I'm sitting here after just feeling lazy and not in the mood to do much this week, typing up this article - and I found motivation by listening to music featuring Talen Miller. Just the overall sound and vibe created really lifts my mood and gets me out of my temporary rut.
Enough about me. In this write-up, I'm interviewing Talen Miller on inspirations, collaborations, upcoming music, and more. Keep reading if you want to discover great new music
How would you describe your music?
I find it kind of hard to pinpoint what exactly the genre is, because I feel that I am inspired by a lot of genres equally. I’d describe it as a combination of folk, indie rock, pop, and alt rap with a lot of electronic instrumentation!
When did you first start making music & how were you introduced to it?
I started making my own music about three years ago! I grew up with a lot of music in my family and I took a little interest in it at about six years old -- but I never really got into it until I saw my friends playing guitars, and I immediately knew that I wanted to be able to do that too. Since then I’ve been writing music and playing with them and it kind of just suddenly turned it into the focal point of my life
What do you want people to feel or think when they hear your music?
I want people to be able to connect with it! It’s cool if they’re just bumping it in the car having a good time and it’s cool if they’re sad and feel that they’re relating to whatever song. The way I see it, as long as it’s serving the listener in a positive way, I don’t really care what they pull from it
You’re apart of 8900 - tell us a little about it
So 8900 is a collective comprised of a lot of different artists in OKC -- such as Vinnie the Kid, Pharaoh the People, Kaeb, Vann and several others! We have been mainly working on a lot of alt rap but we’ve got our sights on a lot of different areas in music! It’s some shit you can play for mom or with the homies, so check out 8900 everywhere!
How did the collective originally get started?
The idea for a collective called 8900 had been floating around our friend group for years. It really started to take shape after Vinnie introduced me and a few other friends to Pharaoh the People. Pharaoh had a home recording studio and he helped us record some of our own stuff, but eventually we all started recording together. We all agreed that we had really nice chemistry and we’ve just been working together since then
Do you have any projects or songs with 8900 coming out this year?
We’re actually about to start dropping a lot more singles and some music videos! There’s an album in the works but no name or date yet. Follow @8900collective for updates!
You have a few songs with maxhill already -- how did you first meet and start making music?
maxhill is a long time friend from school! He transferred to my school from Pennsylvania and then actually ended up moving back after around a year, but we stayed connected and started making music about a year ago now
Do you have any more music planned with maxhill?
I’ve actually been doing a lot of work on his new album “Eighteen” -- so there’s a few features to look out for scattered around on there
You have an album coming out this year - what can you tell us about that?
Yes! I am releasing my first full length project this May. I haven’t announced anything yet but I guess this is a pretty good way to do that haha! It’s gonna have twelve tracks and I have two more singles coming before the album release. This is definitely my best work yet and has some amazing features from some very talented people. I'm super hyped to release it!
Do you have a title or theme for the album
I have a title but I think I've got to keep it on the down-low for a little while, so there’s something to wait for, ya know? The theme of the album is more or less just navigating adolescence and coming to terms with it
How will it be different from FIN EP
The album will differ from the EP in a lot of ways. That EP was really a lot of me just experimenting with combining this whole world of production with the music I’d been playing and writing. Now that I’ve put a lot more time into production, mixing, and recording, I feel that this project is an accurate depiction of what I wanted to express. Also part of creating a bigger body of work is pacing yourself. Because of that I’ve gotten more into giving each song as much as I can before finishing it, which has created a lot more diversity through the project in a way that aids the movement and flow of the listening experience. Looking back I think that’s something that the EP had lacked
Are there any artists that you’ve been influenced by musically?
There’s more than I can count but some that inspired this project heavily are Briston Maroney, Dijon, Kanye, Bon Iver, and Christian Alexander.
Is there anything else you have planned this year that you want people to look forward to
This year look out for singles every month until May! Beyond the album, I’ve got a little collection of songs that people might get to hear this year -- but I don't know, we’ll just have to see!
Is there anything else you want people to know?
Stream Casino Brand this Friday! 2/25! Also if you listen to my music, ily!!!
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