Trippin is August Gonzalez’s newest single from her much anticipated EP. The song's lyrics are about August’s experience as she recounts her first and only time taking acid. Gonzalez talks about how the song was formed saying,
“This was a song I wrote about 10-11 years ago about the first and last time I tried acid. I found out later that the acid strip I took was actually 10 hits of acid and I tripped for 14 hours so you can imagine how scary it really was.” She goes on to say, “‘The chorus is the scariest part of the trip… I got tunnel vision and thought I saw myself dying. I looked down and there was blood all over my arms, I was being taken to the hospital in an ambulance, and I wasn’t sure if I was alive or dead. And I remember asking my sister if I was dead. She started freaking out and was like “No What the Fuck?!” After that the trip got pretty bad. My sister had to hold me and calm me down because I was having a hard time figuring out what was real and what wasn’t. I kind of lost my mind for a second and forgot I was on drugs’”
August's lyrics definitely portray a ‘bad trip’ in the best way possible with a very honest take on the scary side of drugs. This was one of the most creative tracks that this author has heard in a while. The way this song's music was dark and heavy when it had the more scary lyrics we at SNAP believe will captivate the audience. This track was produced by Brendan Carper of LovesBlind and Five AM.
(Photo Credit: GFS Studios)
August begins the song in a more ‘happy’ mood. She doesn’t come out and say it but most hear stories of what happens during a trip and how you should go into one in a positive mindset. Both of these are types of illusions that she wants to see during the trip.
“Bout to be gone I tell ya Seeing cartoon faces And these melting places”
After taking the drug her high begins to hit and it’s a good time. This is where she talks about what she starts to see at the beginning of her trip.
“Amazed by the floating colors Getting vibes from the others Where’s a strip I need another”
Soon, though, she will realize that her trip has taken a dark turn. She talks about the incident where she believes that she was dead or dying and getting taken to the hospital.
“Tunnel vision Gone ya I’m dead Hear the siren Sister crying Alive back in my bed Eyes bleeding No reading Man it’s all in my head”
At this point she is in the middle of her bad trip not knowing what's real and what's fake. Everything around her is changing and she even believes that she is being taken to the hospital because she thought she was dying.
"Stuck in this trip And I don’t wanna come back Losing my mind all night Until the sunset Can’t tell what's real and what's not"
The best way to describe the music is wavy and heavy during the chorus, but during both of the verses there is this almost electronic vibe to it. Some synthesizers and percussion but for the most part it is very stripped back. As it reaches the chorus it begins to build until it brings in the drums and guitar for a heavy and dark feel. This gave goosebumps to the author of this review because it’s such a dramatic change of pace from the beginning of the song. The interesting part is that it goes back to stripped down after the chorus only to build back up for the second chorus. Everything about this song is so cohesive and well thought out.
The music video looks as though it is ‘glitching’ the entire time with August going in and out of focus as it changes scenes. Between the scenes of August glitching and looking as though she is lagging, Color Me In Media helped her achieve what some say to see during a trip. A detail that this author enjoyed about the entirety of the music video was the scenes where August was looking in the mirror. It really shows that even though this is a song that she is excited to share with others that it was a true event that did cause trauma and made her, to an extent, rethink what she was doing. As she talked about how the song was created this was her one and only time taking acid because of what happened.
In conclusion I would highly encourage you to call your local radio stations and request this song. It will definitely help you get through your work day or even get you pumped up to go to the gym. The energy on this song we think would get anyone hyped up. Check out August on social media at these links:
Make sure you check out everything that August is doing now and in the future. Something tells me this is not the last we’ve heard or seen of August on SNAP Magazine ;)
I loved it high octane music and video. Way to go friend. I'll be saying I knew her when... Hometown Pride our Burlington own.