Harlem born musician and viral sensation Austin Millz started on his music journey as a producer.
"Just having the joy and passion to make music, being inspired by the Neptunes," Millz says. "Just seeing samples get flipped -- that was something that I always gravitated to. So producing came first. And I will say around 2015/2016 is when the DJing aspect of it started to come to life. So yeah, I would say around that time is when the DJing took place, and producing is something I've always been attracted to and gravitated towards."
Millz describes his sound today as, "balance with groove and swing."
"Those are the three words that really describe my sound -- I have a signature bounce to my music," he says. "And it's really the sound and the the fire that keeps it going."
His latest release is the "Lovely Day" remix.
"For the past couple of years on Instagram, I dropped remixes and flips and it's been taking on a life of its own when people use it as their reels and as their daily soundtrack," he says. "And one day, I flipped Bill Withers' 'Lovely Day,' the classic -- I put my take on it, my spin on it, and it went crazy online and went viral. I had the opportunity to clear the sample and then it got released."
As for gear:
"In terms of the hardware, I have my [Akai Pro] MPC and I have CDJs on the DJing side, and the producing side I'm able to have a lot of my keyboards. Yeah, I have a lot of things to my arsenal but all comes from inside."
Looking ahead, Millz has a lot of music on the way and more shows to come including his Vegas residency which kicks off at XS Nightclub on Wednesday, April 10.
Austin Millz' "Lovely Day" remix is out now.
Photo by Donslens
