The Miillion have released their brand new record ‘Violence’, the duo gave us a run through of the tracks of the album.
Background
Hello. The Miillion are 2 of us, a DJ/Musician and a Producer/Musician, after hearing this new release someone we know who works at one of the finest record labels in modern times, told us that ‘it reminds me of listening to The Breezeblock on Radio 1 and buying Jockey Slut Magazine’, following the owner of the label we release on saying it made him think of ‘dirty 90’s dance clubs’ – they both said it better than we could even start to attempt.
Track By Track
DOGGED UP
This was around the first Covid lockdown, we were never in the same room doing this. It was all voicenotes, phone recordings, sending ideas. It was at the time you could sit apart in gardens so we were walking a few miles to each others house. It started with that cut up beat, and is about an unusual sense of solitude if anything, the menace of it – It needed to be spoken, our voices would never work, I thought of the stuff Maxine Peake did with Johnny Marr, which was brilliance, so I asked an actress, Liz Simmons, who has a very similar understated tone of voice, she agreed and did it beautifully.
THE JACKIE SUITE
Even a fuckin dog has to shake hands with people he don’t like.
‘bunch of classless bastards – call em ‘Jackie’, only looking after their own-asses’ Your Old Droog
TEN TON TEN TON
Inspired originally by a piece of art called ‘Ten Ton Dub’ by a friend of mine, and musically De La Soul, Tribe, Souls Of Mischief…maybe obvious, Its pretty abstract to me, kickin beat, its happening, and its just a rant based on hearing folk supporting the slobbering brat who was leading the country at the time, as if they’re on the same team. Blissfully ignorant of the fact he shits on everyone, its just when he does, some people choose to open their mouths.
DRUGGIES
Listening back to this just makes me remember how fuckin incredible I was finding Young Fathers to be at the time, and hearing Blawans ‘Woke Up Right Handed’ EP. Jah Wobble and Burial are somewhere in there for guidance also.
The words touch on how I was reading (and still am) too much on social media where people are wishing innocent people dead and calling it ‘patriotism’ – also how pure greed is now confused with measuring success. Fucked up superiority chasers.
CHOOSE DENMARK
We took the main sample from a white label techno 12” we found in an old box of records we acquired, no name, no info, just this magnetic loop…so thanks to the creator, wherever you are. The whole tune took us about an hour, simple, Richard Fearless, Two Lone Swordsmen, Bicep in our minds.
HYSTERIC
Breakbeat Freakbeat, if that’s a genre, its that. If its not, we’ve started one.
I used to work in a record shop in the late 90’s and we’d get Big Daddy Magazine that put me onto all these breakbeats mixes, wild loops, a Malcolm Catto song always stood out to me, the groove like its just on the right side of falling apart. So this has that feel, and the pure freedom of the mo’wax sound, Sub Sub, early South / Joel Cadbury on the bass – a definite influence.
DRUGS VS WREXHAM
Call it trip hop, whatever, I’ll just say after our combined almost 30 years in music this is the best thing the 2 of us have ever been involved with.
The chorus is sung by our friend Nevyn Stevenson, his debut album will be out in 2023, produced by C of THE MIILLION.
THE THISTLE
We fuckin love it, accidental disco, early SKINT, Damon Albarn, Jungle Brothers, its fuckin party party time in places. ‘Humble PI’ by Homeboy Sandman & Edan is a big album for us, we saw them do the jazz café and it changed our state of mind at the time to what ‘songwriters’ should be.
ROSE
This was written for Rose Gray, but shes incredible and a superstar and more than capable of writing her own tunes that hammer this one. We were looking for a Sky Ferreira style and luckily found a singer who could do that. It got a pretty wonky feel to it throughout, which is probably due to the fact C was on heavy medication for a bad back at the time. So its Zapain infused breakbeat.
SHARP SCABER
This came out really soundtracky, the guitar is expressive, almost directional and conversational with the vocal – the spoken word sample is from a 60’s piece about sections of the working class almost becoming an underclass, which is frightening and awful and fuckin stupid that its still true to life in modern times.
BREEZEBLOKK
Its big beat, breaks and its heavy, which is basically my fingerprints but C plays everything on it. Dedicated to the constant inspiration of Mary Ann Hobbs, who is the most important radio DJ of my generation. There’s some amazing songs over time that are an ode to someone you’ve never met, so this is ours – although I did meet Mary Ann in catering at a festival once and accidentally stole her strawberries. But I don’t count that as it was theft.
Check out the bands track The Thistle, below
Purchase the album here
Find out more via the bands Website
