London-born, Bristol-raised, and her voice defined trip-hop's high-water mark. Tricky found her singing on a wall near his house in 1993, and she became the lead voice of Maxinquaye. Quixotic (2003), her solo debut, was Mercury-nominated, and it's a genuinely odd, star-studded record: Josh Homme on guitar, Mark Lanegan on vocals, David Holmes producing a track and Bond composer David Arnold arranging strings. "Sandpaper Kisses" has had a long afterlife. It was in the 2005 game Fahrenheit, got covered by Stephen Marley, and was sampled by The Weeknd on "The Birds (Pt. 2)." Craft reissued Quixotic in 2024 with a previously unreleased alternate mix of this song.
From the notes for EKHO Sonic Chill #2 · fact-checked Oct 4, 2026.
Hear Martina Topley-Bird on EKHO Sonic Chill #11 · song 14
ESCPlays in my player at the bottom of the screen, and keeps going while you explore the site.
The records
Where I played them
“Into The Sun” with Diplo
EKHO Sonic Chill #11 · song 14 · from Florida
“Aftermath” with Tricky
EKHO Sonic Chill #9 · song 8 · from Maxinquaye (Deluxe Edition)
“Ponderosa” with Tricky
EKHO Sonic Chill #4 · song 13 · from Maxinquaye
“Overcome” with Tricky
EKHO Sonic Chill #2 · song 26 · from Maxinquaye (Deluxe Edition)
“Sandpaper Kisses”
EKHO Sonic Chill #2 · song 3 · from Quixotic
