The Milk have just
flown back to  |
| The Milk's Rick Nunn |
ALL- Amazing!
LUKE [Ayling, bass]- We didn’t sleep at all.
RICK [Nunn, vocals]- But yeah, we had a really good time
and the crowds were amazing; we played with Ed Sheeran and I was really
impressed with his live show. We had an amazing time. On the final day our tour
manager found us on the beach at eight in the morning and just said “go to bed!”
We’ve just about recovered.
What’s it like having brothers Mitch
and Luke in the band? Any sibling rivalry?
L- [Laughing] We generally get on, but
when we have a row those two [Rick and Dan] leave us to it.
DAN [Legresley
guitar]- Yeah, they
can say things to each other that friends can’t say, so we just leave them to
it.
L- We don’t row too often, but when we
do it’s like a big blow out and then it’s fine for like six months, best
friends.
D- We have their other brother on tour
doing merchandise and online stuff, so there’s three of them on the road with
us.
L- Yeah, there’s too much “Ayling” I
think [laughing].
Your new single “Every Time We
Fight” comes out end of June. James Buckley [Jay from The Inbetweeners]
directed and stars in the video; how did that come about?
R- We met him at a party about a year
ago; we played at a Pretty Green party, Liam Gallagher’s clothing company.
James DJs and someone said that he had been playing our stuff in his DJ sets
and we were looking for a concept for the video and it was just a very organic
conversation mentioning that we should ask him and then it just spiralled like
that. The label made a couple of phone calls and we had a meeting with him and
he had some really good ideas. And we loved the fact that we didn’t really have
to be in the video very much. We turned up, got to play snooker all day and
have a few beers.
D- We filmed it up the road from where
we live in Dagenham, so all our friends and family came down to be in it too
and had cameos.
Your sound blends Motown, Stax,
Trojan and soul but you started as a punk band- how did your sound develop and
change?
L- Where we grew up there wasn’t much
to do and bands weren’t really the thing, it was more Jungle…
D- [Laughing] Yeah, we’d hide our record
collection! But we just started a band at school and punk was great because if
you’re not very good at playing then you just turn the amp up, play four chords
and scream down the mic and you feel like you’re being rebellious. For us it
was an excuse to escape our hometown, jump in our Fiesta at seventeen and head
up the M1 and play whatever gig we could. We’d take a tent and sleep anywhere
on a roundabout, or on beaches. We did that for a few years and then went our
separate ways to uni or working, and then we got together about two and a half
years ago through a club night that we put on in Southend. That was us going
back to where we sort of came from musically, which was our parents’ record
collections; Motown and Stax and stuff like that and thought why doesn’t a band
do this? And, this was around the same sort of period that Amy Winehouse hit
and we thought let’s give it a go and it developed from there into flavours of
hip-hop.
L- Working with Brad Baloo from The
Nextmen was great; he was the producer on the album.
 |
| The Milk |
R- He’s the funniest man on the planet!
He’s the biggest character in every sense of the word. Literally it was five
weeks recording in the middle of nowhere in Northamptonshire and was owned by
Toby from Jamiroquai.
It was five weeks of laughing all day; you couldn’t have hoped for a nicer five
weeks. He’s very fussy with who he works with, which was a very big compliment
for us. But if any band gets the opportunity to work with him, do it, he’s
fantastic.
L- He really helped us develop our
sound into something more contemporary and something that’s a bit heavier than
the old school soul stuff. There’s no point trying to recreate that, so it was
just taking everything that we love about it and asking what does it sound like
in 2012?
Your album comes out in September
and is called “Tales from the Thames Delta”
how has growing up in Southend shaped the band?
D- There was a documentary a few years
ago about Dr. Feelgood who were a band from Canvey [Island ,
Essex] and they were heroes from around that part of the world and they
referred to that area as the Thames Delta. We really liked that idea and we
grew up around there and the songs we write are all about escaping from there
and it made sense.
R- We’re trying to go full circle and
put it on the map again and be a product of where we grew up, but hopefully a
positive product rather than…
D- … TOWIE! [The Only Way Is Essex ]
R- When people ask us where you’re from
you have to say Essex under your breath now.
D- It’s like we come from some sort of
theme park like Disneyland . I guess there’s
the ying and the yang and we’re like the juxtaposition of all that stuff.
R- We spent all of our youth growing up
making sure we didn’t become those people, way before there were camera crews
following d*******s around Brentwood and calling it TOWIE. They were the enemy
when we were twelve, let alone now.
D- It was just one of the things when
we were starting out, we didn’t have a fanbase and put it into a band
generator. It came up with “Nigel Winterburn and The Flat-back Four” “Charlie
Bash and The Up-town Smash” and then “Kenny Cornflake and The Milk” came up and
we were like “The Milk’s” kind of cool and we went with it. But before we knew
it we were stuck with it because our label was like you’ve got a fanbase now,
we like the name, let’s go with it.
R- We always had in our mind that we’d
get signed and then the label would go “right, let’s be f*****g serious now and
pick a grown up name” but no, we couldn’t change it.
D- There is something divisive about
it; people either don’t react to it or people hate it, but either way they’re
talking about us. If you’re doing well then it doesn’t matter what your name
is, but when you’re starting out people can make a judgement on the name.
L- We’re still building a fanbase so
when you say “The Milk” people think of milk, where as when you get bigger,
like the Beatles of [Rolling] Stones, you don’t think of an insect or a rolling
stone you think of the band themselves.
And finally, what else do The Milk
have planned for 2012?
D- Yeah it’s a big year for us,
hopefully the year that we really push through so we’ve got all the major
festivals which will be fun.
R- We’ll be touring all over this year
and then hopefully going to Australia
in January next year, and we’ll do another UK
And here’s what happened when The
Milk took to the stage…
 |
| The Milk on stage in Leeds |
As The Milk take to the stage here at The Cockpit it is
clear that the Essex quartet already have a firm fanbase and one that is set to
grow by the end of tonight if the band have anything to do with it. On record
The Milk are soulful, tight and have a refined contemporary sound, and live
vividly brings all this to life. The hand-claps which open the set act as a
call-to-arms to which the audience reciprocate, and the energy bar for the
night is set. The setlist shows off The Milk’s musical spectrum, from the
gritty single “Broke Up The Family” to album tracks such as the ska and reggae
infused “Mr. Motivator”. The band’s album isn’t released until September, but
the majority of the crowd here tonight know most of the lyrics to every song;
testament to the support that the band have already stirred up.
 |
| Rick on stage at The Cockpit |
Instead of stopping and starting between each song, The Milk
move seamlessly from track to track, allowing the night and energy to flow. Debut
single “(All I Wanted Was) Danger” is given a fun twist with the introduction
of Wretch 32’s “Traktor” whilst they also throw in a soulful, slowed down cover
of Stardust’s “Music Sounds Better With You”. As much as the band’s sound is so
deeply engrossed in vintage Motown sounds, they are also here to experiment and
have fun. “Picking Up The Pieces” proves The Milk aren’t afraid to include a
heavier riff or two; this song takes on epic proportions, it’s rise and fall
makes way for a breakdown before kicking back in again. Lead singer Rick Nunn’s
raspy vocals, group harmonies and occasional nods to hip-hop, in addition to
the Stax and Trojan influence which typifies The Milk’s sound combine well to make
for an intriguing live set. “The only reason to come out on a Saturday night is
to express yourself” shouts Rick. The crowd don’t need to be told twice and as
the set continues the atmosphere within The Cockpit is electric. Catchy riffs
on songs such as new single “Every Time We Fight” prove what great song writers
The Milk are, and why their songs work effectively live; they are songs that
inspire the crowd to move and sing-a-long. And for good measure The Milk, after
audience request, throw in their cover of Chemical Brothers’ “Galvanize”. Their
version of the hit song is impressive and the perfect end to the evening, the
anthem soaring through the venue. And I think I will leave the closing line to
the band themselves; “We’re The Milk, please spread the Gospel”.
Catch The Milk on tour this June-
10 Hull Fruit
12 Leicester Lock 24
13 Birmingham Hare and Hounds
14 Derby The Venue
15 Nottingham The Bodega
16 Coventry Kasbah
17 Swansea Beachbreak
20 St Albans The Horn
21 Guildford Boileroom
22 Northampton Labour Club
24 Isle Of Wight Isle of Wight Festival
