Q&A: meet million, we talked debut, dates and DIY’s
A summer 2021 debut has been finely executed by Melbourne-based trio million, who last week dropped their first track problem. The collaborative project is comprised of Craig Kemp, Jacinta Le and Lil Friedmann who each bring their own individual experiences and personality to the table to passionately tell the stories of the group.
The trio, who met at uni, used last years bonus time to nut out and finesse their sound while growing into their new modern pop feel that has found a fresh balance between contemporary instrumentation and synthy electronica. What we love about their debut track is its laidback sound with pulsing synths that are accompanied with lyrics that are high key the perfect amount of emotion and shade. Aka, your problem is your own hun, not mine xx.
What we love most about the group is straight up their ability to showcase layers upon layers and to not be so one note. Although a breakup song, you can see the depth and feeling behind each phrase and you really get taken on a journey of self worth and exploration.
We caught up with the group to chat about their new track, dates that make for a funny story after the fact and what’s on the horizon.
Check out all the feels below:
Heya guys! Let's start with the basics, how did million come to be?
The three of us all met years ago at uni and have been mates ever since. We’ve worked together on various projects, but not in the pop space. We decided to book a rehearsal room between lockdowns to just see what happened, and I think we were all surprised at just how easy and fun writing together was. When we went back into lockdown, we didn’t wanna lose any momentum, so we kept writing virtually and coming up with a bit of a game plan for when we could all finally be in the same room together again.
Talk me through your debut track problem and what it means to you?
problem was actually the first song we wrote together, so we thought it would be a great place to start in terms of releases. I think problem really cemented the fact that we wanted to be storytellers, and to draw inspiration from both personal and universal experiences. The track also helped us establish what we wanted our sound to be. We all really love the retro influence you can hear in today’s modern pop, so we knew we wanted to feature heavy synths, funk guitar lines and energetic beats.
problem is somewhat of a breakup song, what's your funniest/worst date story?
Between the three of us, there’ve been some absolute doozies. Being dragged to a “comedy” club and having the MC roast you and your date on your lack of sexual chemistry is definitely in the top 5.
How does it feel to have your baby in the world?
So surreal. Lots of emotions really, but mostly it just feels exciting! We’ve had some really lovely responses so far, hearing that it’s already getting stuck in people’s heads feels like the ultimate compliment. We’re lucky to have such a supportive network, one that we can only hope will keep growing.
What is something that is unique to million?
We’re all songwriters in our own right, so when we collaborate, we can each comfortably contribute to the entire writing process - lyrics, melody, structure, sounds etc. It also helps that we have varied taste and perspectives, so we’re constantly bouncing ideas off each other and trying things we might not have thought of individually.
Who's always the last to arrive at a session?
Our sessions are always at Craig or Jacinta’s places, and whoever is driving picks Lil up on the way... so no one technically arrives last, but I think Lil is the clear winner/loser here. Special mention also goes to Craig for consistently holding up the day by prioritising his caffeine addiction.
You've been given 4 bricks, a piece of timber, a wallaby and some eggs, you can't give them away or sell them, what do you do with them?
Wallaby would for sure be the million mascot (that’s quite ideal really). 4 bricks and timber we’d somehow use as a sample for percussion. As for the eggs, we’d use them to vandalise the homes of anyone who hasn’t streamed problem yet, or maybe just make a quiche.
If you had to relive 2020, what would you do differently with your insight?
For starters, we’d go to the pub heaps more over summer. To be honest though, there’s not much the three of us would’ve done differently. We were all lucky enough to get through 2020 relatively unscathed, and we all found having a creative outlet super helpful for staying sane and positive!
Who's been your favourite live performance?
Seeing Maggie Rogers in Melbourne right before she made it really big. It was her first time touring in Australia, and at one point during the performance when she realised that we knew all of her lyrics and how full the venue was, she was so overwhelmed and thankful. It was really cool to witness another artist realising their reach and influence.
Now that we've had a taste for million, what's next!?
Now that problem is fiiiiinally out (we wrote it in June 2020), we’re focusing on finishing recording/mixing our next few singles. We’re also working towards getting our live set up and running, with the hopes to be gigging in the second half of the year. I guess we’ll kind of have to see how 2021 plays out in terms of restrictions, but we always knew we wanted to be playing our music live eventually. Fingers crossed!
Ouch, being the butt of the joke on a first date has got to hurt, but man that’s funny! Can confirm though I’ve seen these guys perform as individuals and they deliver, deliver, deliver so 100% pencil in a gig as soon as they go live, you won’t be disappointed.
Also four bricks and some timber for percussion… brilliant.
Check out their new track below or head to our I’m, So Indie You 🌞 playlist to hear more smooth songs like this one.
By Samuel Seedsman