TR/ST

TR/ST (previously known as Trust) is a Canadian electronic music project of Robert Alfons. It was formed as a band in 2010 when Alfons met Maya Postepski of Austra.[7] The project has spawned four albums so far: TRST (2012), Joyland (2014), The Destroyer (Part 1) and The Destroyer (Part 2) (2019). Alfons has also produced remixes for Feist, Moby, Zhala and Jonna Lee.

This article is about the musician. For other uses, see TRST.

TR/ST
Robert Alfons performing as TR/ST in Bologna in 2015
Background information
OriginToronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres
Years active2010 (2010)–present
Labels
Associated acts
Websitewww.tr-st.xyz
MembersRobert Alfons
Past membersMaya Postepski

History

2010–2013: Formation and TRST

Alfons and Postepski met in late 2009, started writing songs together,[8] and formed the band in January 2010,[9] insisting that they were more than just an Austra side project.[10] The band started out with Sacred Bones Records, releasing their debut single "Candy Walls" and "Bulbform" in 2011,[11] on the strength of the former, they were signed to record label Arts & Crafts in the same year.[12]

They released their critically acclaimed debut album TRST on 28 February 2012 on the Arts & Crafts label.[13] Critic Luis-Enrique Arrazola of the National Post said (of their Toronto release party), "Trust gave an outstanding performance proving that they're an act worthy of all the hype. With a set far past midnight, they're the perfect ending to a wild night in the city, taking you on a relentless trip through a set list dripping with sexual tension before winding down to the last pulses of the synthesizer."[14]

Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork rated the album 7.4 out of 10 saying "...I quite like Alfons' voice; it has a slithering, grimy quality to it that increases the raunch-factor on particularly dirty-sounding tracks like "Shoom" and "Bulbform", and when he struts his stuff on "Sulk" and "Dressed for Space", he sounds like the kind of personality-heavy singer indie culture's been hesitant to embrace over the last few years."[15] It was listed at number eight on Insound's Top Albums of 2012[16] and at number thirty-seven on Under the Radar's Top 50 Albums of 2012.[17]

Soon after the release of the album Postepski left the band to focus on Austra's growing commitments and her own solo project 'Princess Century'.[18][19]

2014–2015: Joyland
TR/ST performing at The Pinhook in Durham on 15 April 2014

Joyland was released on 3 March 2014 by Arts & Crafts. The album received generally favorable reviews. MusicOMH gave it a score 4 out of 5, describing the album as doing an "excellent job of sharpening and streamlining Trust’s sound into something even better than that displayed on the debut."[20] The album debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart.[21]

It was promoted by three singles: "Rescue, Mister" accompanied by a music video directed by Sabrina Ratté,[22] "Capitol" with a music video directed by Will Joines,[23] and "Are We Arc?" accompanied by a music video directed by Malcolm Pate.[24]

On 13 March 2015, Alfons released the single "Slug".[25]

2016–present: The Destroyer

In Summer 2016, Robert Alfons confirmed that the upcoming third studio album was "being finished late last month". The album was set to be released in 2017 but the release date was delayed.[26] The album was created in a 150-year-old farmhouse near the north of Toronto and in Los Angeles.[27][1]

On 14 July 2017, Robert Alfons released "Bicep", the first single promoting the upcoming album.[28] On 6 December 2017, the artist premiered music video for "Destroyer". The clip was directed by Justin Tyler Close and Ryan Heffington[29] In the following year, TR/ST collaborated with singer ionnalee on the song "Harvest" for the album Everyone Afraid to Be Forgotten.

On 5 February 2019, TR/ST released a video for the single "Gone" and announced an upcoming two-part album The Destroyer, with a release date of 19 April 2019 for the first collection of songs, followed by three singles, "Unbleached", released in February "Grouch", released in March and "Colossal", released in April.[1][6][30][31] The record marked the return of former member Maya Postepski as a collaborator.[32]

On 25 July 2019, Robert Alfons released the second single, "Iris", off his fourth studio album The Destroyer (Part 2). The track was produced by Alfons, mixed and additionally produced by Damian Taylor and live drums were played by Lia Braswell.[33] On the same day, the artist announced the release of the album, release date and artwork credits via Instagram with the digital pre-order being available on iTunes.[34][35] The track was followed by other three singles: "Destroyer", officially released on 29 August 2019 and premiered on Flood Magazine,[36] "The Stain", released on 19 September 2019 and premiered on Magnetic,[37] and "Cor", released on 10 October 2019 and teased on YouTube before the premiere.[38] In contrast to the industrial sound and immediacy of The Destroyer, follow up release The Destroyer (Part 2) is primarily a dream pop and ambient album with arrangements that differ from earlier TR/ST releases.

Members

Robert Alfons (born 11 April 1987)[39][40] is a Canadian singer, songwriter and record producer of TR/ST from Winnipeg, Canada.[41] His voice has been described as "soul-piercing",[41] "sluggish"[42] and having a "slithering, grimy quality."[43]

During live performances, Alfons is accompanied by Lia Braswell (before 2019, it was Anne Gauthier) and Esther Blue that play drums and keyboards respectively.[44]

Discography

Studio albums
Title Details
TRST
Joyland
  • Released: 4 March 2014
  • Label: Arts & Crafts
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
The Destroyer (Part 1)
The Destroyer (Part 2)
  • Released: 1 November 2019
  • Label: Grouch, Royal Mountain
  • Formats: CD, LP, cassette, digital download

Singles
Title Year Album
"Candy Walls" 2011 TRST
"Bulbform"
"Sulk" 2012
"Dressed for Space"
"Heaven" 2013
"Rescue, Mister" 2014 Joyland
"Capitol"
"Are We Arc?"
"Slug" 2015 N/A
"Bicep" 2017 The Destroyer – Part 1
"Gone" 2019
"Unbleached"
"Grouch"
"Colossal"
"Control Me"
"Iris" The Destroyer – Part 2
"Destroyer"
"The Stain"
"Cor"

Guest appearances
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Not a Waste of Sky" 2011 N/A Todo Muere Volume 1
"Harvest" 2018 ionnalee Everyone Afraid to Be Forgotten
"Dissolved" 2020 Jesse Draxler Reigning Cement

Remixes
Title Year Artist
"Graveyard"
(Trust remix)[45]		 2012 Feist
"The Perfect Life"
(Trust remix)[46]		 2013 Moby
"Aerobic Lambada"
(TR/ST remix)[47]		 2015 Zhala
"Not Human"
(TR/ST remix)[48]		 2017 ionnalee
"Hear You Now"
(TR/ST remix)[49]		 2020 Taali

References
  1. Graff, Gary (5 February 2019). "TR/ST Returns With 'Gone' From Two-Part 'Destroyer' Project: Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  2. Thiessen, Brock (13 July 2017). "TR/ST "Bicep"". Exclaim!. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  3. Lee, Tim (22 October 2012). "Trust - TRST". MusicOMH. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  4. Goller, Josh (4 March 2014). "Trust: Joyland". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  5. Thompson, Paul (14 March 2014). "Trust: Joyland Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  6. Darville, Jordan (21 February 2019). "TR/ST's new song "Unbleached" is industrial-rave perfection". Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  7. "Trust Artist Page". CBC Radio 3. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  8. Ritchie, Kevin (1 March 2012). "Trust » Local duo emerges from the haze with new LP". Now. 31 (1571). Toronto: Now Communications. p. 39. ISSN 0712-1326. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  9. Bimm, Jordan (17 June 2010). "NXNE » Trust". Now. 31 (1571). Toronto: Now Communications. p. 39. ISSN 0712-1326. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  10. Arrazola, Luis-Enrique (1 March 2012). "Trust: 'It's the sound of rats running up a mountain'". National Post. Toronto: Postmedia Network. p. Arts. ISSN 1486-8008. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2012. As the duo readies for an upcoming tour with a three-piece set, Trust has established themselves as more than just an Austra side project – They insist they're here to stay.
  11. "Candy walls" (sound recording) / Trust, Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada, AMICUS No. 39084565, retrieved 8 March 2012
  12. Hudson, Alex (20 September 2011). "Toronto's Trust Sign to Arts & Crafts, Unveil New Single". Exclaim!. Toronto: 1059434 Ontario Inc. ISSN 1207-6600. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  13. "TRST" (sound recording) / Trust, Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada, OCLC 779198312, AMICUS No. 40343491, retrieved 8 March 2012
  14. Arrazola, Luis-Enrique (5 March 2012). "Concert Review: Trust come out of their shell at Wrongbar in Toronto". National Post. Toronto: Postmedia Network. p. Arts. ISSN 1486-8008. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  15. Fitzmaurice, Larry (28 February 2012). "Review: TRST". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  16. "Insound's Top 10 Albums of 2012". Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  17. "Under the Radar's Top 50 Albums of 2012". Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  18. Hudson, Alex (23 January 2014). "Robert Alfons Explains Trust's Evolution with 'Joyland,' Shares New Tarantula X Remix". Exclaim!. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  19. Coplan, Chris (7 January 2014). "Listen: Trust's provocative new single, "Rescue, Mister"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  20. Lee, Tim (22 April 2014). "Trust - Joyland". MusicOMH.
  21. "Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard.
  22. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Director website entry.
  23. Hughes, Josiah (10 April 2010). "Trust "Capitol" (video)". Exclaim!.
  24. Hilleary, Mike (19 September 2014). "Watch: Trust - "Are We Arc?" Video". Under the Radar.
  25. Hudson, Alex (13 March 2015). "TR/ST "Slug"". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  26. Jiang, Joanna (7 September 2016). "TR/ST confirms upcoming album, to play West Coast run this weekend". The B-Side. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  27. Kost, Ryan (7 September 2016). "Trust pushes past fear to create new atmospheric soundscapes". SFGate. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  28. Darville, Jordan (13 July 2017). "TR/ST Flex Serious Industrial-Pop Muscle On "Bicep"". The Fader. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  29. "TR/ST: Destroyer (directed by Justin Tyler Close & Ryan Heffington)". YouTube. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  30. TR/ST OFFICIAL (21 March 2019). "TR/ST - Grouch". Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  31. Pearis, Bill (4 April 2019). "listen to TR/ST's new single "Colossal"". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  32. Correia, Arthur (25 October 2019). "TR/ST reflects on new album, upcoming tour and 10 years of career". highclouds.org. High Clouds. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  33. "Post". Instagram. Robert Alfons. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  34. Alfons, Robert (25 July 2019). "Post". Instagram. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  35. "The Destroyer - 2 by TR/ST on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 1 November 2019.
  36. LeSuer, Mike (29 August 2019). "PREMIERE: TR/ST Change Directions on "Destroyer"". Flood Magazine. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  37. Middleton, Ryan (19 September 2019). "Premiere: TR/ST Unveils Melancholic New Single "The Stain"". Magnetic. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  38. "TR/ST - cor". YouTube. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  39. Maya Postepski (11 April 2019). Happy birthday little devil @alfons_robert (Instagram). Instagram. Event occurs at ≈6:00 GMT.
  40. Zana Bayne (11 April 2019). HAPPY BIRTHDAY @alfons_robert (Instagram). Instagram. Event occurs at ≈18:00 GMT.
  41. Makarova, Irina (23 July 2012). "True Faith: an interview with Trust". Electronic Beats. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  42. Mohammed, Jenna (31 October 2019). "TR/ST The Destroyer - 2". Exclaim!. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  43. Fitzmaurice, Larry (28 February 2012). "Trust - TRST". Pitchfork. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  44. Rayner, Ben (8 October 2014). "Trust's Robert Alfons comes out of the shadows". Toronto Star. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  45. Hilleary, Mike (14 August 2012). "Listen: Feist - "Graveyard" (TRUST remix)". Under the Radar. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  46. Maymind, Leo (7 October 2013). "Moby "The Perfect Life (TRUST Remix)"". XLR8R. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  47. "Aerobic Lambada (Remixes) - Single by Zhala on Apple Music". iTunes Music. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  48. "Not Human (TR/ST Remix) - Single by ionnalee on Apple Music". iTunes Music. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  49. "Hear You Now" (TR/ST Remix) - Single by Taali on Apple Music". iTunes Music. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
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