Creative Conversations 042: Fall In Love With Mila Nile [Premiere]

With 2021 in full swing, we have our first premiere on our hands thanks to Gothenburg via Sydney rising Pop act, Mila Nile. The ascending act caught our attention with ‘Break My Heart To The Beat’ in late 2020, and now we’re stoked to bring you ‘Too Much Like Love’. The record blends a Scandinavian and Australian sonic into a crisp and approachable semblance. We caught up with Mila Nile to dissect ‘Too Much Like Love’, chat through music career advice in partnership with Your Favourite Team, and much more.

Mila Nile (self portrait) by Micaela Mandorff, assisted by Simon Brock

Futuremag Music: Hey Mila Nile, how's 2021 treating you so far?

Mila Nile: Hey Futuremag Music, 2021 has started off pretty great! I was lucky enough to have some time away over the holidays to kind of reset, bringing me into the year with new energy to create. I’m pretty heartbroken about not having seen my family in Sweden for over a year now but I’m staying positive.

Futuremag Music: Congratulations with the release of 'Too Much Like Love', and giving us the premiere! Before we jump into the single, could you provide some insight to your musical journey so far?

Mila Nile: Music has always been a big part of my life. Even though no one in my family was musical I’ve always had a lot of support from them to always sing and write. I’ve been in a lot of different projects before finally going solo. Creating Mila Nile has given me complete creative freedom which has been amazing. I now write together with my partner Simon Brock. Between the two of us we make all the aspects of the releases - everything from writing and promoting to to making the artwork and shooting the press shots.

Futuremag Music: 'Too Much Like Love' morphs a Scandinavian Pop sonic with elements that are quintessentially Australian. Could you please outline the writing and production process around the record?

Mila Nile: It all started with Simon just messing around on the keys and he landed on the chords that are now the bones of the song. I usually start hearing melodies straight up if I like the chords or rhythm so that part came kind of easy on this one. It had this nostalgic feeling to it and I knew that even though I don’t tend to write love songs, this was going to have to be about love in some way. We came up with the phrase “Too Much Like Love” and it just felt right. Going from that point I started writing about when we first met. We were both deadset on staying single and independent but try as we might, we failed. Oops! We worked with an L.A producer called HVTCH who helped give the song a bit more energy. I absolutely love the RnB drum beat that he’s added and he really helped make it shimmer.

Listen to Too Much Like Love on Spotify. Mila Nile · Song · 2021.

Futuremag Music: With your previous single 'Break My Heart To The Beat' and now following a similar theme, is there a body of work on the way?

Mila Nile: I definitely feel like I’ve started a new chapter, starting with Break My Heart To The Beat. I think both Simon and I improved a lot as songwriters last year and HVTCH has brought his own style and sensibilities to these latest songs which I love. Yes, there is more music on the way and I’m so excited about it! I can’t make any big announcements right now but I will not be short of songs this year.

Futuremag Music: In partnership with Your Favourite Team, what is a piece of advice or something you wish you knew when starting out following a career in music?

Mila Nile: To trust your gut. Trying to predict what’s going to work (as far as reaching an audience goes) is really hard, even for industry professionals. At the end of the day you need to release the music that you love. If you love it, I’m sure someone else will too.

Futuremag Music: To wrap it up, if 'Too Much Like Love' was a cocktail, what would be in it to best describe its sonic and message?

Mila Nile: Oooh, I love this question. I hear this song as a very soft pink colour, the kind of drink that looks very sweet. But when you go to taste it you get surprised by the sweetness being wrapped in citrus making your mouth tense up. Best served in spring or summer, at dusk, as you fall in love.