Michi‘s debut album is Dirty Talk, out now on Stones Throw. The project packs a lifetime of experience into ten songs. Throughout, Michi looks to musical history for inspiration – soul, ’80s and ’90s R&B, and Motown – pairing retro-inspired sounds (produced by Blake Rhein of Durand Jones & the Indications and Paul Cherry) with reflections on the modern forces interfering with us truly giving and receiving love.
Buy Vinyl: Michi – Dirty Talk
Listen: Michi Dirty Talk
The flip side to Dirty Talk’s excavation of failed relationships is its celebration of love and sexual confidence. Michi says, “I fluctuate between sensitivity and sadness, and feeling myself unstoppable.” She adds, “I kind of talk my shit on this record. But Dirty Talk isn’t just about dishing out, it’s about revealing the dirt on my hands of misunderstanding life’s gifts – the opportunity to transform, grow and release. I want this album to accompany whoever hears it in liberation of the self, in healing.”
For “Playing Pretend”, Michi shot and directed the visual at her favorite beach. Michi calls the song her “baddie track” – an honest admission of how hard it is to leave an untrustworthy lover even after they’ve shown their true colors. “This record has taught me a form of self-trust, self-belief,” Michi says.
“Snoobie” was teased in Knxwledge’s Remix Pack at the end of 2024. The song was written at a particularly raw time. Michi says, “‘Snoobie’ was my moment after being dumped of being like, I’m pissed! I was also witnessing other special women in my life go through so much struggle caused by men. It’s so crazy how men can have a hold over me sometimes. I used to say I hated them, but in fact I think I love them too much sometimes.”
“Snoobie” follows Michi’s earlier releases “There’s No Heaven” – a house in-fused track that Michi describes as “a burst of aqua blue, a sweaty dancefloor, ice dripping down your skin, tears…”, – and “If You Want Me” – which calls out a partner for treating her like a toy to be put down and picked up on a whim.
“There’s No Heaven” is a house track that finds Michi dreaming about the ways she can get her lover back, and the lengths she’d go to do it. The accompanying video was directed by Mitch deQuilettes at a house party in the hills of Northeast L.A.
“If You Want Me” takes aim at partners who treat their lovers as playthings to be picked up and dropped at whim. Michi says, “This was the first song Blake, Paul and I made the first day we met. At the time I was sad over this guy who I’m ironically now cool with. I felt so down, but this song transformed that for me. The voicemail part takes me back to my favorite 90s and Y2K moments. I like to pretend I’m opening my flip phone and leaving the voicemail.”
Michi – Dirty Talk – Tracklist
1. Intro
2. Walking Away
3. OMW
4. If You Want Me
5. Snoobie
6. There’s No Heaven
7. Memmy (Recuerdo) (feat. Gabriel da Rosa)
8. Playing Pretend
9. So Divine
10. Way I Do (feat. Kiefer)
