- Roza Terenzi and Mike Midnight team up with emkay for a steamy trip-hop EP.
- Musically speaking, Katie Campbell and Michael Gunson exist at opposite ends of the Australian underground. As Roza Terenzi, Campbell's bass heavy yet zippy sound has had a strong role in encouraging the trance revival. Gunson releases music as Mike Midnight and has mastered a strain of chic, glacial downtempo. The pair have teamed up with Helsinki-based designer and singer Maria Korkeila (AKA emkay) for the EP Pillow Talk under the name trickpony. Although it's put out by Campbell's Step Ball Chain label—which is best known for bouncy prog house—Pillow Talk presents a candlelit take on trip-hop. Endearingly nostalgic, the EP harkens to the jazzy, late '90s heyday of St Germain and Sneaker Pimps.
Pillow Talk is so suave that it gives off a whiff of knowing cheekiness, and one might be taken aback by how sultry these five tracks initially come across. But it doesn't take long for the over-the-top playfulness that underlines the EP to reveal itself. Across Pillow Talk, sensual singing, low-slung synthesizers and shuffling grooves conjure a sweaty, nocturnal atmosphere. "Shiver (On Ice Dub)" is as chilling as the title suggests, propelled by skittering jungle drums, spacious electric guitars and whispers about fingertips on soft skin. "Room To Breathe" plays like Bassbin Twins remixing Air, a laidback breakbeat and growling bass supporting words about clarity in aloneness. "Sponsored Ritual" is the peppiest cut here, carried by an old school hip-hop rhythm and stuttering voice effects. Pillow Talk plays like it was birthed in the racy backroom of an ostentatiously perfumed lounge.
Like many of their Australian peers, Campbell and Gunson have found jaw-dropping ways to infuse timeless styles with textured modernity. As more and more contemporary acts attempt to bring trip hop back, trickpony's reimagination puts them among the most lovably campy—and capable—working to revitalize the genre.
Tracklist01. Room To Breathe
02. Shiver
03. Shiver (On Ice Dub)
04. Sponsored Ritual
05. Pillow Talk