Today we’d like to introduce you to Los Tripsters. Them and their team share their story with us below:
The three of us Tripsters have always had the spirit of a musician since early on in our lives. I feel that even before I began to learn any instruments, I had already began developing my ear for composition through my role as a listener. Without even knowing it our childhood years of exploring all kinds of rock would later contribute to our signature psychedelic vintage sound.
Los Tripsters consists of my brother Diego Suarez on the bass, Sebastian Bejarano Villarreal on the guitar, and myself (Jose M Suarez) on the drums. Diego and I started off our musical path by making instrumental electronic beats that had a big hip-hop influence in 2014. It was not until 2017 that I finally came across my first drum kit which was a gift from a friend. This drum kit was the beginning of jams that would later evolve into the body of work for The Underworld Records. All the while Sebastian had been polishing his style of guitar playing since middle school. Diego and Sebas were best friends in high school and even back then would talk about making a band one day. Little did I know I would be a part of that at the time.
The concept of The Underworld Records is an independent music production studio in which we lead the sound design and visual design for all musical projects that arise. The first groups to be created in this independent music production studio were Underground Lounge and Abstract Planet. One night when I am booking a show for Underground Lounge, I am asked to book another act to join us and that is when Sebastian pops into my mind. On Instagram, I would see how he was always in the Tijuana music scene playing solo gigs with his loop pedal so we asked him to join. After that night we have been Los Tripsters.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Sometimes yes and sometimes no. As bandmates, the three of us typically gravitate towards drama-free lifestyles, which means that our communication is direct and any issue can be resolved amongst ourselves. The main struggles we had were more about learning to be completely independent with the way we run our operation. There is a lot of work that goes into making an album, releasing it, then booking shows for it. Learning how to design and make album arts, how to mix and master our own songs so we don’t have to pay others to do it, how to book shows ourselves, and many other tasks are all behind-the-scenes moves that we struggled with at certain points. These struggles are a part of the process that makes us better creatives, now our future projects can be fully expressed with even greater experience.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We are known most for our instrumental style of composition. I specialize in recording arts and composition, while Diego and Sebas specialize in theory and composition. We are very memorable for our live music. There is a realm we tap into and feel through our sound in order to create our special atmosphere. I like to visualize our live songs as an in the moment offering to the people and nature around us. Diego and Sebas have a mesmerizing way of fluidly interchanging from the backing rhythm groove to the forefront melody or solo harmoniously with the other during every section of the song. Our style of having the guitars be the sole voice for each melody gives us a lot of freedom with the way we use call and response. I think something that I am most proud of for the band is our recent feat of playing more than once at The Whisky A Go Go. I look forward to our future of exploring outside the Tijuana and San Diego scene to share our music.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
The many people who have invited us to their homes for private gigs in their backyard deserve some credit. That was the very beginning of our live music journey that helped us gain momentum. I am grateful to this first batch of loyal listeners who actually follow us on IG and anyone who has helped spread the word about our music. Ileana is at almost every show capturing the videos that we use for our live footage on YouTube. Tanis is always behind the scenes helping us with album art editing and anything visual art related. I am especially thankful for them two.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lostripsters.bandcamp.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/los.tripsters/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnlQJKnktDhXV38zt7QwMrQ
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/theunderworldrecords
Image Credits
Ethan Newmyer
Ileana Feria
Los Tripsters
