Trigona - Split (2024) [Hi-Res]

Instrumental psych rockers Trigona (Australia) and io audio recordings (USA) join forces.

On the back of recent releases Isophase (Trigona March 2024, Echodelick Records/Worst Bassist Records/We Here & Now/Weird Beard Records) and I Can Hear the Hiders Coughing (io audio recordings, November 2023, Echodelick/Weird Beard/Fuzzed Up & Astromoon Records), the two multi-instrumentalists have come together to create one epic collaboration.

Taking a side each, the Trigona tracks kick off with the propulsive Spectra. With whooshing drums that invoke the sound of a plane taking off, the song is held together by motorik inspired beats and synth bass lines. Halfway through, a melodic guitar solo rises up, kicking the track into overdrive and into the aether.

Andaman Sky brings things back down to earth with its summery, psychedelic groove. Multiple guitar tracks weave together, giving a jangly feel to this cruisey number. While the guitars perpetuate the laidback feeling, the driving bass guitar and drums keep the tune moving forward.

Starting with a tremolo pedal set to maximum swirl and a nod to Loop’s Be Here Now, Vespicula, a darker, moodier number finishes the Trigona side. The reverse reverb that permeates the track lends a creeping, foreboding feeling to the melodic guitar. If Andaman Sky is all summery, shimmery warmth, Vespicula is the opposite, a song for the shadows. It’s a perfect segue into the next side.

io audio recordings’ side begins with the nine-minute rocker Paranormal Champion. The song is a towering wall of sound, with numerous layers and textures built on a solid foundation of pounding drums and thumping bass. With leads and melodies panning across the stereo field, multiple guitars intertwine throughout the track meeting up with bursts of compressed, ultra fuzzy solos. After five minutes, the song calms for a few minutes, with bursts of cleanish guitars, before rebuilding and propelling itself towards a glorious fuzz-drenched ending.

The record finishes with the near 10-minute Ascend and Return. Starting with distorted sounds, the listener could be forgiven for thinking that a field recording from a rocket launch has been used in there somewhere. These sounds give way to a building riff that reaches maximum groove impact when the drums, with echo effects on the toms, enter the fray. Filtered, distorted guitar leads give the song its melody while the sound of a shaking tambourine shows us that they weren’t just for hippies. The track ends with fading guitar and a dark psychedelic flurry of reverberated sounds, creaks, and cracklings – perhaps the sound of space debris falling back to earth.

Buyers of the vinyl will get a very special bonus - the collaboration track Space Sickness. With both artists having a similar approach to recording, it made sense to write something together. Files and ideas were sent across wires underneath the Pacific Ocean and the result is a monstrous io audio recordings/Trigona mash up – one hell of a hefty space rock tune that is a must-listen for fans of both artists.



Tracklist:
1-1 Trigona;io audio recordings - Spectra (Trigona) [6:58]
1-2 Trigona;io audio recordings - Andaman Sky (Trigona) [6:28]
1-3 Trigona;io audio recordings - Vespicula (Trigona) [7:20]
1-4 Trigona;io audio recordings - Paranormal Champion (io audio recordings) [9:04]
1-5 Trigona;io audio recordings - Ascend and Return (io audio recordings) [9:55]