MILLY TABAK of MILLY TABAK & THE MILTONES: A Real 70’s Baby
An interview by Bridget Herlihy.
In 2017 Milly Tabak and her band The Milltones released their debut album to critical acclaim, taking out the Taite Music Prize for Best Independent Debut. The band – which also features Liam Pratt (guitar), Guy Harrison (keyboards), Chris Marshall (bass) and Tom Broome (drums) – quickly developed a reputation for selling out gigs and delivering energetic and mesmerising performances spread far and wide. It was the desire to capture the ‘vibe’ of their live performances has, in turn, had a profound impact upon the sound of their second album, the deeply personal ‘Honest Woman’ – the product of a personal and musical evolution for both Tabak and the band.
So this has been a big week for you with the new album coming out…
Yes! I’m so excited! Last week was actually a year ago since we went into the studio to begin recording, so it’s so cool that it’s coming out now. The record has been ready for the last six months; we just had to go and get it all mastered at the end of the year. We got it mastered by a guy in Nashville who had done one of the records that I really love. We wanted to release it earlier this year, but of course everything happened, and we got pushed back… so I feel really lucky that we are able to release now. I feel really fortunate that we were able to do everything prior [to lockdown], so that’s really cool.
With so many artists having had their schedules pushed back because of Covid, you must feel very fortunate that you managed to get the album recorded prior to lockdown!
Absolutely. I was talking to a musician from The Teskey Brothers over in Melbourne, and I said to him “are you able to write at the moment or do anything?”. And he said that there is really nothing to inspire us at the moment, with everything that has happened. And I totally understand that; I would never have felt that way inclined during lockdown too. I mean, I didn’t write anything. I feel really fortunate that we did manage to do everything prior.
A topic of conversation that often came up during lockdown for artists and musicians was whether to use that time at home to be productive and create, or whether to take a step back and just breathe and be in the moment. Obviously you took the latter approach?
Yeah, I mean because we had already had quite a big year recording and getting everything ready, and I kind of felt like I was out of ideas. And I think it really felt like the whole world really needed a big breather. And I think of all those days that you are hard at work, because I do landscaping, and you are sitting there wishing that you could be lying in bed doing nothing, you know? And that’s the time you get to make the most of now – just let yourself breathe, have a moment, take it in… just sort of be at one with everybody, with no pressure. I think that was the first time in our lives where there was no pressure to do anything. So it gave us a good opportunity to just sit and lean into that.
I didn’t really write, to be honest. I did more crocheting! I crocheted so many things, so that was where my inspiration went, which I think was nice, you know? To put creativity into something else, have a moment, and then fall back into music. It kind of felt more natural, and now I’m new again and I’m so excited to be playing.
So the ‘break’ was somewhat well timed for you?
Yeah. I think my mum got a bit annoyed with me because there were bits of yarn everywhere, and no matter where I went I had a trail of colourful, magical yarn strands!
Your album release show is at The Tuning Fork on Saturday the 15th of August – what do you have planned?
(NOTE: This interview took place before Auckland moved to Alert Level 3, meaning that Milly Tabak & The Miltones gig on Saturday 15th August was unfortunately postponed. We hope the gig will be able to be rescheduled in the very near future.)
It’s going to be really cool because there will be people joining us for harmonies that actually recorded on the record. So, there is going to be nine of us on stage, and there’s going to be pretty massive energy on the night – so I’m looking forward to that.
And on the 12th September you are supporting Dave Dobbyn at Spark Arena…
Yeah – we are! And it’s so cool – it’s so nice. I’ve been able to meet Dave a few times now and its kind of weird to think that you are hanging out with somebody you listened to when you were a little kid, and you think that they are incredible. And one day you are older and you think “Ahh! It’s bizarre that I am now opening for you at one of your shows, and I can speak to you about life… it’s bizarre. So I’m really grateful, and I think it will be fun. We are also going to have our harmonies joining us with the band. Its going to be so much fun having the full band on stage at Spark!
Its beautiful how things have come full circle for you; that you are now opening for someone that you listened to during your youth – that’s something quite special.
Yeah, it is. And I remember growing up and watching the Footrot Flats movie and really loving that. So knowing that Dave was behind most of it [the soundtrack], and it was such a big part of my childhood, it feels really special. And you just can’t really believe how life turned out like that.
Speaking of your childhood, you have referred to yourself as being a ‘real 70’s baby’, and have quite a profound connection to this era. It this one of the key elements that inspired ‘Honest Woman”?
Absolutely. When we did this record I really wanted it to be quite authentic to how a lot of the artists that I have adored and loved from America and the UK used to record, which was live to tape. So we did the exact same thing.
So we went into Roundhead Studios, and the band played live; we all played at the same time, and we just cut it to tape. I wanted to hear all of the sounds coming together, and the movement of being natural. It was so integral; feeling music is so integral to this record, and I wanted it to sound like it was a bit of a throw back. When you listen to it on vinyl you can just hear the production of it. You know, the songs aren’t all in time and they kind of move faster and faster with the energy of the band. I love that we are such a live band, and we wanted that to come across on the record.
The album was co-produced, engineered, mixed and recorded by Paddy Hill; he and I constructed this plan that we would just dedicate ourselves to just finding different ways to record as they did in the 70s, which was to have microphones all around the room, a close mic on each artist. We could all see each other, and we were all basically playing like we were at a show – it was so much fun!
Its sad when you play as a band and you write music, and sort of like a family, to be in a room and one person records, and then another one, and then another one… it doesn’t feel normal. Music never comes out like that; it just feels a bit false to me. It kind of squishes what the music is. Half of the music we listen to from back in the day on some of our favourite records, there are actually minute sounds that are in there that add so much to the record. And you might not hear it, and it might not stick out, but if you take them away you are like, “oh, the recording has lost its essence”. You should be hearing those; it might just be human noise, like someone moving around the room or moving into something, and the music is moving a little bit quicker.
I always hated multi-tracking. It’s just never been me. I will always play live; I love being there with the boys, and just being able to move together and look at them, and acknowledge that something is going to happen, and that more energy has to go in. And it’s such a fun way to do it; and really quick because you are just kind of cutting it then and there. But you do have to practice a lot, you have to be tight.
Given that you recoded this album live in the studio, how did the experience contrast with recording your first album? Was there quite a difference?
I think that the first record was really lovely too, in the sense that we managed to record the rhythm takes live, so the bass and the drums recorded at the same time, but we did overdub. But you do get a bit of that raw energy. I think that when you are playing folk music, as that record was predominantly quite folk-sounding, that you do get more of that raw, uncut sound, and I think that kind of came across. But because this record was a bigger sound, with the horns and the big harmonies, we were sort of trying to find a way to capture that live sound as a fuller group. So that was different [from the first album].
And the natural movement of the band getting faster and faster; in ‘Honest Woman’ you can tell it slowly moves forward and speeds up. That’s why I knew it was going to be different and the best way to get that vibe going. I think the first record was folk-sounding, and this one is more raw and edgy. They are almost different genres. The first album – I love it, its my baby – but it was a folk/country based record, and this one moves away from that a bit more.
You have described Honest Woman as being more sexy and soulful.
Yeah, I would say that! With the first album I was a really young woman and I didn’t really know who I was, or where I was at with music. I was dipping my toe in the water really, in terms of recording. And even just singing, I feel like I more comfortable in terms of my voice now. In the first record I’m quite sharp and kind of twangy. I did a lot of work playing around with my voice more, and playing with different ways to use my voice. I founded I sounded more like a woman; I did have a bit more of that power. It definitely is a bit more sultry; its like sultry ‘70s Americana – like southern 1970s America where you are watching a band play. And we recorded it and mixed at the same time as well, and tried to mix it in a way that it was like you were watching a band and you would hear the guitars come out from the left side, and you would hear the piano coming out from the right side, rather than all being one directional. It comes from different sides like you are watching a live performance in front of you. That was a big piece of what we wanted to do – we wanted to have the experience as if you were standing in a room watching the band play.
It seems that recording an album live is sadly a relatively rare thing in this day and age. The first thing I thought when I listened to the new album was “I need to hear this on vinyl”.
I’m so stoked you thought that! That’s so good! The album will be released on vinyl, and I actually got to see it for the first time today, and it was really special, just finally being able to see something that you have been working on for such a long time.
Just out of curiosity, are you releasing the album on cassette as well?
No! But that would be wicked if we did. We had never thought of it. But we’re not doing CDs. I think everyone has sort of taken a big step away from CDs now, so we just decided to go with the vinyl. I mean, I would love to have it on CD, but again its just one of those things that not many people use that kind of process anymore.
For those of those who don’t live in the Big Smoke, and can’t get to either of your Auckland gigs, is there a national tour in the pipeline?
Depending on how well our release goes, and the Auckland show – if it goes really well then we really want to get out of town and start doing some more regional shows if we can. I would love that. But I guess it is all weighted on how we get on in Auckland – hopefully it all goes well because I would love to go back on the road, I miss it so much!
Milly Tabak & The Miltones new album ‘Honest Woman’ is available now on Vinyl from their Bandcamp, and is also available for streaming via your favourite online services.
![Honest Woman [DIGITAL/VINYL]](https://i0.wp.com/www.ambientlightblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/BandcampMillyTabakMiltones.jpg?w=1440&ssl=1)
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