Heading off the ferry with Notts as their first stop, fresh-faced alt-pop Dublin quartet milk. kickstart their 2023 with a headline tour this Feb. Before they get here, we thought we’d get to know them a little bit better…
Hey guys! We’re really looking forward to you kicking off your tour here at The Bodega, how are you feeling ahead of hitting the road?
Morgan: It feels good. We take being in this band very seriously and our creative process is often pretty isolated. Touring is a welcome opportunity to share our music with our fans and really see the tangible impact of the music we’ve released to date. A strong community has developed around us since we first started playing live, and the feeling of belonging people find at our shows is something I’m very proud of.
There’s so much incredible talent coming out of Ireland at the moment, what was it like forming as a band in Dublin? Do you find it inspiring being surrounded by like-minded bands and artists?
Morgan: Being a part of the Dublin scene is certainly inspiring. We met in music college, where many of our peers were on the same path we were. Having so many friends releasing amazing music and so many capable artists around to lend a hand is very heartening and really makes artistic development seem far less daunting.
We’ve been loving your latest single ‘Human Contact’, how has the reaction been to that and have you had the chance to play it live ahead of the tour?
C King: Thank you! We were holding onto that one for a while and we’re excited to have it out in the world. It seems to have resonated with a lot of people, which is always nice to see. We’ve never done it live, so we’re looking forward to playing it for the first time at The Bodega!
Both your New York and LA shows are sold out – congrats! How does it feel knowing you’ve got such a strong overseas support?
C King: It’s incredible, I think America is the goal for most bands and to have two sold out shows there is very encouraging. We’ve only ever played shows in the UK and Ireland, so going over there to meet some of the people who have connected with our music for the last couple of years will be amazing.
We’ve seen you’ve been in the studio quite a lot recently, is there anything else on the way?
C King: Absolutely, we’ve been working on lots of new music – we might be playing some unreleased songs at The Bodega!
Do you find the studio to be a creative space or do you tend to write away from the mixing desk, bringing fully fledged ideas to the studio or do you write and record at the same time?
Morgan: Most of our writing as a group is done in a small home studio. We also share early ideas and demos that we’re working on in a group chat, as we often work remotely too; this way, we approach studio settings with efficiency and direction, as a lot of the arrangement has been discussed and agreed upon beforehand. It typically doesn’t take us long to flesh out and fully materialize an idea once we’re in a proper recording environment.
We can’t wait to welcome you to The Bodega so before you go, if money wasn’t a factor, what would be your dream gig rider?
Mark: To be honest, unlimited sushi. Bit of a boring answer – we’re simple men.
milk. play The Bodega on 15th February, with support from Pentire & Heart Sauce. Tickets are on sale now.
Interview by Fin Heighton-Jupp.