Name Milk and bonesnew EP, A little luckyseems especially fitting given the chance encounter that led to its appearance.
On JUNO Awards 2019 – Moments after Milk & Bone win Electronic Album of the Year For Deception Bay — the paths of the Montreal duo accidentally crossed with adherents of electro-funk. Chromeo on the escalator. They exchanged congratulations and pleasantries and parted ways, but the seed of potential cooperation had been sown.
There were many drafts made in the subsequent DM.
“I think too much,” Camille Poliquin of Milk & Bone told Exclaim. “So you better believe I said, 'Okay, I don't want to be too careless, but I don't want to be too impatient.' This DM is valid, this DM is worth sending, but you want it to have the right energy.”
The memory causes bandmate Laurence Lafon-Bohlne to laugh during a group Zoom call, before adding: “It was perfect.”
It took several years to get from that initial message to the Chromeo-produced EP—the pandemic upended any initial timeline. But now, A little lucky ends 2025 with cool, exciting electropop. From the immediate hooks of “Hoops” to the nocturnal energy of “Blossom Tree,” the album's four songs find Milk & Bone at their most playful, their established emotive synth work bolstered in new ways by Chromeo's funky undercurrent.
That the duo's styles meshed so seamlessly together may have something to do with their shared Quebecois roots: Milk & Bone may have flown to Los Angeles to work at Chromeo Studios, but these sessions were largely done in Montreal.
“We make music in English because it feels right, but when they work together, they speak French, just like us,” says Lafon-Bolin. “It was like, 'Oh, I feel seen.'
“We never spoke English together, them and us,” Poliquin adds. “I think they also really enjoyed just being in the studio and playing their hearts out.”
Chromeo's David “Dave 1” Macklovitch confirms this point via email.
“Having Lawrence and Camilla in the studio was like being reunited with two best friends from high school,” he says. “So many general references and jokes. I've lived in the US for over 20 years, Pi. [Patrick “P-Thugg” Gemayel] more than 10 years. We both definitely miss the Montreal culture we grew up with. M&B were happy with this decision, so we gave them an EP in return; this is right!”
For Poliquin and Lafon-Bolin, watching another duo work was a revelation. From the way Chromeo Studio reflected their vibe—orange lighting, mid-century furniture, and the fact that “they always have the best candles lit”—to the way they delegated roles, it all proved fruitful for the overall creative process.
“It reminded me how important it is for your creative space to look and feel like you, so that it inspires you,” says Poliquin. “But also invite people to join you in that atmosphere, and I feel like that’s what happened.”
As a result, the entire EP came together quickly, which impressed Macklovitch.
“They are confident and symbiotic songwriters. They get the tunes right the first time; they agree on texts without thinking. We like it,” he notes. “I would say every song was written on the day of the music demo, and the rest of the time after that was spent adding layers of production and getting the vocals up to par. And yapping. We yapped a lot.”
Milk & Bone are now set to open for Chromeo at an upcoming New York City show as the studio collaboration has forged a stronger bond. It may have been a chance meeting that led to this shared EP, but when it came down to it, Lafon-Bolin notes, everyone just clicked.
“I think we are able to choose the right people for projects like this when we feel like a family,” she says. “It’s really personal and very special to find people who understand you and your sound, and just people who you feel comfortable around, who share stories, emotions and unusual things.”
She continues, “We had a lot of fun working on these projects together. I think you can feel it in the songs.”
