Italian instrumental psych rockers Da Captain Trips premiere new single »Spiralis«; new album »In Between« out June 27th on Subsound Records!

Italian instrumental psych rockers Da Captain Trips premiere the second single »Spiralis« taken from their upcoming full-length album, »In Between«, set to release on June 27th, 2025 via Subsound Records.

Tracklist:
01. Die
02. Whispers
03. Spiralis
04. Back To Sargassian
05. Land of Shades
06. Lotus

Courtesy of NRV Promotion:

Da Captain Trips is an instrumental psychedelic band founded in 2009 in northern Italy (between Piacenza and Lecco) by three long-time friends and musicians: Riccardo Cavicchia (guitar), Federico Chiappa (bass), and Fabio Besani (drums). All active in the Italian underground scene since the late ’90s, they came together around a shared passion for endless jamming, spacey improvisations, and the timeless spirit of psychedelic rock. The band’s name pays tribute to Stephen King’s epic saga »The Dark Tower«. Their debut EP »Aljamed« (2010), recorded live in one day, laid the foundations for their sound – desert-infused grooves, heavy-psych riffing, and deep space-rock atmospheres.

In 2011, the arrival of keyboardist Ema brought a new dimension to their live shows, turning each performance into a fully immersive and improvised cosmic journey. In 2013, they released their first full-length album »Anechoic Chamber Outcomes« through Phonosphera and Vincebus Eruptum, followed by appearances at major European psych festivals like Psychedelic Network (Germany) and Stoned Karma Fest. Their 2017 concept album »Adventures In The Upside Down«, featuring artwork by legendary sci-fi illustrator Roberto Bonadimani, marked a turning point for the band. That same year, Ema was replaced by Paolo “Apollo” Negri (Wicked Minds), pushing the band into new musical territories beyond traditional song structure.

Photo credit: Filippo and Francesco Grecchi

In 2022, they released »Maths Of The Elements«, a tribute to the forces of Nature, blending expansive instrumentals, field recordings, and a visual concept centered around a shaman/scientist figure. The album reflects a maturing sound – cinematic, exploratory, and deeply emotional. In 2023, the band began working on a new cycle inspired by the »The Tibetan Book of the Dead«, exploring the themes of life, death, transition, and rebirth. With their new label Subsound Records, Da Captain Trips continues to evolve, ever faithful to improvisation, sonic experimentation, and the transformative power of the psychedelic experience.

Today, the band releases »Spiralis«, second extract from their new album to be release next week on Subsound Records.

»In Between« is the fifth full-length album of the band and comes after 3 years from »Maths of The Elements« with the same line up. This time the mission of the four musicians is to explore the sound and the landscape of the place “in between” where our consciousness moves when the physical form ends its time. Death is part of life and it could be the last definitive psychedelic trip.

A great inspiration was reading »The Tibetan Book of the Dead«, where you can find a detailed explanation of what to do in life to recognize the way after you have passed away. They tried to give their own interpretation going deep in their consciousness to explore the sound of that moment, passing through the colors, whispers, shades, symbols and thinking about the emptiness of our being. The result can be perceived in their compositions from a dark and a light side of the music that fight. Compared to the previous album, there is an improvement in dialogue between guitar and keyboards and structures are like a flow because most of the ideas come from improvisations and some songs were born and developed starting from the rhythm.

All the songs have been recorded live, mixed and mastered at the “Outside Inside Studio” in the middle of woods in the north of Italy by Matt Bordin, between November 2024 and February 2025. Visual artist and friend “Dem” created this beautiful artwork as his own interpretation of the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Inspired by the shape of a double Vajra (a ritual tool symbolizing absolute stability in Tibetan Buddhism) he merged it with magical symbols from various European traditions that bridge the material and spiritual worlds.

Pre-order »In Between« here:
dacaptaintrips.bandcamp.com/album/in-between

Da Captain Trips are:
Riccardo Cavicchia – Guitars
Federico Chiappa – Bass
Tommaso Villa – Drums & Percussions
Paolo “Apollo” Negri – Keyboards

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well