Trippa

Trippa is a short-lived (c. 1999) and now apparently dormant Welsh progressive rock band, fronted by Christina Booth (previously known as Christina Murphy) and Rob Reed, both now heading the progressive rock band Magenta.

The lineup for Trippa's self-titled debut four-track EP from 1999 includes contributions from Rhiannon Stundon (backing vocals) and Ryan Aston (drums). With the band described as "a contemporary Eurythmics for the new millennium", the listeners will recognise the origins of Trippa's sound in several of Cyan's earlier recordings.

The music

The upbeat rock tune "Where Are You" opens the "Trippa EP". Christina Booth's evocatively soaring vocals are supported by lovely harmony layers and rich instrumental arrangements. Lyrics are perfectly complemented by spaceflight-oriented sound effects. In "Falling," vast guitar excursions provide the foundation of the almost-spoken verses and melodic choruses.

Thickly-arranged orchestral-style keyboards are contrasted by a stand-out bass part to complement Christina's powerful and sensual lead vocal--almost growling at times--in "Drowning." The EP concludes with "Never Gonna Be The Same," a sensitively sung track that combines ballad-style verses with a rocking guitar-laden chorus.

History

Voted 'Record of the Week' by Virgin Radio when initially released in 1999, the "Trippa EP" remains generally available from F2 Music (UK). The band has numerous TV appearances behind them. Trippa have reportedly recorded material to fill several albums and were planning their first full-length release for late 2002. However, with the incredible success of Magenta, it is unlikely the duo will focus on Trippa anytime soon. Though F2 Music has reported the forthcoming release of new music, as they have acquired Trippa's entire back catalogue of recordings.

In 2007, Magenta released the album "The Singles", featuring a new version of the song "Speechless" originally recorded by Trippa. Reed explains, "We wrote Speechless about 12 years ago. Christina and I were in a band called Trippa. We were quite an angry band, playing quite commercial songs, with strong cinematic, proggy elements, but over short songs. Being in the band was brilliant, but dealing with record companies was a nightmare, and the whole thing was a bit of a horrible experience. "Speechless" was one of those times when we knew we had a great song as soon as we recorded the demo. It was going to be the second single, but it never got released. In the end we just decided we’d had enough of being told what to do by people who had no enthusiasm for the music business, so the song just sat on the shelf.

We were still getting asked about it, and the band was constantly asking me about trying it. One day in rehearsals, I gave in and showed everyone the chords and we tried it. Everyone’s jaws just dropped. The power of it with the guitars and Tina singing it was just amazing, especially as she’d written the words and it had a special meaning for her. We rewrote the middle section and made it a bit more Magenta-ish, and then we had the mad idea of doing the single, and it all tied in nicely.

The original version has a lot of samples and drum loops. It’s a lot more electronic. A bit more Depeche Mode. The Magenta version has that big, heavy middle section and goes right over the top at the end, which is something we developed in rehearsal. Now I think we have the definitive version."

In October 2007, Trippa released their long awaited 'debut' album "Sorry". The album contains all four tracks from the original Trippa EP plus 13 previously unreleased songs recorded from 1995-2000. This material was released in association with Rob Reed and Christina of Magenta.

Discography

Albums

External links

* [http://web.mac.com/robreed1/iWeb/trippa-web/Trippa.html Trippa] : The official Trippa website
* [http://www.magenta-web.com/ Magenta-web.com] : The official Magenta website