Like a dancefloor Cerberus (the three-headed dog that guards the gates of hell) Trickski is a force to be reckoned with. Not many other acts would have the balls to take on a remix of Carl Craig’s seminal “At Les,” then complete it in such a way that it earns the master’s respect. “It was not intimidating to produce it, since it wasn’t meant to be released in the first place,” says Yannick Labbé of the remix.

Trickski member Fna Müller (a.k.a. Jack Migger) remains silent throughout our email interview, perhaps unable to squeeze a word in edgewise between the constant, hilarious keyboard chatter coming from production partners Labbé and Daniel Becker. Or maybe Müller’s off perfecting his hip-house dancing or dealing with the business side of being Trickski, which entails producing, remixing, DJing, and running a new series for Sonar Kollektiv called Member of the Trick.

The trio originally coalesced in Berlin around 2001, bonding over Becker’s embarrassing love of air drumming, Müller’s 5Finger label, and events of questionable taste involving Rainer Trüby’s Root Down parties. Following remixes for Slope and Mustang, the “Hormony” single for Compost Records’ Black Label, and a compilation of ’80s and ’90s tracks for Compost’s I Like It series, Trickski grew into the glittery shoes of superstardom with 2005’s Sweat/Sunshine Fu*k EP (Sonar Kollektiv). “Sunshine Fu*k” was sleazy, fuzzy downtempo electro, while “Sweat” was an epic techno journey of keyboard harmonies, tension-building rhythms, and a Detroit warehouse-worthy chorus of “Gonna make you sweat/Gonna make you work!” that had Carl Craig squealing in delight when he dropped it into his Fabric 25 mix. Trickski returns the favor on their Bat EP with the aforementioned cover of “At Les” and “Grace,” a slower, ominous number featuring their trademark raw, visceral synths, with a sound the outfit describes as “Grace Jones and [Apocalypse Now‘s] Colonel Kurtz going wild in the jungle.”

Trickski’s music traverses levels of time and space, ranging from dense headphone landscapes to frantic dancefloor numbers. “There are many techno producers that have amazing sounds and energy, but a total lack of melody and harmonies,” says Becker. “On the other hand, there are very good musicians that somehow tend to use cheesy sounds. We try to have the best of both sides. [Plus], it has to be fun!”