Neu Millennium: ‘The Intention Wasn’t To Stand Out No Matter What’

Berlin by way of Boston two-piece Millennium stand out by default. The moment you stumble on their debut EP - prepped for release on Greco-Roman - you know the experience is going to be unlike few others. From the circa-2000, plasticised Microsoft WordArt that graces the visual side, to the strange, lurking electronic sound that so defines their first work, Millennium set their own boundaries, beyond convention but not to the point of becoming distracting.

We spoke to Norman and Ville, the minds behind the project, about their first work and what it’s like being in Berlin, sporting a sound unlike any of their contemporaries.

Pre-order the ‘Terms and Conditions’ EP on iTunes. It’s released on 28th January through Greco-Roman. Stream ‘Fake It’ below.


All the imagery on your website is of Microsoft WordArt and other quite dated visual references. Is this a Y2K obsession, so to speak? Would you say this retro look-and-feel runs through your music too?
Norman: We’re not necessarily trying to look retro. It’s more about looking very professional and generic. When we started our project we were under the impression that the music world is trying to be so very professional these days, running after micro cents and acting strategical on social media channels. We thought we can take it to the next level and contrast our music, which is quite dreamy and somewhat escapist with something very real life. It’s a sort of culture-jamming, acting out the role which you’re not supposed to play, finding out what happens between the two worlds.
Ville: It’s interesting to see how the very standardised ways of corporate communication work in a different context.

What led to you guys signing to Greco-Roman? What do they bring to the table?
V: We knew Alex from the label through mutual friends . There’s not that many great non-techno labels in Berlin and they definitely have had a great track record with forward thinking pop music.
N: Also they are around the corner from us, which is very handy.

I like the idea of a ‘Start-up Kit’. It really caught my eye. Was the intention to stand out as much as possible? I haven’t seen any other ‘new acts’ try anything like this before.
N: Yes, here at Millennium we’re trying to think out of the box…Well, the intention wasn’t to stand out no matter what. But we did want to wrap the music in something unusually interesting. We’re both from a visual/design background, so making music and visuals together felt natural for both of us. We treated our new band as a start-up just like any other, deliberately disappointing the expectations one has about how a ‘new act’ should look & feel.

What sort of music did you find yourself listening to when making the ‘Q & A’ EP - did you shut yourself off from outside influence?
V: Our influences are quite diverse and that certainly is a good thing. I can feel that there’s tons of different music that has influenced the record, early Warp Records, some mainstream hip hop, Herbert, David Byrne, some grime even. Also I don’t believe that much in shutting off outside influences as it’s important to know what is done so you can have an idea of what hasn’t.
N: We both brought new influences to each others table, which is the exciting thing about working together.

Have you guys worked in other projects before?
N: Yes, I have just released my third solo album and Ville is also one half of Renaissance Man. We pretty much combine our previous experiences, me coming from a more song- and vocal-oriented background and Ville coming from electronic and experimental music.

Do you have any influences beyond music? Literature, culture or otherwise?
V: We’re interested in (counter) cultural movements like the previously mentioned culture jamming or projects of Bill Drummond. Adapting rules and languages from a certain industry or a scene and use them in another one. We draw references from recent phenomena like the nearly religious start-up culture that has turned into this odd cult of ‘the idea’.
N: I just moved to Cambridge close to MIT, so the dynamic genius vibe has become a curious daily-life encounter for me. Also I am sometimes too familiar with corporate culture through work as a graphic designer.

Do you have a routine for when it comes to writing a song or is it a very spontaneous process?
N: We’ve know each other for quite a while and Ville has remixed one of my songs. Millennium started when Ville sent me little bits of music he had made. Mostly rhythmic ideas, loops. I recorded vocals on top of those, added chords here and there and we quickly looked at a handful of songs. We usually start off sending things back and forth. When a track takes shape we meet in the studio and work on it together. We also play ping pong on a regular basis, which is sort of the same concept.

Have you thought about potentially touring Europe with these songs?
V: Yes! We will play the first live shows in the end of January and are about to announce more in the following weeks.

What else can we expect from you this year?
N: We’re working on new material at the moment which might come out a little more ‘groovy’, if that’s a word I am allowed to use. So you can definitely expect more than just one EP. And we are planning to shoot a new video as well.