diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index ed4bd21..2836072 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -23,7 +23,13 @@ addons:
 env:
   - http_proxy=''
   - HTTP_PROXY=''
+
+git:
+  submodules: false
+
 before_install:
+  # init the plugins / submodules
+  - git submodule update --init
   # install alsa stuff
   - sudo apt-get install libasound2-dev
   # Link gcc-6 and g++-6 to their standard commands