Austin, Texas-based duo Millennium Resorts recently dropped their single, “Happiness,” the first single from their upcoming concept album, In The Key of David, slated for release on January 26.
Talking about the forthcoming album, the pair shares, “One of the most important aspects of ‘In The Key of David’ is that it is meant to be listened to from front to back. The album was composed and executed as an album. It was never just a song here and there; it was completely outlined before the production started.”
Made up of Scott Raulie and Jonathan Richerson, Millennium Resorts wants to try to create something epic that is a little more interesting than a lot of the current dream-pop/shoegaze music, taking the infectious aesthetic and textures of synthwave music and moving them in a less repetitive and more engaging and rewarding direction for the listener.
Tattoo.com caught up with Millennium Resorts to discover the inspiration for “Happiness” and more about In The Key of David.
What is the music scene like in Austin, Texas?
Congested, but it’s the “live music capital of the world” as they say. There are 100s of venues and you can pretty much find every genre every week playing somewhere. Right now, there’s somebody covering a Jelly Roll or Morgan Wallen tune in about a 5-mile radius.
What inspired your new single, “Happiness?”
We originally wanted to blend the sounds of synthpop, EDM, and shoegaze, and introduce a recurring motif with the key change that will lead into the final piece of the album. This particular track and the whole album in general have this theme that is inspired by watching countless episodes of VH1 behind the music and ‘E True Hollywood’ story.
You have a new album, ‘In The Key of David,’ releasing in January. What can you share about the album?
If you like ‘Happiness’ and you like our next single, ‘The Big Show,’ I’m pretty confident you will like the album. It’s long, but we really tried to make the pacing right. We had some ‘listening parties’ for feedback and for those who are used to sitting in a dark room with their stereo or headphones at high volume listening to their favorite Pink Floyd album, the length should work. We even threw in an intermission so the listener could take a break midway. A chance to stretch your legs, use the restroom, refresh your favorite vice, etc. There are some very meaty guitar solos and there’s definitely variety in terms of tempo and sounds, but I hope it’s as cohesive as we think it is without being boring. When you have listened to the entirety of ‘In the Key of David’ we hope it was an experience. It really culminates in the final moments of the piece and will inspire multiple listens.
Walk us through your mindset as you entered the studio to record the album.
So studio, sometimes that was a trailer in the country, sometimes it was in a bedroom, eventually ended up in a living room or perhaps a better term is ‘nook.’ It was trial and error. We had this grandiose idea of how we wanted our music to sound, but no dollars and very little equipment. We just tried to figure it out and that’s probably why it took three years to finish. Lol
How, when, and where did the two of you first connect?
This is embarrassing. We were in a U2 tribute band. We pretended to be the band U2 for a captive audience. Jonathan was fake Edge. I was fake Larry. I will say it was a lot of fun. We could play a whole set and because of U2’s catalog, it would all be top 20 hits and of course, the audience was appreciative. I remember we opened for the Gin Blossoms at a festival, not a ‘cool’ festival mind you like Coachella lol, but it was sad because the Gin Blossoms had like two songs people knew and we had 12 so naturally we had a better reception.
How did you get started in music?
We both had parents into music. My parents were music majors. (Scott) They taught piano. We both grew up on music from the get-go.
Did your sound evolve naturally, or did you deliberately push it in a certain direction?
I (Scott) always had a clear vision of the ‘sound.’ It’s a sound in my head that has developed over the past decade or so. Jonathan is a very inspired guitarist, so I wanted epic long guitar solos. If you don’t like guitar solos, then you might not like Millennium Resorts. I didn’t particularly like dubstep, and I get bored of synthwave, but there are elements of EDM and synthwave that I really love, especially the swells and build-ups. I thought that convention of these genres would be very conducive to the sounds and textures of dream-pop, and shoegaze coupled with more adventurous composition.
What inspires your writing? Do you draw inspiration from poems, music, or other media?
I (Scott) don’t consider myself a poet. For the most part, I write the vocal melodies first and try to find the words that fit the melody versus writing the chords and trying to fit a melody into or on top of the chords. I remember watching a documentary about Tin Pan Alley composers and that’s the method they would use, and it makes a whole lot of sense. The most important aspect of a ‘song’ is the melody. As far as lyrics, I try to write them so that they are at least interesting but I’m no Dylan or Lennon. There’s a mystery to my lyrics and I suppose you could unlock that mystery and that would be really cool also.
What can you share about your writing process?
Besides what I discussed relating to melody and lyrics, based on conversations I’ve had with other songwriters and musicians, we have a much different approach. Before we started recording, I had the entire album in a skeleton form if you will which I wrote on the piano. At least for a few projects, I really like working this way because I’m a fan of the ‘concept’ album and cohesiveness. I used to write screenplays and I learned to outline my scripts, so I took that approach to the album composition. I can see us writing a traditional collection of songs in the future, but in this case, it’s not so much a collection of songs but a cohesive composition that works together and doesn’t work as well separately. But it was just a skeleton we started with, and the real ‘magic’ happened as we started to record and collaborate. If you were to take our first single ‘Happiness’ and look where it started from on an acoustic piano, it’s pretty remarkable the transformation.
Which artists in your opinion are killing it right now?
Always been really impressed by the boys in Radiohead. We got to see their recent project Smile and those guys kill it. Finally got to see Mars Volta live and they nailed it also. Love that Slowdive got a reboot and is more successful than ever. Sufjan never disappoints. Tame Impala, I could go on and on.
How do you define success?
Success can be defined as finishing this album. Lol. Success is finding a way to get our music to a listener despite the 10,000 tracks that are released daily. Lol. A loyal following that loves what we do. I don’t care if it’s 1000 fans or 100,000 fans. Respect from peers.
What can your fans look forward to over the next six months? Music videos? Live gigs?
We’ve got another single coming out Nov. 24th and then the album on January 26th. Hope to be putting together our live show soon. Maybe a spot at Levitation next year.
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