Smith & Mighty are an English

trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

group from

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England, consisting of Rob Smith, Ray Mighty and Peter D Rose. They pioneered the Bristol sound producing Massive Attack's "Any Love". The Bristol sound being a precursor to

. As well as producing for others, they produced their own work, and various solo projects and collaborations.

Biography

In the late 1980s, they produced their first releases; were

breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that uses drum breaks, often sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as Florida breaks, hip-hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat ...

covers of " Anyone Who Had a Heart" and " Walk On By". Both songs entered the UK Singles Chart. They produced

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert Del Naja, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Daddy G, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky (musician), Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew Vowles, Andrew "Mushroom" ...

's first single, "Any Love" released in 1988. In 1989, they produced " Wishing on a Star" for Fresh 4, a group consisting of Paul Southey (Suv), Krust, Judge and Flynn Thompson. The track was an early example of the Bristol sound; it exposed more people to the style charting in the UK at number 10. Smith and Mighty left London in 1994. Shortly after leaving they set up 'More Rockers' the record label.

Rob Smith

Rob Smith (alias include More Rockers and RSD) is an English DJ, musician and

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

er from

, England. Previously on the now defunct Grand Central Records

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

, playing

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

, dub and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

-influenced music, more recently producing

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken ...

tracks as RSD on a number of labels. Since 1987, he worked with Ray Mighty and Peter D Rose in Smith & Mighty. Smith was formerly a drum & bass/jungle DJ. From the early 1990s to early 2000s, Smith and Rose produced music under the moniker of More Rockers. Smith and Mighty left London in 1994. Shortly after leaving they set up 'More Rockers' the record label. In 2018, Smith released a compilation album to raise money for

homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

people in Bristol.

Discography

Studio albums * '' Bass Is Maternal'' ( More Rockers, 1995) * '' Big World Small World'' ( Studio !K7, 2000) * ''Life Is...'' (Studio !K7, 2002) * ''The Ashley Road Sessions 88-94'' (Punch Drunk, 2018) Compilation albums * ''Retrospective'' (Studio !K7, 2004) * ''The Three Stripe Collection 1985-1990'' ( Bristol Archive Records, 2012) DJ mix albums * '' DJ-Kicks: Smith & Mighty'' (Studio !K7, 1998) EPs * ''Stepper's Delight'' (Three Stripe/London/PolyGram, 1992) * ''Remember Me'' (Three Stripe/London/PolyGram, 1994) Singles * "Walk On..." (Three Stripe, 1988) * "Anyone..." (Three Stripe, 1988) * "Same" (More Rockers, 1996) * "No Justice" (Studio !K7, 1999) * "Seeds" (Studio !K7, 1999) * "Life Has a Way" / "B-Line Fi Blow" (Studio !K7, 2002) * "Maybe It's Me" (Studio !K7, 2002) Productions * Carlton - '' The Call Is Strong'' (1990) Remixes *

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (; born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, rapper, occasional disc jockey, and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a numb ...

- " Manchild" (1988) *

M People M People (stylised as ''M''People) are an English dance music band that formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is derived from the first letter of the first name of band member Mike Pickering, who f ...

- " Search for the Hero" (1995)

Rob Smith discography

*Solo ** '' Up on the Downs'' (Oct 2003) *As More Rockers ** ''Dub Plate Selection Volume One'' (1995) ** ''Selection 2'' (1998) ** ''Select Cuts from More Rockers 12" Selection'' (2001) *With Jaz Klash ** ''Thru the Haze'' (1996) * As RSD ** Decades (2023) ** With Punch Drunk *** "Corner Dub (Blue and Red Mix)/Pretty Bright Light"

References

External links

* * *
Studio !K7 site

Dub from Atlantis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith and Mighty English electronic music groups Musical groups from Bristol English musical trios Trip hop groups