Acclaimed Aotearoa Artists Barnaby Weir And Andy Christiansen Form New Band TRiPS; Announce Debut Album Release

TRiPS is an exciting new musical collaboration from Andrew Christiansen and ear fellow Barnaby Weir. The dynamic duo will release their self-titled debut album on July 24.

On TRiPS self-titled album there’s a glaze of psychedelic calm in the eyes of the new songs that resonate on top of familiar, classic and experimental rock and pop fusion. Steady and juicy drum tones lead the way for Christiansen’s incredible acid soaked riffs and provide comfortable grooves for Weirs and other vocalists intriguing lyrics and vocal delivery.

Christiansen and Weir first met when they both played in the iconic NZ band The Black Seeds “we have known each other for 20 years and played music for many of those touring the world” shares Christiansen.

This new collaboration was organically created between the friends on a weekend away with their young families. “One weekend I rented a house in the Wairarapa and we took both families over, the guitar came out and we were talking about Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and rock radio and music in general, then we just started writing with no destination for any songs” says Christiansen. “We had maybe 6 ideas in about an hour and so I booked The Surgery and a month or two later we started working on music.”

For this 10 track album, the rules are set aside without boundaries of a usual band existence and the fresh air is impossible to ignore. Hats are tipped or tripped towards the roots of rock n roll with hand shakes from the 70’s tape heavy quality in sound and hi-fives with tones from the future.

“On this album we are most proud of the fact that the music is our truth, we ignored any mitigation from the worries of having to fit in a style” shares TRiPS.

Christiansen adds “I hope for listeners to be grabbed straight away, but also to fall in love with it more on the second or third listen and so on. The song offerings are quite diverse, but there is far more connection between the songs than you may get from the first listen. There has been a lot of thought put into this track listing and the connections than you may first get. It really is a 10 song story and not just an album.”

Synonymous with well-loved bands, Fly My Pretties and The Black Seeds, long-time musician and songwriter Barnaby Weir’s professional musical career spans more than 23 years. An acclaimed songwriter and producer in his own right, Barnaby has performed in almost 20 countries and contributed song-writing and producing on over 24 albums. Weir played a strong hand in production, conceptual ideas & vision of TRiPS. His voice can also be heard on songs "Way of my Flow", "I'm on fire" & "Let's go out".

Fellow Black Seed (2007-2012) multi-instrumentalist Andy Christiansen has a diverse musical career. A New Zealand fixture on trumpet for many bands, genre hopping along the way, he has played at some of the world's biggest festivals & contributed to multiple albums. Andy is currently Managing Director of Goodtime Music Academy, NZ's largest private music school. Christiansen wrote or co-wrote every song on the album. You will feel fully immersed in Andy's creative vision, & hear his hand on the majority of instruments being played.

Creative freedom and collaboration is at the heart of this album. The pair joined forces with multi-award winning producer Lee Prebble and esteemed New Zealand artists Daniel Weetman (The Black Seeds) whose voice can be heard on "Wishes" & "Modern Thinking", Elan Van-Mills (Paslode) on "Beat the Horse" and Kat Little (Deva Mahal, Bret McKenzie & ONONO) whose vocals can be heard on many songs throughout the album.

“Being able to work with singers we admire and push them into a direction that people may not expect, whilst also celebrating what we love about their voices was inspiring” shares TRiPS. “We really tried to push the comfort zones a little which was amazing and everyone was willing and receptive which further solidified our decision that they were the right choice of cohorts.”

The long term working friendship between Weir, Christiansen and veteran engineer Prebble, was confirmed inside of the intensive studio sessions. “His attention to the tracking and mixing process played out like a sculptor of tone” share the band. “There were, at times, too many laughs per hour, sending all three of us into a distracted state of awesomeness.” The recordings and mixes came to life over 2021 and 2022 with Weir and Christiansen carefully part time crafting the riffs into order.

TRiPS is that feeling of exhilaration when you “step outside yourself and unwind this daily mess” it’s the sound of musical freedom on the back of a mind altering day dream, new vivid colours and open skies as you set out into the unknown.

“The satisfaction of musical day TRiPS forever stays in our hearts and minds, our own soundtrack to life through the lens of this original Kaleidoscope.” conclude Weir and Christiansen.

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