Smith & Mighty

Prior to Bristol's emergence as a hub for downtempo trip-hop and spy-soundtrack dubs, Rob Smith and Ray Mighty joined forces in the late 1980s to create two early breakbeat recordings, "Walk on By" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart." Their unexpected merging of polished Burt Bacharach arrangements with relaxed hip-hop foreshadowed trip-hop's eventual attraction to the more refined side of 1960s adult-pop. The pair also produced the Fresh Fours' Top Ten hit "Wishing on a Star," which led to a deal with ffrr Records, then seeking a production outfit capable of crossover success on the level of Soul II Soul.

After ffrr rejected Smith & Mighty's debut album and later sessions on the grounds that the material was not ready for release, the duo launched their own imprint, More Rockers. Five years after those initial major-label setbacks, they issued Bass Is Maternal. Smith & Mighty additionally handled production for More Rockers artist Marxman and contributed a volume to the DJ Kicks series in 1998. Big World, Small World appeared two years later. Rob Smith has recorded separately with the trip-hop trio Jaz Klash.