Interview: Rising R&B Artist Milky Day Discusses Journey Into Music, Performing on Stage, and More
With over 500,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, it’s undoubtedly clear that Milky Day has emerged as a rising sensation. Milky Day, a Korean-New Zealander artist, is working on establishing a name for himself in the music industry with his soulful R&B-infused melodies.
HALSUG had the opportunity to interview Milky Day about his music journey and aspirations as a new member of Unbound Entertainment.
Photo Courtesy of Unbound Entertainment
Could you introduce yourself to our readers?
I’m Milky Day, that’s my artist name. I am a singer-songwriter and also a producer from New Zealand. I'm currently based in Sydney, Australia, but right now I’m in Korea. But yeah, I kind of write chill R&B music, and I’m really happy to be here!
Was there a particular moment in your life that inspired you to pursue a career in music?
Yeah, that was actually last year. I went through this period where I kind of got laid off from my job, and I was searching for a new job. For context, I was working in a corporate setting doing a nine-to-five, and while searching for these jobs, I realized that this wasn’t what I wanted to be doing. I was going to these interviews and pretending that I really wanted the job and liked the company, but inside, I was like, “That’s not true.” So after a couple of months, I was like, “You know what? My music has been growing over the years. I’m seeing potential in music being an actual career for me.” So yeah, I made the decision like, “You know what? I’m young, and this is the best time to take risks. I'll give music a go.” That’s when I moved from the United States to Sydney for a fresh start. And I ended up signing with Unbound, and it’s been really great since then.
Photo Courtesy of Unbound Entertainment
You studied Music at Amherst College in Massachusetts. How do you feel studying music at college has impacted your understanding and style of music?
I think studying music definitely gave me a strong foundation, but I almost don’t use anything I used in college when I produce or write music now. I think it’s because the kind of music that was taught at my college was a bit more traditional and classical, like jazz and stuff. It was less pop music or music production or even songwriting and stuff like that, so it was in a slightly different field. I think some things that I did in college helped. For example, we had this mandatory ear training, and that helped because now I can identify chords and hear intervals more easily. But yeah, honestly most of it didn’t really translate, but I think it did give me a more well-rounded and thorough understanding of music and its history.
Your musical style is mainly focused on R&B alongside indie and lo-fi. What other genres of music would you like to experiment with?
I have been exploring some new genres recently. Actually, I’ve been getting into house, and generally, a bit of electronic-like elements and sounds into my production as well, like some of the most recent stuff I’ve been making sounds sort of like R&B electronic. I don’t really know how else to explain it — I’m using a lot more synthesizers and synth bases and experimenting with different kinds of drums or EDM drums and stuff like that.
Photo Courtesy of Unbound Entertainment
In the past, you’ve worked with prevalent R&B artists like Jimmy Brown. Are there any other artists you would like to collaborate or work with?
There’s a lot. That’s such a tough question. There are so many artists I’d like to work with. Some artists that come to mind are ALINA BARAZ and GALIMATIAS — I really like their sounds. I’ve recently been really liking Medasin; he’s more of a producer. Also, Lophiile is another producer who I really look up to. There’s a lot, honestly, but those are a couple of artists that I’ve recently been listening to and really enjoying.
Are there any artists you take inspiration from or look up to?
It’s probably similar to some of the names I just mentioned. The people I want to work with are the same people that I draw inspiration from. Aside from the names I just mentioned, I also just really like American R&B, so I enjoy listening to Black (6lack) and Bryson Tiller. I also like listening to Jhene Aiko, those kinds of chill, moody American R&B artists. I really like Frank Ocean as well. People always ask me, “Who’s my dream collab? Who do you look up to as your main source of inspiration?,” and I like can’t answer that question. It's hard for me to choose one or two artists that I really look up to because I draw inspiration from all kinds of sources, and I think that’s reflected in my own music as well. I kind of explore different genres, and my style is always changing. So yeah, I kind of draw inspiration more from individual songs that I really like rather than specific artists, I think.
You recently performed as an opener for SHAUN’s 2023 North American tour. What was the experience like? And what were some of your favorite moments while performing on stage?
I had so much fun with that, and I think I felt really comfortable being there because a lot of my friends and people from college were there to support me, so I felt like I wasn’t just alone on stage. Some moments I really enjoyed were just engaging with some of the fans who were in front of the stage. I honestly didn’t expect people to be that engaged. I had no idea what to expect going in, but I went in to give them high fives. I would take a selfie on their phone, they were all going crazy, and they really liked it. So yeah, that was pretty amazing. Overall, the performance went very smoothly. People were very supportive, cheering, and stuff. I would love to perform again really soon.
Photo Courtesy of Unbound Entertainment
What is your favorite part of the creative process when making a single or EP?
I think I enjoy music production more than songwriting, to be honest. When I’m producing music it’s kind of like a numbers game, where out of every ten beats I make, I really like one or two. So I think it’s those moments where I make a little loop, maybe I layer down some chords, like a baseline, some drums, and then I listen to it like, “Oh damn, this is it. This is the one out of ten that I’ve been waiting for.” I think those kinds of moments are really satisfying and really enjoyable for me. When everything meshes and comes together and sounds really catchy and nice. Yeah, I think that’s my favorite thing.
So far, you’ve released 2 EPs. Are there any plans of releasing another EP in the near future?
Yeah, there are actually. There’s one in the works. I don’t want to give away too much at the moment. But, “Yes” is my short answer.
If you had to pick one genre of music to listen to for the rest of your life, what would you choose? And why?
Oh, R&B, for sure. I’ve explored a number of different genres, but R&B has been the one that kind of stuck, and I definitely will have R&B influences in all of my future songs as well. Also, R&B has been expanding. There used to be traditional R&B, but now there are more varieties like alternative R&B and R&B fused with other genres. There’s R&B-Pop and R&B Indie, so I choose R&B because it gives me access to all these sub-genres.
Photo Courtesy of Unbound Entertainment
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of music?
Yeah, I like outdoorsy stuff. Sometimes I go on hikes, go to the beach. I also sometimes play sports with my friends. I also really enjoy working out.
As a new member of Unbound Entertainment, what are some of the things you are looking forward to pursuing in terms of music?
One thing is that Unbound is originally a touring management company, that’s kind of their forte. So yeah, I’m really looking forward to performing more and having Unbound help me arrange concerts, tours, and stuff like that because I have released a lot of songs, and I’ve kind of engaged with fans online. But I think it’s different seeing them in person and performing in front of them, so that’s something I’m looking forward to. Also, Unbound is pretty well connected in the music industry, and they’ve been connecting me with different collaborations and artists and stuff like that, so that’s exciting. I really like working with other people, and I feel like by working with other people I kind of learned how to draw different sounds into my own sound. You also learn a lot from seeing other artists' writing processes. Those are probably the two main things I’m looking forward to.
Any messages to your fans and supporters?
I just want my fans and listeners to know that I have a pretty exciting collab single coming out in like a month or two. It sounds really good, and we are gonna have some visuals paired with it as well. So yeah, I think that’s something people can look forward to in the near future.