Step into Emkay’s unapologetic mindscape, sound journey, rollercoaster ride - hedonistic aural sensibilities if you will. You might know them as the haunting, lilting vocals behind trip-hop, down-tempo supergroup Trickpony, or as their other alter-ego mu Gem-K - but strap yourself in for just over an hour of throbbing, delightfully dark and delicious cutting breaks and pure pulsating energy to get you through whatever the hell you’re doing.
Can you tell us a little bit about the energy behind this mix, is there anything you would prescribe doing while listening?
I wanted to distill the supercharged feeling of spring rolling into summer ~ high energy, endless nights of never-setting sun tinged with the intoxicating scent of early flowers, lush green, dripping sweat, sunscreen, dust.. all twisted into a sxy sultry booty-swaying bag of gems… It’s a medley of everything I’m vibing to on loop going into the fast-approaching summer.
Listen solo or with friends outdoors- bask in the sun, go on a run, have a solo dance party in the woods..?
There are so many different avenues in this mix, it’s truly unique and so beautifully constructed and never loses momentum - who are some of your favourite sounds in this and who else are you inspired by at the moment?
Thank you~! Picking a favorite is tough… I somehow squeezed in so many favorites. I’ve been obsessing over Trustee after that unknown/untitled release came out. And in general anything kind of full-throttle, percussive and sexy… DJ Sprinter definitely falls into that category too. I’ve also been making a bit of a return to electro recently and the Omicron track tickles me just right.
How did Trickpony come to be / how did you meet and form an alliance with Michael (Mike Midnight) and Katie (Roza Terenzi)?
Katie (Roza Terenzi) was the mastermind behind the vision. She brought us all together with the idea in mind of testing the waters with a downtempo pop excursion. She saw me play my second ever gem-K live set at Solstice some years back. I think that’s where she got the idea for me to join her and Mike who, like Katie, is a local music scene legend in Perth and an incredible producer.
What was the process working together like across continents and how was it to come together eventually?
I joined the first EP fully long-distance from Finland. In a way it was good that I got to ease into it from the safety of my own bedroom. I’m a fan of both so I was pretty nervous sharing the first vocal ideas, even if they did flow effortlessly. It’s so inspiring to work with musicians as talented as them so the tracks just kind of wrote themselves.
We finally all got together a year ago to finalize the last bits of the second record (which was the first time I met Mike in person~ pretty crazy). It’s been such a pleasure to finally be able to be in the same room working on music together and just vibing in general..! Definitely took the project and friendship to another level.
What version of yourself would you describe your other project Gem-K as? Can we hope to see her return with a second album after the brilliance of Swan, Lover’s Knot, Dagger?
I initially dubbed gem-K as my femme fatale alter ego… I guess opposed to my clubbier alias emkay which, at least at the time, was more of a bubblier, cheeky kind of vibe. Much like trickpony, gem-K has that sensual, dreamy bedroom quality to it, but I wanted to keep the first record really raw, simple and sketchlike to match the unfiltered emotion of heartbreak that it stemmed from.
Since then, I’ve written probably a couple album’s worth of demos over the years but for whatever reason it hasn’t come to fruition… yet. I am finally back at the drawing board with some solo downtempo demos so who knows.. you might be hearing something new in the near(ish) future~!
“Much like trickpony, gem-K has that sensual, dreamy bedroom quality to it, but I wanted to keep the first record really raw, simple and sketchlike to match the unfiltered emotion of heartbreak that it stemmed from. ”
Who are some of the biggest influences on your sound and do you feel like there is ever any cross-pollination over from the many other amazing projects you work on in design and fashion?
While we’re on the topic of the first gem-K record the Dean Blunt & Inga Copeland whose different projects I’ve listened to endlessly throughout the years heavily influenced that era of my downtempo material.
When I was starting out, my music overall was influenced a lot by the combination of two different scenes— the kind of eclectic downtempo scene in Paris ~I spent a ton of time at Dizonord, Bigwax etc ~ combined with the Helsinki scene that was experiencing a transition from a like electro / ebm heavy era towards the proggier techier vibe that’s been prevalent a bit everywhere since. I got to know Katie and her crew’s music through the Postbar gang and stanning :’) so you could say it’s had an impact too. What a privilege toget to work with her and Mike~ I’m learning so much! Alongside Katie, a couple of friends who have both inspired me in their own musical endeavors, and really encouraged me to make my own are Sansibar and Raudie (River Yarra / Super Utu), wouldn’t be here without them!
Music most definitely informs and inspires all of my design work. I’m not sure if that works the other way around in equal terms but I do tend to visualize an aesthetic when making music… Similarly to music, when I’m designing my friends and my immediate environment/ scene are a big source of inspiration.
Lastly, what’s next on the horizon for Emkay?
After a few years of laying low on the emkay front we are so back baby! In addition to getting back into djing I’m feeling really inspired on the music production front and I’m working on a few new releases— more on that later, stay tuned. <3
Stay up to date with Emkay here.