M.I.L.K travels far beyond his native Copenhagen in his search for creative stimulation.
Being a successful artist in the modern day requires having a global worldview. Seeing the sights and hearing the rhythms of parts unknown can enrich an artist’s palette. Travel creates a symbiotic relationship between artist and listener, often blurring the lines between roles. A musician is influenced by the places visited, while the people of those places are exposed to sounds beyond their borders.
Danish producer M.I.L.K. knows this as well as any artist. For his latest EP Maybe I Love Kokomo, M.I.L.K. criss-crossed the globe, finding inspiration from Paris to Mexico and many special locales in between. He was kind enough to provide a travel guide of his favorite tracks from around the world. Check out his list below, and watch the video for his song “Slow Emotions” off the new EP, out now on Play Nice Records.
City: Paris
Song: “Dans la Merco-Benz” by Benjamin Biolay
How the song and city inspired my EP: I love this song. It talks to my inner Francophile. The deep voice of Benjamin, the textures of the sonics – everything perfectly soundtracks a trip through Paris. It was also the the first I heard from Benjamin Biolay – I instantly became a fan. Later on we’ve become friends and have collaborated in creating the song “Make My Way To Paris,” which is my fave song on the EP. It’s inspired by the last two years of my life, [during which] I’ve spent a lot of time in Paris.
City: Barcelona
Song: “Loving is Easy” by Rex Orange County
How the song and city inspired my EP: This is my favorite song at the moment. I discovered it when I was in Lisbon with my girlfriend. It was our first holiday for a loooong time and we were laying at the pool and just chilling. No plans. And then this song came on. I’ve been addicted ever since. It definitely inspired the mood for my EP, but also some choices in the final mix phase.
City: L.A.
Song: “Harvest Moon” by Poolside
How the song and city inspired my EP: This song was the soundtrack to my [time in] L.A. last year when I wrote a bunch of the lyrics of the songs for the EP. There’s something a about the vibe in L.A. that’s just perfect for creating. Everything is chill, but still has this steady forward momentum – just like this song.
City: Copenhagen
Song: “Lite Spots” by Kaytranada
How the song and city inspired my EP: I wanted my EP to be a bit more for the dance floors than the beach chairs, so to get inspiration I started meeting up regularly with my dancer-friend Ronni to just dance and see how different songs activated my body in different ways. In that process “Lite Spots” by Kaytranada was definitely a go-to track.
Country: Mexico
Song: “Breezin” by Boris Gardiner Happening
How the song and city inspired my EP: I spent a month in Mexico with my friend Jonas Bang, to shoot pictures for a shared visual project and to chill. He showed me this song, which ended up being the song I listened to between sessions for the EP to clear my head.
