15 Best Trip Hop Songs for Pole Dancing

Are you looking for slow, sensual songs for pole dance routines that don’t sound like everything else in the studio? Have you ever fallen for the dark, moody sound of trip hop?

Trip hop came out of Bristol in the early 1990s, and it blends slow hip hop beats with jazz, soul, film soundtracks and haunting vocals. Those slow tempos, deep basslines and moody atmospheres make it perfect for sensual floorwork, exotic heels routines and emotional, story-led choreography.

We’ve put together this list of the best trip hop songs for pole dancing to give you some inspiration. If you like your music dark, you’ll also love our dark & intense songs for pole dance routines, and we have more genre-specific playlists here!

But, for now, here are 15 sensual, slow and dark trip hop songs to inspire you for your next pole dance routine.

15 Best Trip Hop Songs for Pole Dancing

Searching for music for your pole dance routines can be frustrating if you can’t find the right song. You might find something that you love, but its tempo or lyrics don’t match what you’re trying to convey through your routine.

Trip hop is a great place to look. Most of these songs are slow and steady, with plenty of space for floorwork, slow spins and dramatic pauses. Hopefully, you will like these suggestions. If you have any ideas to add to this list, please leave a comment below 🙂

1. Portishead – Glory Box

Where else could this list start? Glory Box, from Portishead’s 1994 debut album Dummy, is built on a sample of Isaac Hayes’ “Ike’s Rap II,” with Beth Gibbons’ smoky vocals floating over the top.

Its slow, swaggering beat is perfect for sensual floorwork, body rolls and heel clacks, and the big chorus gives you a natural moment to take things up the pole.

2. Massive Attack – Angel

The opening track of Massive Attack’s Mezzanine (1998) features Horace Andy’s haunting vocals over a low, menacing bassline. The song builds slowly before the guitars crash in, so you can start low and controlled and save your biggest tricks and drops for the second half.

It’s so good that it’s also on our list of dark & intense songs for pole dance routines.

3. Tricky – Hell Is Round the Corner

Fun fact: this track from Tricky’s 1995 debut album Maxinquaye loops the same Isaac Hayes recording, “Ike’s Rap II,” as Glory Box. Put them side by side and you’ll hear two very different moods from the same sample.

Tricky’s murmured vocals and Martina Topley-Bird’s cool delivery make this one darker and more hypnotic. It suits slow, deliberate choreography where every movement counts.

4. Portishead – Roads

Also from Dummy, Roads is one of the most emotional songs in trip hop. Beth Gibbons’ fragile vocals and the swelling strings make it ideal for a slow, lyrical routine with long lines, beautiful shapes and plenty of floor flow.

This is a song for storytelling, not speed.

5. Massive Attack – Teardrop

Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins wrote and sang this Mezzanine single, and you might also recognize it as the opening theme of the TV series House.

Its heartbeat rhythm and harpsichord melody are steady and easy to count, which makes it a great choice if you’re choreographing your first slow routine.

6. Hooverphonic – 2 Wicky

Belgian band Hooverphonic’s 2 Wicky, from their debut album A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular, has a slinky, cinematic groove and dreamy vocals. It’s slow, moody and just a little bit mysterious: perfect for a sultry heels routine.

7. Sneaker Pimps – 6 Underground

This 1996 single from Sneaker Pimps’ album Becoming X pairs a laid-back beat with breathy, whispered vocals. It has a hypnotic, swaying rhythm that works beautifully for spins and transitions that flow into each other.

8. Lamb – Gorecki

Lamb’s best-known song was inspired by Henryk Górecki’s Third Symphony, the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. Lou Rhodes’ vocals start out soft and intimate before the track swells into something huge and emotional.

That build makes it a gift for dramatic, story-led routines with a big finale.

See Also: 12 Sexy, Slow & Sensual Songs for Pole Dancing Routines

9. Morcheeba – Trigger Hippie

From Morcheeba’s debut album Who Can You Trust?, Trigger Hippie has a lazy, bluesy groove and Skye Edwards’ warm, soulful vocals. It’s one of the more relaxed songs on this list, so it’s ideal for playful, sensual low flow.

10. Massive Attack – Paradise Circus

Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star sings on this track from Massive Attack’s 2010 album Heligoland. It was later licensed as the theme tune for the BBC crime drama Luther.

Sandoval’s hushed, seductive vocals and the slow piano make it one of the most sensual songs here.

11. Tricky – Overcome

The opening track of Maxinquaye features Martina Topley-Bird on vocals, and it’s dark, smoky and slow. Its sparse beat leaves lots of space for pauses, poses and controlled floorwork.

12. Mono – Life in Mono

British duo Mono’s Life in Mono, from their album Formica Blues, has a 1960s, spy-movie feel with lush strings and wistful vocals. It’s elegant and a little melancholy, which makes it lovely for a graceful, classic-style routine.

13. Goldfrapp – Lovely Head

The opening track of Goldfrapp’s 2000 debut album Felt Mountain is eerie, cinematic and gloriously dramatic, from its haunting whistled melody to Alison Goldfrapp’s distorted vocals in the chorus.

If you like dark, theatrical routines with a hint of film noir, this one’s for you.

14. UNKLE – Rabbit in Your Headlights (feat. Thom Yorke)

This collaboration between UNKLE and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke comes from UNKLE’s 1998 album Psyence Fiction. It starts sparse and unsettling, with Yorke’s vocals over a slow piano, then builds into a driving, intense finish.

It’s ideal for an emotional routine that starts quietly and ends with a bang.

15. Thievery Corporation – Lebanese Blonde

A touch lighter than the rest of this list, but still slow and slinky, Lebanese Blonde blends trip hop beats with sitar and a sultry vocal. You might know it from the Garden State soundtrack.

Use it when you want a sensual routine that feels warm rather than dark.

What are your favorite trip hop songs for pole dancing?

Leave a comment below with your favorite tunes! If you need something to slow things down after class, several of these songs also feature on our chilled post-workout cool-down playlist, and many more ’90s favorites are on our list of great ’90s songs for pole dance routines.

Check out our other playlists of songs that are perfect for pole dance routines! Don’t forget to check out Amazon Music Unlimited with a 30-day Free Trial to listen to all these songs, plus 100,000s more!

Happy poling!