just want a chill soundtrack for your Friday evenings, tune in to Creature Feature and let the smooth and sultry sounds take you away.