MILKK INTERVIEW BY LAUREN SPEIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY BY RYAN KANALY
WHAT LED THE THREE OF YOU TO PURSUE MUSIC? HOW DID THE BAND FORM?
IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU USE VISUALS AND MEDIA TO SUPPORT YOUR MUSIC?
We all kind of started in the same way, honestly. Jack and I grew up together in Minnesota playing in several different bands together. We had everything from a metal band to a folk project to an electronic thing and everything in between. Same thing with John, growing up on the east coast. I know for myself, I just loved the way it felt to express my thoughts to people in a way that only I could; being able to translate emotions that were hard to communicate otherwise. The band started as almost a “joke.” Maybe more of a non-expectancy. Jack was no longer a part of a band he had been in for a few years, and I had been pursuing my solo music in Nashville (where I still live) for a couple years to no avail. So, I haphazardly asked him if he wanted to start a side-project of sorts. I had read a satirical article on VICE about how to start a “trendy” band. So, I thought, “Why not?” Shortly after we started, I asked John to join, simply based on a premonition. But obviously, it has become so much more and means so much more now than its initial intention.
Our visual brand (the majority of which is curated by John) is definitely a super important aspect of MILKK as a brand. Mostly just pulling from what we like, we’ve tried to build around the ever-expanding high-fashion world. We want our thing to be accessible to anyone along the spectrum from skater to model. Utilizing focused styling points, blank space, and color pops has been a big attribution to that, as well as repping wellversed brands, while still cultivating looks with their own personality. Being particular with the details, from things as simple as our Instagram feed to as large scale as our music videos and overarching “style,” is what we’ve used to set us apart as much as we can.
HOW HAVE YOUR HOME CITIES INSPIRED YOU/INFLUENCED YOUR SOUND? I honestly think we’ve pushed against our home cities, in a way. Nashville is obviously known for certain styles and genres of music. Same with the Twin Cities, in a different way. We kind of wanted to figure out the best way to say, ‘Hey, we live here, and we love being here, but we don’t want to BE that,’ if that makes sense. I think sometimes people are afraid to push against what’s already working in their environment. But we’re trying to create something that transcends location or tradition or style. It’s obviously a work in progress, but we’re getting there.
42
WHAT IS THE MOST ENJOYABLE AND EXCITING PART OF THE PRODUCTION PROCESS? In my experience, it’s the moments you don’t plan for. You can sit down and map out a million things and try to make everything perfect. And that is obviously super important. But it’s those moments where inspiration or accident or surprise strikes and you find yourself in that feeling of: ‘Oh, my gosh. This is tight.’ You can’t force those moments. And those things often end up being your favorite parts on a song or album or whatever it is. I’ve experienced that a couple times recently as we’re scrambling to finish our debut album. The pressure squeezes the last few drops of gold out of you.
