MILLY JAMES
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MILLY JAMES

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"ON THE RECORD"


INDIGO

Independent

For local duo MILLY 'N' SLAAM comprised of vocalist Milly James and electronic instrumentalist Ben Chase, this maiden offering of two tracks makes for an intriguing 'debut'.
First track INDIGO leans heavily on the strength of James' sweet voice, and is redolent of some of the better work of Sade. Beginning with a smooth bass line that's livened up by reverby guitar chord exclamations, it builds neatly to a heartfelt conclusion.

God's Chorister treads much the same path but puts more of the spotlight on Chase's deft musical touch. A solid start, and it will be interesting to see if future tracks experiment more
with contrasting moods and tempos.

RICK BRYANT
DRUM MEDIA
Thursday 19 August 2010
- DRUM MEDIA PERTH ISSUE 201 19/8/2010


"NICOLE ON JAMES"

NICOLE ON JAMES
Highly respected Perth vocalist, Nicole Reid, AKA Milly James, (Eightball, Deuce crew, Ku-Ling Brothers) performs with her band, The Insubordinates, at Kulcha on Saturday, March 20. BOB GORDON chats with the ever-evolving singer.

What kind of music was food for your soul as you grew up?
I was exposed to quite a variety of music from an early age. As my parents were from the West Indies, there was obviously a great deal of ska and reggae played in our house, as well as jazz and blues. My mother, though, was a musical magpie and would horde records by The Beatles, Bacharach, The Carpenters, Shirley Bassey and Helen Reddy. Because I loved singing I would just play this goldmine of old stuff and sing along.

With that in mind, what kind of singer/artist have you evolved into?
These artists have given me an immense appreciation for songwriting and what it takes to create a good song.
It doesn't matter that we make music in contemporary times. The Beatles, for example, wrote great songs which have such a timeless quality about them, they are still celebrated today. I enjoy immensely the process of songwriting, creating a story, telling that story - being completely surprised or overtaken by an idea to the point that you just have to write about it musically. So I really aspire to be a good singer/songwriter.

You spent much of 2008-09 writing, recording and performing with the Ku-Ling Brothers. What does that ongoing collaboration bring out of you?
When Shane came to me said we were going to work on the album I was overjoyed! I had experienced a few musical disappointments which had eroded some of my confidence and working with the boys again helped to lift it greatly. I always enjoy working and performing with the Ku-Lings and just love their creative energy, which I feel has definitely infected me. Their continued appreciation of my contribution is also quite touching.

Is ‘Milly James’ an alter-ego or a fresh avenue in which to deliver music… or both?
Milly is most definitely an alter-ego and a fresh avenue in which to deliver my music. I felt as I was starting a new musical direction, then a new identity was called for, hence Milly James. She's also a great alter-ego, so much more assertive than myself! She's also fun and quirky - you see, it wasn't me prancing around in a white tutu in the video clip, it was Milly!

You write songs on the piano – what is the feeling when you are at the keyboard doing this?
Wow, my feelings swing full spectrum! Elation to frustration and anything in between. It's great when you sit there and it all just musically, magically, falls into place, but it doesn't always happen like that. I've had times where you try an idea and it just won't take shape so you get up, walk away and re-visit it later. And then there are times when as one writer put it, ‘you labor amongst the rubbish’, because you think you may have written a great song but who's to say it really is as good as you think it is? So you become plagued with doubts.

Describe what essence your band, The Insubordinates, brings to your creativity?
They're a wonderful musical support. They help in putting the flesh on the bones of my songs. They're great at intuiting what each song could become, as they understand the overall sound that I'm trying to create. We also feed off each other as they encourage me to try different approaches from time to time. They're all immensely talented and I'm very lucky to have them.

What’s on the plate for your performance at Kulcha?
We did a gig at the Rosemount Hotel last week, which was all about the rock’n’roll; so we played quite an up-tempo set. At Kulcha we're looking forward to having a more relaxed evening, a couple of acoustic numbers to commence, with different instruments like guitar and xylophone and a micro Korg keyboard, leading to a rousing finish!

There’s a lot of 2010 to go, what are your hopes and ambitions?
I'm recording a demo EP of new songs, which will be the basis for the final EP that I hope to release mid-year. I shall bandy it about and try and get some publishing, as well as endeavour to get more exposure with bigger event or festival gigs.
- SUNSET MAG ONLINE


Discography

2009 DONT MAKE PLANS - Independent release Itunes

INDIGO/GOD'S CHORISTER
Independent release Itunes/Nokia/Amazon mp3/Spotify/ LimeWire July 2010, distributed by TUNECORE.

RUN WITH THE FLAME: ONE LOVE DUBSTEP INVASION
Released by ONE LOVE/SONY AUSTRALIA, November 2010

RUNNING WITH WOLVES EP July 2011
Independent release

Photos

Bio

UK born Milly James, otherwise known as Nicole Reid, spent a number of years honing her skills as guest vocalist and co-writer with The Ku-Ling Brothers (Steve Malinder, Shane Norton, Jack Lucas). She has also recorded with The PROBLEM KIDS (UK), performed with and supported huge artists like: MOLOKO, SOUL II SOUL, MAD PROFESSOR, URSULA RUCKER and ROOTS MANUVA.
Re-casting herself as a solo performer, in 2010 Milly was keen to experiment with a new sound, which led to a cool, collaborative release on ONE LOVE/SONY 2010 DUBSTEP INVASION Compilation, with RUN WITH THE FLAME.

MILLY JAMES collectively is Nicole on vocals, keys/ synthesizer, along with Nicholas Kempt on electronic percussion, and Aidan Gordon on guitar.
The trio is very proud to release their new EP Running With Wolves. Which is already receiving copious airplay on local and national radio and street press praise:

"A wonderful singer with soulful and surprisingly indie sounding tracks." - CUT AND PASTE

“Jagged leftfield trip-hop and dub-inspired beats contrast with soulfully crooned vocals…
The arrangements are so inventive and unpredictable as to transcend genre…
A surprising, thoroughly enjoyable first release that bodes well for an interesting recording career to come”
- DRUM MEDIA

"There's A tonne of potential here...
Keep it up!" - TRIPLE J

Accompanying the EP is the fantastic RUNNING WITH WOLVES video clip by award winning Perth artist Tarryn Gill, recently screened on ABC's RAGE. The video features the incredible dance talent of Niharika Senapati.