Harlem, New York. Whether it’s the culturally rich renaissance of the 30s, or the swagged out fashion of 2000s rap crews, there’s a distinct flair to the New York borough. “It’s debonair. It’s a swag. It’s very distinct,” says Austin Millz. Who – having been raised in the borough – is bringing that flamboyant energy to the world, via his increasingly smooth, upscale dance music cuts. For proof, see the staggering numbers taking him worldwide: a cool 20 bil views across all socials.
These 20 billion views – which account for an insane 10% of all Instagram Reels sounds in 2022 – all come from a palette that refines Harlem’s cool into upbeat, global dance floor fillers. See: the ultra warm energy of 2021 single “Gold”, an absolutely huge remix of Nina Simone (“Feeling Good”) and a Chaka Khan sample (“Nobody Khan (Ain’t Nobody)”). Tread back further and there’s 2019 heater “Bad Behaviour” with Remi Wolf, and its stylish, technicolor bounce.
This link to Harlem and the wider New York sounds of decades past runs deep for Austin. He was raised by two parents who, he laughs, “met in the Paradise Garage” – the infamous New York venue famous for all night disco, house and funk showdowns hosted by the iconic Larry Levan. “That’s the things they used to play. It was so many things. It was a fresh take on house music,” he says, remembering how dance music cruised into his interests from a very early age.
Yet despite music being quite literally everywhere – from “the old Puertro Rican guys playing congos in the street”, to people in the neighborhood bumping Mark Anthony or Cam’ron – it wasn’t a viable career. Not at the beginning. The transition into making music would come much later – after a college degree, after the usual going through the motions of a regular lifestyle.
“I did marketing for agencies and stuff like that after, but at night I’d cook up beats and be in sessions until 3 or 4 and go to work at 9am. It came to a point where I was at work dozing off. I had to make a decision – go for my passion, or go and do the money thing and have a 9-5.”
Austin going for his passion meant heading into DJ booths across New York and making a name for himself in the club scene, sometime around 2016. An era that began in nightclubs and impressively culminated with him DJing for Beyoncé’s Homecoming Coachella event. This was phase one. The next phase is what you’re witnessing now – the making original music phase. “I play what I want. I tour. I’m telling my own story. My vision is out and I’m living my dream,” he says.
When it comes to making that original music, Harlem is the bedrock. The grittiness. “It’s the epitome of what embodies me as an individual.” But LA – where Millz now resides – smoothed out the edges. “The boundaries in my music transcend different genres, cultures and countries and LA helped me to explore that,” he says.
The result is new EP ‘Breathwork’. Which brings atmospheric house (“Inhale / Exhale”), buoyant pop vocals (“Freeway”) and soulful bounce (“On and On”) under one roof, into a collection of tracks that represent the journey through a night out, and all its euphoria. “It’s the intersection between dance music, soul and R&B,” explains Austin, of how all the sounds come together, and the incredibly eclectic collection of guests, including Estelle, Duckwrth, Aline Baraz, Destin Conrad, and Justine Skye.
Across its incredibly fluid six tracks, the EP acts as the soundtrack for the different stages of a night out. Pouring the first drink surrounded by your friends at your place. Positive energy building in anticipation, before hitting the club. “Then you find that person you want to leave with, or you’re with them already, and you feel the interconnectedness,” explains Austin.
On the name, he says “You usually hear breathwork in the context of meditation or doing sound baths – I want to add a meaning. Breathwork can be uptempo and fast – there’s a lot of breathwork there. I love the idea that breathwork can put you in a state of euphoria.”
Bringing all the names onto the record meant bringing everyone into Austin’s vision for the future of his sound. “Being a Black, Puerto Rican person in dance music, we’re generally not the faces of the genre,” he says. “I can be a figure bringing those less included into dance music. I want to bring people all across the world together.”
He touches on how that approach becomes apparent at recent shows (of which – in the UK – he’s booked to play the dance tent at this year’s Reading and Leeds). “I love at my shows when I see all types of melanin, colour, gender, sexuality – everything’s together. It’s a beautiful picture. It’s a beautiful palette to look at when I’m playing out, and I want you to feel that in the music.”
“This is new age Black dance music. This is the future,” he smiles. “But inclusive of everybody!”