Fresh off of a listen to Millennium Resorts’ latest single, the pulsating piece synthpop that is ‘Happiness’, we are glad for this chance to hang out with Scott Raulie and Jonathan Richerson to get to know more about them and their music.
- First off, I’m happy for this opportunity to chat, so thank you for taking the time, and maybe we can start with a little introduction. Who are Millenium Resorts and how did this outfit start?
Millennium Resorts is Scott Raulie and Jonathan Richerson. Embarrassingly, we were in a U2 tribute band. Jonathan was the fake “Edge.” I was fake “Larry Mullen Jr.” With that gig, we quickly realized we had a ton in common in terms of ambition and musical tastes. Jonathan is one of the most creative guitarists I’ve ever heard. Part of this project was inspired by the opportunity to showcase his unique approach to guitar and record some great guitar solos. I have a unique approach to composition and soundscapes.
- Also, about the super cool name. Is there a story behind that or a hidden meaning?
Part of what inspired the name is kind of a secret or a mystery. The other part would be that we just thought it sounded cool. “Resorts” plays to the 80s synth-wave aesthetic of palm trees and beautiful sunsets and “Millennium” just has a sci-fi “ring” to it. We hear the term “millennium” a lot, but when you actually look at the definition in a dictionary it’s pretty interesting.
- ‘Happiness’ is such a multi-faceted piece of music with multiple sections and vibes. Can you share a bit on how it started and how it evolved until it reached its final form?
So I (Scott) started composing the basics of “Happiness” . I wrote the “skeleton” of the track if you will – chord progressions and the vocal melody and introducing a recurring motif with the key change that will lead into the final piece of the album. Then I got together with Jonathan and we started translating it into Ableton. It started out as one thing pretty early on where Jonathan took a stab at the beat and the soundscape and it was all wrong. Sounded more like a Kanye beat than what I was hearing. After that we took a step back and started just trying out hundreds of textures and pads, working on the build up, etc. And then recorded about 15 different versions of the guitar solo.
- Do you have a specific routine for writing songs? Do you guys start with the words or with the music? And does it start on a guitar or on a keyboard? Together or does either of you take the initiative and then the other hops onboard.
I (Scott) don’t consider myself a poet. For the most part I write the vocal melodies first and try to find the words that fit the melody vs writing the chords and trying to fit a melody into or on top of the chords. I remember watching a documentary about great composers and songwriters and that’s the method they would use and it makes a whole lot of sense. The most important aspect of a “song” is the melody. As far as lyrics, I try to write them so that they are at least interesting but I’m no Dylan or Lennon. There’s a mystery to my lyrics and I suppose you could unlock that mystery and that would be really cool also.
- What is behind your statement that “happiness is overrated”? How do you guys come up and agree on lyrics and how do the lyrics connect with the music or the arrangements on your songs?
I try to write lyrics so they have different levels of meaning. The more shallow inspiration of that lyric comes from watching countless episodes of VH1 behind the music and E True Hollywood story.
When it came to lyrics on this project, I wrote them all and sometimes Jonathan would recommend changes to improve the rhythm and tightness of the melody within the beat and overall track. And this is very much a concept album so the lyrics are very connected to the music. A lot of people that have heard the whole album use the adjective “cinematic.” I think it’s because there’s this constant conflict in the music between light and darkness and the lyrics mirror that.
- How do you agree on sound design aspects? How are synths chosen and what do you hope that the textures you chose would convey to the listeners of ‘Happiness’?
The reason why this project was successful in terms of it being completed is because we are so in synch. Our tastes are so similar when it comes to building these soundscapes. So we would be searching for a pad in a bank of options and just listen one by one and we would almost always light up simultaneously when we heard what we wanted.
One thing we see eye to eye on is that if we are going to create something, it’s got to be inspired and “original.” That’s a relative term, but I hope listeners appreciate the unique sound and composition of Happiness, but ultimately you have to hear the whole album front to back.
- You guys said that you aspire to revolutionize shoegaze. I can draw parallels between the massive guitar solo and the huge walls of synths on ‘Happiness’ and shoegaze, but still the electronic atmosphere is a departure from shoegaze’s famed, guitar-based textures. How would you say ‘Happiness’ fits into this plan?
I wouldn’t say we want to revolutionize shoegaze or dreampop, but we want to take that sound that comes from this style especially in terms of guitar and meld it with the edm style of music. I think shoegaze and edm fit really well together with the build ups and crescendos.
- And finally, what are your plans for the upcoming months? What can fans expect from you and where can they find you?
We just released another single, The Big Show and we have the full album releasing on January 26th. We’ve been concentrating on Spotify and Instagram. Hopefully going to start sharing some content soon for an EP we will be working on. Not as ambitious and conceptual and probably more “fun sized” tracks, but we’ll see. And hope to get a gig at next year’s Levitation festival.
- Thank you, Scott and Jonathan, for this opportunity that you gave us to take a closer look at how you create and at your mindsets as artists. We enjoyed ‘Happiness’, and we are waiting for much more from Millennium Resorts.