Trip City

One of the first-ever “rave novels” is set to be reissued this June via Velocity Press. ‘Trip City’ was initially released in 1989 at the height of the UK’s acid house movement, and was accompanied by a soundtrack tape featuring five bespoke tracks by A Guy Called Gerald — best known for penning the acid house anthem ‘Voodoo Ray’.

‘Trip City’, written by Trevor Miller, is a crime thriller set in the underground world of London, where a fictional designer drug called FX has come to dominate nightclub culture. Within this dangerous and hedonistic society, the novel follows the rise and fall of a promoter on the edge of madness at the heart of one of the world’s most notorious clubbing cities.

‘Trip City’ received praise from the press upon its initial release, with the London Evening Standard likening the work to a contemporary version of Jack Kerouac’s ‘On The Road’. In 2021, the book’s dusky soundtrack — built on shuffling hi-hats, vocal samples and pounding kicks — will be reissued on vinyl for the first time, 32 years after it debuted on cassette.

‘Trip City’ will be released by Velocity Press on June 4th, 2021.