Doomed Confessionary: Gabriel Lillo (Samsara Trip)
Samsara Trip is an instrumental psychedelic stoner rock band from San Antonio, Chile. Characterized by its exotic, heavy and enveloping sound, which will take you on an internal journey with its dark, mystical and volatile soundscapes, they have left an indelible mark on the independent scene since its formation in 2015.
With an enveloping and exotic instrumental, the band immerses its listeners in soundscapes that oscillate between the hypnotic and the cosmic, fusing the rawness of desert rock with the introspection of neo-psychedelic rock, and a dark touch characteristic of doom metal.
Samsara Trip are Gabriel Lillo (guitar), Marco Soto (guitar), Michel Irribarra (bass) and Gustavo Muñoz (drums).
Can you say a few words about your band?
Well, Samsara Trip is made up of 4 members, we have had a friendship for many years, since we were children and teenagers. We are like a family now, the band is like our space for musical, artistic and spiritual search in which we can connect deeply with our being and form an intense inner journey in each rehearsal, song and live performance. When playing we are 4 minds and spirits converging and we create only one being, called Samsara Trip.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Without a doubt, the biggest challenge for the band has been learning to do everything by ourselves to integrate into the music industry. We are a band that has started from the bottom and that has made us have a very DIY mentality because we like to have everything under control even with the scarce economic and time resources that we have.
This can sometimes be very overwhelming because of the amount of work it requires, we feel a little alone in this world where you don’t just have to be a musician. You also have to know about advertising, audiovisual, graphic design, marketing, sound, manufacturing, merch, managing social networks, organizing events, etc.
We love it! But it is very exhausting because this requires a lot of study, hours of work and we are terrible with perseverance and it is hard for us to be organized. Sometimes we would like to just dedicate ourselves to creating music, playing live and enjoying ourselves, but we have big aspirations and we hope that the work will bear fruit in the near future.
What are you most proud of so far?
We are very proud that despite the difficulties we have managed to record our first live session “El Color En Las Sombras” where we did a mix, master and audiovisual post production work for the first time, with a result that we loved! We are also very proud of our debut album, homonymous, which is ready to be released and we believe will be a great surprise for our listeners.
Well, we are also very happy to play live with great bands from the scene and to be surrounded by very good people who support us and who we appreciate a lot.
What was your biggest regret?
Mmm no regrets! Maybe this year we would have liked to dedicate more time to music and friendship than to the management work mentioned above, since it is something that exhausts us mentally. But everything has its course and you have to ride the wave, and thanks to this work we have met wonderful people and we are already close to publishing our album.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
So far I think my favorite has been playing at “Mibar” with Yajaira, it was a very comfortable stage, with good sound and good lighting. Everything was very professional and I think one of the things we value most about live music venues or bars is that everything sounds the way it should sound.
We also really enjoyed playing in open airs like “Rock en el cerro” organized by the San Antonio band Polvora. It’s always nice to be in direct contact with nature and feel the earth vibrate, breathe clean air, and see the forests, it inspires us a lot.
What was the biggest surprise in the music scene for you?
The biggest surprise was going to the Woodstaco festival in 2015 in Teno-Chile when we met many Chilean heavy and psychedelic rock bands. What this festival conveyed was the biggest influence for the beginnings of Samsara Trip… there were 4 simultaneous stages and each one was a world apart. Total madness and for us musically it was a before and after.
What is currently in your usual musical rotation?
This question is a bit difficult for me haha. Well, currently the music I listen to is very varied, I feel like I listen to music in stages and moods, so I always go through different styles in short periods of time and I also love getting to know new music. Mainly this year I have kept listening to bands like Yawning Man, Jakob, Stone From The Sky, Toundra, My Sleeping Karma, Tides From Nebula, King Gizzard, Icarus Gasoline, Russian Circles, Deftones, Spiral Vortex, Gary Clark Jr among others. There are also other moments of musical addiction these last few months where I have been listening to bands like Tropical Fuck Storm, Chini.png, Season Of Storms, Ringo Deathstarr, Isla Mujeres and other bands with a dream pop and shoegaze character. I have also been listening to electronic and pop music when I work or am alone at home such as Alex Anwandter, »Fanny Leona« by Playa Gotica, Mariana Montenegro, Denver, Buscabulla, Javiera Mena, Astro etc.
What was the best advice you were given as a musician?
Music is the most important thing and it lasts, difficult times are just temporary and you have to know how to get through them.
What are your guilty places?
Haha, in my late night moments I like to play Age of Empires II with strangers.
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Chile?
Of course! The music scene in Chile never ceases to amaze me, there are many new releases lately that I have loved, such as »Retrovisor« by Adelaida or »Isla Friendship« by our friends Dinastia Moon, »Live Session in Cahuil 2023« by Red Valley, etc.
The bands that have already established themselves seem very active and that’s great. But I feel that the bands of new generations and more niche are a bit in the shadows. It’s not so bad, but it could be better. Sometimes it’s hard to build a community because socially we’re going through times of a lot of individuality and difficulties. We would love to be able to go out more to play and share with friendly bands from other cities, but sometimes it’s not well rewarded and limitations arise. I think we have to work together to be able to do what we love and at the same time be sustainable.
I want to take this opportunity to thank those who take the time to organize festivals and events like Stoner Haze from Stoned Ape Productions so that we can join together and make this even bigger!
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
In January and February of this 2025 we will have the tour to release our self-titled album where we will travel to the South of Chile and play in cities like Santiago, San Antonio, Molina, Los Angeles, Temuco, Pucon and Concepcion.
On our Instagram and social networks we will give information about each show, we invite you to follow us!
What are your plans for the future as a band?
With Samsara Trip, besides preparing the release of our debut album, we have already been working on our second album, which already has 5 songs written and demoed. So we plan to raise funds to record and keep rocking
Do you have any special plans for New Year’s Eve?
Normally we celebrate with family, friends and everything very quiet for the moment, personally I like it that way. although we are always open to participate in some event if we are invited. We have a great time in these instances
What is the best way for people to support your band?
Please go to our events, buy merch and listen to Samsara Trip haha. It would also help us a lot if you interact on our social networks and recommend us if you like our music.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Have a good trip!
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well