Sydney-based art-pop indie artist, Milku aka Miles Elkington, returns today to announce his debut EP, You Make Me Feel Beautiful – out March 24. Celebrating the announcement, Milku also unveils his second single, “Diamonds xx”, available now. 

As Milku’s debut body of work, You Make Me Feel Beautiful EP is an art-pop compendium that bursts with songwriting virtuosity. Over five tracks, Milku blends bright and off-kilter arrangements with sharply witted lyricism and breezy ear-worm melodies. Produced by Tim Fitz and Dave Hammer, the EP sings to the fuzziness of life, love and all the feelings in between, through Milku’s effervescent charm and standout octave-spanning voice. 

Milku says of You Make Me Feel Beautiful EP  “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.”

“Diamonds xx” is scored with woozy synths and chiming piano chords while summery undertones ooze from Milku’s croons and rap-speed verses. A quirky melody jives with twangy instrumentation as guitars strum to a backbeat on cruise control. Directed by Thomas Davies, the single’s accompanying video dials up the chaos, as Milku spins out of control in a vintage BMW, dances in an exploding warehouse and sings to a literal baby.

Milku says of “Diamonds xx”: “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. I wanted everything to feel instinctive, not heady or clever; I started singing random words that were about being sparkly and destructive in your 20s, then layered some cheesy synth solos over a dank synth bass. Tim Fitz played a drum kit as hard as he could, and made a box of kindergarten percussion instruments sound like Michael Bay explosions. 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.”

From being told as a child by a Spice Girl that he was ‘fanciable and cheeky’, Milku has been making his way through music ever since. Across the next decade, from his teen years in Darwin to his current base of Sydney as touring guitarist for Middle Kids, the sound of Milku was slowly born. A love letter from a bedroom art-pop artist at heart to the synthesizers, autotune and the New York indie bands of the early 00s, Milku is bold, bombastic, and anchored by connected emotion. Evolving into the vibrant project it is today, Milku’s playful sonic profile is riddled with juxtaposition at every turn, as he carves a space for fun in navigating life’s feelings, doubts and love.

Photo Courtesy: Thomas Davies