Interview: Rising Star Milky Day On His Journey Into Music And Future Aspirations As An Artist!

Korean-New Zealand singer, songwriter, and producer, MILKY DAY, is set to make big waves in the music industry in 2023. With over 500,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and over 47 million combined plays on his songs alone, he has made quite a name for himself already. Currently based in Sydney, Australia, he is also the latest artist to sign a management deal with Unbound Entertainment. With an EP release and first tour on the horizon, the future is looking bright for MILKY DAY.

Starting at a young age, MILKY DAY always had an interest in music. He began music producing in middle school and kicked his music career into full gear after going through a massive period of growth in college. With an ever-changing musical style, MILKY has dabbled lo-fi, indie, and R&B beats. Described as "embodying the rise of Gen-Z bedroom pop genres," the relaxing and chill vibes of his music have appealed to music listeners around the world.

Through his collaboration with artists such as Frad and Hayne, Elijah Lee, Gareth. T, and Jimmy Brown on a variety of tracks, MILKY has been able to explore different elements in both the lo-fi and R&B sphere. With some notable songs including "You'll Be Alright," "Take It Slow," and "Youuu" (featuring Gareth. T), MILKY DAY is definitely an artist to watch in both the present and future! BroadwayWorld had the opportunity to chat with Milky Day about his musical journey, inspirations, experiences, and future plans for the year. Read the full interview below!

Your musical style has been described as starting with lo-fi, moving towards indie, and then settling in R&B. What caused or inspired the transition of your musical style?

I guess a large part of it is due to my changing music taste. My music taste has shifted over time as I've been introduced to new artists or genres by my friends and fellow musicians. I also find that after producing music in a certain genre for a while, some of the processes and sound selections become repetitive, so I end up trying out new methods, which consequently leads me into a new genre.

I have really been enjoying producing and writing music in the R&B style though, and I'm pretty sure that most, if not all, of my future songs will have some sort of R&B influence. More recently, I've been pulling elements of EDM and house into my production as well, as you'll hear in some of my upcoming releases.

You described your college years as a period of massive growth where you really developed your music and musical style. What was the push that caused you to pursue music full time? What were you doing before jumping into music?

The end of my freshman year was when I first downloaded Logic Pro X and started playing around with it. Over the next few years, I collaborated with local musicians, released several songs, and upgraded my plugins and equipment. At the time, I didn't think music was a sustainable source of income, so I viewed it as just a hobby. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how much support and traction my music was gaining at an early stage.

Upon graduating, I was given the opportunity to work for a health tech startup that I had previously interned at. I spent two years working there and learned a lot of valuable skills and gained knowledge about how to run a business. However, the covid pandemic happened during these two years, so most of my time was spent in lockdown working from home and barely going out to meet people. Subsequently, I lost a lot of my musical inspiration and stopped releasing music for a year.

Unfortunately, the startup ceased operations last year, so I was back on the job hunt. While browsing through job openings and reflecting on what I wanted in life, I realized that the 9-5 lifestyle was not a great fit for me and that my dream was to pursue music. I want to live life without regrets, so I decided that it had to happen either now or never. After pondering for a couple of months, I moved to Sydney for a fresh start, began grinding on music again, and signed a management deal with Unbound Entertainment Group. Looking back, I know I made the right decision as I've recovered a lot of the inspiration I had lost during covid and life has been much more exciting with this change in lifestyle.

What inspires your music? Do you find that most of your songs centre around a common theme?

I'm usually inspired by real experiences and emotions, rarely writing about fictional or hypothetical situations. Sometimes I write about things that I'm feeling or experiencing now, and other times I write about memories or reflections from the past. It really depends on how I'm feeling or where my head is at. I'm also inspired by other artists - when I hear a really great production or moving melody, I'm motivated to try recreating similar sounds or techniques.

I often write about topics of love and heartbreak, which are pretty universal themes. But more recently, I've been trying to write about themes that even more people can relate to and seek comfort in. Through my observations and life experiences, I realized that everyone struggles with their own inner demons in some shape or form - so I've been exploring more general themes of life struggles and suffering through my music, as you'll hear in my upcoming EP.

What is your dream musical collaboration?

My music taste is quite diverse, so it's hard to pick one artist I would like to collaborate with, but there are a couple of musicians I look up to. I love Alina Baraz's gentle vocals and dreamy melodies. I would also love to work with the producer Lophiile - his production style has been a huge inspiration for me. I find Dream Perfect Regime's (DPR) vision and phenomenal visuals very inspirational. Lastly, I really enjoy listening to and drawing melodic inspo from R&B artists like Bryson Tiller, 6lack, Chris Brown, and Frank Ocean.

Recently you opened for South Korean musical artist, SHAUN, at Mission Nightclub in NYC. What was that experience like?

It was amazing! I was a bit nervous on the days leading up to the performance, but on the day of my performance I felt confident and had a lot of fun with it. Thankfully, the crowd seemed well-aligned with my target demographic as the nightclub is popular amongst Asian Americans, so they were energetic and engaged with my performance. Some of my friends from college came to support as well, which was reassuring. I'm really grateful for this opportunity and look forward to throwing more of my own shows later this year.

What do you hope to achieve as an artist in the future?

I want to continue creating more music and art that people can relate to. I often receive messages or see comments about how my music helped others push through hard times, so I find it very reassuring and heartwarming to know that my music is inspiring others and supporting them through their difficulties. I would also like to be a bit more experimental with my sound moving forward, releasing EPs and albums that act more as a piece of artwork rather than a commercial track. Lastly, I plan to collaborate more with other talented creatives on songs, music videos, and other multimedia projects in order to elevate my music and visuals.

Photo Credit: Unbound Entertainment 2023