Blake Mills | |
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Background information | |
Born | [1] Santa Monica, California, United States | September 21, 1986
Occupation(s) | Songwriter, guitarist, solo artist, composer, producer |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Labels |
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Website | blakemillsonline |
Blake Mills (born September 21, 1986) is an American songwriter, guitarist, producer, and composer based in California. [2] He is known for production and guitar work on albums and singles by many artists, including Fiona Apple, Perfume Genius, Bob Dylan, Feist, Jack Johnson, Marcus Mumford, Laura Marling, Weyes Blood, John Legend, Alabama Shakes, Beck, The Killers, Conor Oberst, and Bruce Hornsby; as a touring musician with artists such as Lucinda Williams, Band of Horses and Jenny Lewis; and his four solo albums.
Blake Mills was born in Santa Monica, California, [1] and grew up in Malibu. He attended Malibu High School with Taylor Goldsmith. Mills and Goldsmith began their musical careers in a band they co-founded called Simon Dawes. Simon Dawes released its debut EP What No One Hears in 2005, and its first LP Carnivore in September 2006 via Record Collection. [3] [4] After the band broke up in 2007, Goldsmith and his younger brother, Griffin, formed the band Dawes with Simon Dawes bassist Wylie Gelber, and Mills went on to serve as a touring guitarist for Jenny Lewis. [5] He went on to tour with Band of Horses, [6] Cass McCombs, [7] Julian Casablancas [8] [9] and Lucinda Williams. [10] [11] As a session musician, Mills has collaborated with Conor Oberst, Kid Rock, [12] Weezer, The Avett Brothers, Paulo Nutini, [13] Norah Jones, Carlene Carter, Jesca Hoop, Dixie Chicks, Zucchero, Pink, Lana Del Rey, Dangermouse, Vulfpeck, Fiona Apple, [14] Beck, [15] Marcus Mumford, [16] Ethan Gruska, Randy Newman, [17] Diana Krall, [18] Johnathan Rice, Bruce Hornsby, Julian Casablancas, Jason Boesel, Benmont Tench, Ed Sheeran, [19] Cass McCombs, Foy Vance, The Killers, [20] Andrew Bird, John Legend, Rufus Wainwright, [21] Phoebe Bridgers, and other performers.
In 2010, Mills released his first solo LP via Record Collection. The original intent for the self-titled [22] album was to serve as a calling card for Mills to get session work. [23] It was touted as the album of the year by many websites and fellow musicians, despite its limited release. [24] [25] After spending back-to-back years on tour and in the studio playing on other people’s records, Mills made the decision to begin producing in order to explore musical concepts beyond guitar in late 2011. [26] Analog Edition Records released a Blake Mills double A side 7" in 2011, featuring the songs "Hey Lover" and "Wintersong" in 2011. [27]
In January 2012, Mills appeared on Conan O'Brien for his first national televised performance as a solo artist. He covered Bob Dylan’s “Heart Of Mine,” which he had recently recorded for an Amnesty International benefit CD. [28] Later that year, he went on to co-produce Jesca Hoop's album The House that Jack Built , [29] [30] produced Sara Watkins' album Sun Midnight Sun, [31] wrote and produced "Sad Dream" on Sky Ferreira's EP Ghost . Mills was featured on electric slide guitar on the track '"Go Home" from the 2013 debut album from the group Lucius. [32] For the compilation album Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac, he co-produced and played with Billy Gibbons and Matt Sweeney on the track "Oh Well". [33] Mills also served as the opening act and guitarist for Fiona Apple during her 2012 tour through North America. [34] [35] Mills co-produced the track "Artifact 1" on Conor Oberst's album, Upside Down Mountain, which was released in May 2014.
Mills released his second full length album, Heigh Ho, on September 16, 2014. This self-produced album combines a range of genres. Along with friends and inspirations including Fiona Apple, Jim Keltner, Don Was, Benmont Tench, Jon Brion, and Mike Elizondo, Mills recorded Heigh Ho at the legendary Ocean Way Recording studios in a room built for Frank Sinatra. [36] He also produced the sophomore release from Alabama Shakes. Recording took place at Sound Emporium in Nashville, a studio originally built for Sun Records house producer Cowboy Jack Clement.
In 2015 Mills was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Producer of the Year, Non-Classical for his work on Alabama Shakes breakthrough album Sound & Color. [37]
Mills' producer credits in 2016 and 2017 include the albums We're All Gonna Die from former bandmates Dawes, [38] Darkness and Light by John Legend, [39] Semper Femina by Laura Marling, [40] Eternally Even by Jim James [41] and No Shape by Perfume Genius. [42] In 2016 he performed guitar and various other instruments on Andrew Bird's album Are You Serious. In 2017, Mills took part in Randy Newman's Dark Matter as a guitarist.
In November 2018, Mills quietly released an almost-entirely-instrumental EP entitled "Look" on his own label imprint New Deal Music. [43] The album was created almost entirely using Roland guitar synthesizers from the 1970s with collaboration from saxophonist Sam Gendel, singer Natalie Mering of Weyes Blood, and violin and string-arrangement virtuoso, Rob Moose, who has appeared on nearly every release Mills has produced. "Look" was the second release on New Deal Music. The first New Deal release, in September 2018, was a soundtrack by Colin Stetson, Canadian-American saxophonist, multireedist, and composer based in Montreal, for the short-lived dramatic television series The First (TV series).
On December 5, 2019 Mills teased a clip of "Summer All Over" via an NPR piece by Grayson Haver Currin titled "Songs In An Emergency" [44] that centers around the urgency of climate change. It is a piano-based ballad musing on the Malibu fires of 2018 and co-written with Cass McCombs. When describing the spacious sound-landscape that the song embodies and the title, Mills commented that "writing about the season of summer inherently evokes a Beach Boys vibe, maybe because I'm in Los Angeles, but the implication of the warmest season happening all over the world at the same time is an 'endless summer.'" "Summer All Over" was featured on Mills' third full-length LP titled Mutable Set released in 2020 [45] on New Deal Music with management support by Record Collection and distribution by Verve Label Group, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
In 2020, Blake Mills played guitar and harmonium on Bob Dylan's album Rough and Rowdy Ways . [46]
In 2021 Blake and bassist Pino Palladino released their collaborative album Notes with Attachments on jazz label Impulse! Records. The album touched on a number of genres, including art rock, jazz and West African music, and featured 13 musicians and a wide range of instruments. [47]
Released on September 16, 2022, Mills produced and co-wrote Self-Titled (Marcus Mumford album) [48]
Released March 3, 2023, Blake Mills composed, performed, and produced all songs on the album "Aurora" [49] for the North American musical drama streaming television miniseries Daisy Jones & The Six. [50]
On June 10, 2023 Mills appeared with Joni Mitchell at her first ticketed concert in over two decades at The Gorge Amphitheatre, playing Mitchell's own guitar and accompanying her on “Amelia." [51] [52] The next month, his album Jelly Road , co-written with Chris Weisman, was released on New Deal/Verve. [53]
From time to time Mills hosts invite-only musical performances at Mollusk Surf Shop [54] in Venice, California. In previous shows Mills has been accompanied by musicians including Jackson Browne, Billy Gibbons, Matt Sweeney, Cass McCombs, Jenny Lewis, Charlie Sexton, Benmont Tench, Dave Rawlings, Val McCallum, Tal Wilkenfeld, Mike Einziger, Danielle Haim, Smokey Hormel, Michael Elizondo, Anthony Wilson, and Xavier Mas.
Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart is an American singer-songwriter. She released five albums from 1996 to 2020, all of which reached the top 20 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Apple has received numerous awards and nominations, including three Grammy Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, and a Billboard Music Award.
Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific session bassist, he has played bass for acts such as The Who, the John Mayer Trio, Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan, Jeff Beck and D'Angelo.
Sebastian Steinberg is an American bass player, best known for his work in the band Soul Coughing.
Record Collection is an independent Los Angeles, California-based music company founded by filmmaker and music manager Jordan Tappis. Record Collection is home to a diverse roster which includes music from current Red Hot Chili Peppers' guitarist John Frusciante, The Walkmen, Blake Mills, Dawes, Murs, Black Knights and management clients Blake Mills, Matt Sweeney and Fiona Apple.
Laura Beatrice Marling is a British folk singer-songwriter. She won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards and was nominated for the same award at the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 Brit Awards.
Jessica "Jesca" Ada Hoop is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, who writes and performs in diverse musical styles. She has released six studio albums of her own, as well as live, acoustic and dual albums with others.
Mumford & Sons are a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band consists of Marcus Mumford, Ted Dwane, and Ben Lovett.
Dawes is an American folk rock band from Los Angeles, California, composed of brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith (drums).
Kismet, is the first studio album by musician Jesca Hoop, released on September 17, 2007 through RED Ink Records. The song "Love and Love Again" was co-written with David Baerwald while Stewart Copeland guests on the song "Seed Of Wonder." The song "Intelligentactile 101" was released prior to the album. According to Hoop, many of the songs on the album were "quite old." "Out the Back Door," a combination of early 20s jazz and hip hop, is a song she "wrote years ago, and then the movie Idlewild came out and it kind of reinforced my concept in that arena," explained Hoop.
Marcus Oliver Johnstone Mumford is an American-born British singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer of the folk band Mumford & Sons. He also plays a number of instruments with the group, including guitar, drums and mandolin. He is married to English actress Carey Mulligan, with whom he has three children.
The discography of Laura Marling, an English folk musician, consists of seven studio albums, one live album, six extended plays and seventeen singles. She has also featured on singles by two other artists and released an EP in collaboration with Mumford and Sons and Indian collective Dharohar Project in 2010.
Sun Midnight Sun is the second solo album by American singer and fiddle player Sara Watkins. It was released on May 8, 2012, by Nonesuch Records. It reached No. 11 on the Billboard Folk Chart and No. 16 on the Heatseekers chart.
Are You Serious is the tenth solo studio album by Andrew Bird, released on April 1, 2016. The album features collaborations with Fiona Apple and Blake Mills.
Memories Are Now is the fourth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop. The album was released on February 10, 2017, through Sub Pop. It was produced by Blake Mills and features Fiona Apple on harmonica.
No Shape is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Perfume Genius, released on May 5, 2017, through Matador Records as the follow-up to Too Bright (2014).
Taylor Dawes Goldsmith is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He serves as the lead singer, guitarist, and chief songwriter of American folk rock band Dawes.
Rob Moose is an American multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer, conductor, and orchestrator. He primarily plays the violin, viola, and guitar.
Meet the Moonlight is the eighth studio album by American musician Jack Johnson. The album was released on June 24, 2022, and marks Johnson's first release in five years. Johnson worked with producer Blake Mills on the album, and released the lead single "One Step Ahead" on April 8, 2022.
Self-Titled is the debut studio album by Marcus Mumford, released on 16 September 2022 via Island Records. The album features guest appearances by Phoebe Bridgers, Brandi Carlile, Clairo, and Monica Martin, in addition to being produced by Blake Mills.
"Grace" is a song by Mumford & Sons frontman Marcus Mumford, released as the second single from his solo debut album Self-Titled on 29 July 2022. The song features vocalist Danielle Ponder and bassist Pino Paladino, and was co-written by Mumford and producer Blake Mills.