An Interview With Rock Band TRAPT About Their Brand New Album, “DNA”!

In August, Trapt released their 6th album “DNA” via Crash Collide Records.

This new album sees the band taking their sound to new heights and exploring lyrical topics focusing on the emotions humans are capable of feeling and how those emotions shape our actions.

Trapt ran a crowd funding campaign where a select group of fans helped make the album, while Trapt took to their Facebook page to talk about topics ranging from social issues to heartbreak. The lyrics for DNA were inspired to a large degree, by fan responses to fan answers to questions and various topics that were discussed on Trapt’s Facebook. The organic production of the album includes no samples, only what was recorded in the studio by the 4 members of Trapt.

Trapt formed in the late 1990’s in Los Gatos, located in the south bay of San Francisco’s Bay Area. They have previously released six studio albums. 

The group took a new direction when making DNA, self-producing and engineering the album lead by Trapt bassist Pete Charell at his studio The Omen Room in Orange County, CA. The band also enlisted Chris Lord Alge to mix DNA with Cameron Webb mixing 2 of the most recently recorded tracks. This marks the band’s first self- produced record, and the first with the ability to go at their own pace to make their best record to-date. The band didn’t take this flexibility for granted, and kept their fans in mind while writing and producing the effort.

DNA takes the band into new territories that will please existing fans and those new to the band alike. Drawing influences from hard rock and metal, DNA is Trapt at their prime, showcasing dynamic guitar riffs, hypnotic bass lines and hard-hitting yet technical drum work. Songwriter and vocalist Chris Taylor Brown carefully penned lyrics that tell stories of relationship struggles, self-empowerment and living in a society that sometimes feels rigged to pull the everyday person down. The band wants the listener to be inspired, aware and emotionally charged to support rock music and live a life of change and meaning.

“This album is really about the fans and all the amazing insight I was able to put into the lyrics for DNA, by asking them so many deep questions and discussing so many controversial topics through our Facebook page for the year and a half we were writing and recording DNA. Just want to say thank you to all the fans for allowing us to get to know you so personally.” – Chris Taylor Brown / Vocalist

Learn more about Trapt in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! Now that we are more then half-way through 2016, what are some words you would use to describe it?

The year America rocked again! (Laughter)

What were some of the highlights of 2015 for the band?

Finishing the bulk of our newly released album “DNA” and getting to release the first single “Passenger” a year before the album came out.

Growing up, did you all always want to be musicians?

For the most part, we all were playing music a bunch by our early teens, by the end of those teen years, we all were feeling like being musicians was something we could all call a career.

Can you recall your earliest musical memory? And specifically, how did Trapt come to be? Where did the name come from too?

Earliest musical memory was my dad handing me his classical guitar with the nylon strings and telling me if I learned how to play, I could upgrade to electric. I think I was 11. Great day for me, ha!

This August, you released your newest and 6th album, “DNA.” How is this collection different then anything else you’ve put out?

We have worked with a lot of great producers and engineers over the years, so for DNA we channeled all we learned and completely self produced the album with our bass player Peter Charell engineering it. It was great to be able to take the time we needed to perfect the production. We could really take our time, doing the record on our own without an outside producer needing a timeline.

How is your approach to songwriting and ultimately how did you go about putting this record together this time around?

Songwriting starts with a musical idea, either bass or guitar. Most of the time guitar. From there, drums are added and a certain mood is captured. That mood is the basis for a lot of the lyrics that are written. I try and base lyrics off personal experience or in putting myself in other’s shoes and writing from their perspective, but the tone of the music will set the lyrical topics up.

We went through a lot as a band over the year before we started writing the new album and the year we went about writing and recording it. All of what we went through and a lot of how our fans felt about the trials and tribulations in their lives ending up in the lyrical subject matter. We were able to use social media to really get to know our fan’s perspectives on life.

Are you excited to head out on tour next month on the Make America Rock Again tour?

The “Make America Rock Again” tour has been awesome. All the bands are friends and we just go out there every night and have a great time playing for festival size audiences. You can’t beat that.

Have you been able to spend time with the other bands that you’ll be heading out on tour with like Saliva, Saving Abel, Alien Ant Farm, Crazy Town, P.O.D and others?

Oh yeah, we’ve been having a blast both on the stage and off.

Who are some of your favorite artists and what bands continue to inspire Trapt? Who would you love to work with in the future?

My favorite band is Tool, looking forward to a new album from them. As far as working with other artists, I am open to working with just about anyone, as long as the passion and talent is there.

At the end of the day, what do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope listeners take away from your songs?

Mainly to be the person you want to be and not let the outside world bring you down and tell you that you can’t accomplish what you set out to do. Self empowerment in one’s life and relationships with others.