Premiere: Hear Bengaluru Act Trip-thy Fuse Rap and Prog on ‘Old Madras Riffs’

Bengaluru act Trip-thy add a new twist in their experimental sound by pairing prog intensity and emotional Tamil rap on “Old Madras Riffs.”

Guitarist and founder Jaiyant Jankiram, who launched Trip-thy in 2016, brings the heavy with drummer and producer Shawn Jacob, who also mixed and mastered the track. Packing a punch as the vocalist leading the track is Tirunelveli rapper and producer Vin Tamizha aka Vinodh Kannan.

The Tamil song, which clocks in at six minutes, starts off with a barrage of riffs for a full minute and a half, giving ebbs and flows to match Vin Tamizha’s moody cadence. The band says in a statement about the track, “‘Old Madras Riffs’ is about a coming-of-age song into adulthood. It’s told from the perspective of a silly, fun-loving, ambitious, angsty, and highly motivated individual.”

To match the lyrical flow, Trip-thy throw in a catchy kind of modern prog. The song is the second single of the band’s forthcoming second record, to be released in 2023. Previously, the band released music in a piecemeal fashion, starting with their debut single “Female Genocide” in 2020. They collated the songs together for their debut EP Songs of Obscure Significance 1, which was out in 2021.

Listen to “Old Madras Riffs” below.