Humans
Surrounded by music since they were children: Meet Peter and Annie
Four people are getting together after work to shoot a music video in the office. They were colleagues turned friends who then became a band, which might sound odd for many people, but is made possible at trivago. Meet Peter (Agile Coach) and Annie (Country Developer) who jam together whenever they can!
trivago talents share a passion for tech but there are also many who get together to practice their hobbies. Have you heard of the Tintin band that was founded by trivago choir members? No? Then it is about time you get to know Peter and Annie who were so kind enough to interview with Life at trivago to tell the story of their love for music and how they created a music video with their band at the office. Check out the video at the end of this article!
Life at trivago: Hi Peter and Annie! Where did you guys meet and who is joining the jam sessions of “Tintin”?
Peter Kelly: We met through the trivago choir, which rehearses weekly on Thursdays at 17:30, but that was months before we started playing music together. We got on as friends really well and I (Peter) asked Annie one day if she would like to jam with the aim of playing at a trivago Vibe event in early 2018. I had the idea of a few songs we could cover, and for a fuller sound we asked Yun to join on piano and Juan-Pedro on vocals.
Lat: Where does your band name “Tintin” come from”?
Anh Nguyen (Annie): Well, Peter is the founder of the band and he looks like Tintin from the same-named comic. Easy as that!
Lat: So you do regular jam sessions together?
PK: We practice more when we have one of the trivago events coming up, and when that happens, we will jam on weekends, evenings or whenever we can. We should do more practising when there isn’t anything on the horizon but it’s a challenge to get entirely motivated!
Lat: What kind of music do you play?
PK: Generally, it’s modern pop music that can be played on guitar and suits both our voices in terms of harmonies. This means nearly every song we do we have to shift the key up or down but it’s fun as well as challenging.
AN: Peter tried to convince me to go with some more Rock & Roll songs once or twice but that attempt failed flat.
Lat: Where does you love for music come from? Did you sing or play an instrument before joining trivago?
PK: I have been surrounded by music since I was a child. I remember my dad giving me ‘Bad’ by Michael Jackson as my first ever CD and it’s still an amazing album now. He also introduced me to Led Zeppelin by playing me “When The Levee Breaks” on a top-quality stereo. The drums on that track were recorded from the top of a stairwell and they sound insane. Trust me, check it out. Now I’ll listen to pop, indie, rock, hip hop, dance… Anything as long as there’s something interesting to deconstruct in the song. I played violin at school and then moved on to guitar and drums, and I’m trying to get better on the piano.
AN: Everyone in my family loves singing, so I grew up singing with my mom and my brothers at home. My dad worked as a sound engineer for concerts in his spare time so I also had the chance to follow him to see performances. I think that is why I always wanted to perform on stage. I joined Hanoi’s Primary singing group until the age of 12 when my parents thought that it would take up too much time out of school. It was really hard for me to stop going to singing class back then.
Lat: What do you enjoy the most when making music together?
AN: For me the rehearsals, not the concerts, are the best part of our journey. It was the most relaxing and joyful time of the week for me when I can forget all other stressful things in life just to focus on the songs that we like. Peter can write harmonies and add special effects and elements to the songs to make them beautiful. I have learned new techniques and gained musical knowledge and that excites me.
Lat: You also shot a video. How did you get the idea?
After the concerts we thought that it would be great if we could save these memories by recording one or two songs we like the most. So I contacted Matthias Cieschinger from Creative Production and fortunately he loved the idea. Matthias is a talented colleague and is skilful in cinematography. We were really happy and excited to have a project together after work. And yes, after one late night at trivago (and some sleepless nights for Matthias), we produced this video. We don’t know where our paths will lead us in the future, but this video will definitely be there and reminds us of a lovely time we had and continue to have at trivago.
Curious what Tintin sounds like in practice? Listen to their version of “Marvin Gaye” here:
