Tricky’s spent two decades surprising us, and his incongruous remix of Brooklyn indie outfit The Antlers is another gleaming bolt from the blue. 

We last heard Tricky stumbling his way through a remix – well, a revoicing – of Zebra Katz’ piledriving ‘Ima Read’. His latest team-up has a mildly heroic backstory: as RCRDLBL note, The Antlers were reportedly struggling with a coffee machine backstage in Lisbon when Tricky emerged out of nowhere and came to their aid. Tricky’s spontaneous act of kindness has now developed into a full-on musical correspondence, with the band giving Tricky free rein over new track ‘Crest’.

‘Trip-hop’ has, quite rightly, become something of a maligned phrase; witness Coldcut’s Jon More twisting himself in knots to dodge the term in our interview earlier this year. Still, Tricky’s mix is trip-hop to a T: what with its crawling bassline, half-time lurch, whispered asides and general aroma of acrid weed-smoke, it would have fitted onto Maxinquaye like a velvet glove. All in all, it’s another koanlike rework from one of our more cryptic musical minds. Click below to download the track.