[Photo courtesy of Thomas Davies]

By Grace Koennecke, Columns Editor

Ahead of his upcoming EP, YOU MAKE ME FEEL BEAUTIFUL, art-pop indie artist Milku dropped the second single for their new project, “Diamonds xx”, along with a music video for the track directed by Thomas Davies.

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Reflecting on the creative process for this new single, Milku said in a press release, “I started this song by laughing and playing a piano riff into an iPhone voice memo, and that’s still the main sound you hear in this track.” Wanting the song to feel instinctive, the singer said he also started singing random words, layering synths over his vocals. Drummer Tim Fitz also jumped on the track shortly after, making a box of kindergarten percussion instruments that were able to imitate explosive noises.

In terms of the lyrics, Milku also said that thematically the song is darker than his previous ones. “Listening back, I hear the self-loathing in the words, but also a kind of joy and acceptance. Life is dark right now, but we’re still having fun with it,” Milku said.

Milku’s upcoming EP will be his first, with a release date of March 24, and will contain five tracks produced by Fitz and Dave Hammer. The singer is excited for listeners to hear the EP, saying in his press release, “This EP is about looking inside, deeper than you normally let yourself go, and the primacy of the emotions you find at the bottom. On the way down I found lots of jokes, joy, heat and confusion. Like the confusion of being in love but not being able to love well. And deepest of all I found the feeling when you can finally stop striving to be a useful man, and someone makes you feel beautiful as you are.”

The new single is available on Spotify, as well as the rest of Milku’s music.