After releasing their debut album last month, Miki Berenyi Trio have already returned with a new single made in collaboration with Lol Tolhurst and the rock icon’s son, Gray. Billed as Miki Berenyi Trio x Lol Tolhurst x Gray, the track is called “Stranger,” and it was recorded between Los Angeles, London, and St. Leonards, and produced by the Trio’s Ollie Cherer. That group opened for Tolhurst and Budgie on a US tour, and a fast friendship was formed. Their connection manifests itself on “Stranger,” a wistful and crisp shoegaze banger built around Berenyi’s vocals, effortless harmonies, and crunching drums.
“‘Stranger’ arrived as a demo from Lol/Gray, with guitar, synth, and drums, with loads of room to develop riffs, hooks, and melodies,” Cherer commented on the collaboration. “I liked the insistent repetition of the long outro and was instantly minded to explore a Talk Talk approach, which is where the piano line with the Ashes to Ashes flanger wobble came from. The outro was extended to make a virtue of the repeated progression and the strings synths were added to help swell that into a wall of crescendo.
“Miki then took over adding lyrics and the gorgeous vocal melodies. Moose added layers of shimmering guitars and a rough mix was sent to Lol who added drum parts, recorded by Martin Fleischmann in Los Angeles, before it all came back to St. Leonards for a mix where I also sneaked in a nice fat, squelchy Moog part. It developed quite naturally and easily, with each person’s contribution making the song bigger and more beautiful at every turn.”
Check out the video for “Stranger” below, and revisit our piece with Berenyi, Cherer, and bandmate Kevin McKillop outlining the trio’s influences on their album Tripla here.
