Train to Milwaukee

Train to Milwaukee signals new dimensions of K Priest’s creativity and sound design grounded in midwest dancefloor sensibilities. With four tracks sketched out on an MPC and a midi keyboard aboard the Empire Builder from St Paul to Milwaukee, this EP harnesses raw emotions of departure: longing, hope, anticipation, and joy.

Red Wing evokes the uncertainty of departure. The stress of travel, of leaving life behind, of imagining all the things you forgot, punctuated by moody synths, a growling bassline, and a thudding kick.

Winona represents the emotional change of early travel: you’re here, you’re on your way to have fun. Anchored by an off-kilter kick, the track starts sparse before resolving into soaring, shimmery pads punctuated by 909 clap fills and polyrhythmic percussion loops.

Portage marks the flip of the switch. Looking ahead to the destination, sinking into the trip. Games in the stereo field sit behind layers of bloopy synths, a garage-inspired, swinging snare, and a funky bass groove.

Milwaukee (The Parrot) is the chilled out, joyful culmination to the journey–when you finally feel present in the moment. A deep house track featuring a playful spoken vocal, ebullient synths, and a laid-back syncopated bass groove. The vocal sample, from an undergraduate lecture on Pascal's Pensees, reminds us that "thick" words like Freedom, Greatness, Order, and Desire inhere to a text as it exists within the text, and thus outside of any preconceptions we may have about them.

Recorded, arranged, mixed, and mastered by K Priest in south Minneapolis.

Self-Releasing 28 February 2025