Morris Mills

We would like to say a massive thank you to Morris Mills for sending us an advance copy of his album ‘The Dawn’, which is being released on April 19th this year.

While researching Morris Mills, I found there was a huge influence of Prince embedded within his music. From the 1 minute video of him performing a cover of ‘Head’ with a cloud guitar in the background, to the cover he has released of ‘If I Was Your Girlfriend’. And even with this album being titled ‘The Dawn’, it’s evident that Prince is a massive inspiration to this musician.

A quick bit of research found me the aforementioned ‘Head’ cover, a music video for his own song ‘Hello’, and some information about Mills himself: he was born in Texas and moved to Chicago, and used music as a creative outlet during turbulent times in relation to family matters, which is a notion I feel all too well. There was also the statement that “music became a thriving factor for survival in Chicago in the 80s”, which I again found to be so relatable.


“Sex and money rule the world”
Looking at the tracklist for the album alone, the Prince influence continues with the substitution of numbers for words, abbreviated versions of “you”, all caps song titles and a whole load of funk, love and sex.

The album opens with a song called ‘Funk U’, which instantly took me by surprise and left me with a smile with the scream that erupted in the first few seconds of the track. The song then intrudes a soft synth line behind Mills’ vocals, “I’m gunna funk U up/Funk U all night long”. I expected the song to be an angry and charged song about getting back at somebody, but instead you’re given a relaxed, playful and sexy song. Honourable mention to the guitar solo and rap verse!

Second track ‘Sex And Money’ instantly reminded me of the 1986 vibes of ‘Love And Sex’ from Prince, and comes in with some chicken grease guitar behind the line “sex and money rule the world”. The falsetto vocals here are amazing, and give me instantaneous early Prince vibes, and by this point I’m finding it difficult to distinguish Prince from Morris Mills. The songs is also laced with a variety of synth lines too, giving it that 80s feel even more.

The third song of the album includes a cover of Prince’s ‘She’s Always In My Hair’, and covering a Prince song is an incredible feat as you either do it well or you ruin the song. But here we have a cover that sticks pretty close to the original with a few additional lines thrown in, unless I missed them in the original. The vocals also seem robotic, which lead me to think they have been ran through some kind of autotune. By the middle of the song, the vocals become a scream and turn into a guitar solo with the lead lines playing repeatedly behind it.


‘Freedom’ is the lead single from the album.
Following the cover is a song where you can hear Mills begging for freedom. The song has a more rock vibe to it with its distorted guitar behind the vocals and a few screams here and there. I also noticed a flying reference to police brutality in the lyrics, which I feel is brave. And then there is a spoken word segment that has lines like “as long as I am judged for the colour of my skin, I am not free”, very reminiscent of a motivational speaker standing up for what they believe in, screaming through a megaphone before another guitar solo erupts, filling the song with anger and speed against its stead beat.

The listener will then find themselves being lulled with the song ‘Don’t Cry Jamie’, which starts with an acapella female vocal singing something that sounds like a lullaby before the drums hit in and the guitar starts playing. Behind the guitar riff I head some hand claps that sound very similar to that of a Linn Drum, and lyrics that seem to portray the message of living in a difficult world, but there is no need to cry as it will all be okay.

A section of string opens up ‘Do U Believe In Love’, which I was not expecting from the album as it has been so rock and funk orientated. But the song progresses to introduce some dreamy synths woven between the steady drumbeat, and some vocals with a delay effect on it, making the song seem even more dreamy. The song also has some guitar come in and out that blends extremely well into the song, being sure to not steal the spotlight away from the rest of the instruments. The song sounds like one whole song, one whole dream, before again erupting into a guitar solo with Mills screaming at us, questioning “Do U believe in love?”. The song ends back where it started, with the strings playing until the song fades out.

‘2Nite We Make Love’ hits back with its drumbeat, and sees the return of the autotuned vocals while Mills admits “you’re all I wanted to do, girl”. He then goes on to say that “tonight is all about you”, with Mills offering up all the most personal parts of himself: his heart, soul and mind. Between the verses sits short guitar solos, with more sweet synths behind the vocals and beat.


“I wanna give my all to U”
The start of ‘Stop The World’ again portrays a vibe of early Prince, with a guitar riff and drum playing that sounds like it could have been an outtake from ‘Dirty Mind’ or ‘ Controversy’, but of course the song has Mills’ own twist and signature sound on it, which I have came to recognise over the course of hearing the album. I really love the chants in the chorus that say “let’s stop the world!”.

The opening of hi-hats opens the song ‘U And I Should Be Together’, which lyrically detail the chase that Mill’s gives in trying to make a girl his own, speaking the fact he firmly believes that they should both be together. She doesn’t seem to be into it, which Mills’ doesn’t understand, before confessing his love to her. The lyrics also have a reference to the Prince penned ‘Manic Monday’.

‘The Dawn’ has some crazy electronics happening behind Mills’ vocals of “wanting to be set free” and “no love for God, you can see it in their face”. The song seems very aware of current affairs, and the chorus line “look into The Dawn” gives an air that there’s something bigger, better and more peaceful to come. The song also seems very futuristic in its instrumentation and loosely dystopian with its lyrics. Toward the end of the song, I could hear a choir in the background which adds to the spirituality and atmosphere of the song. The album itself ends on a female vocalist’s breathing and a computer voice saying “Welcome 2 The Dawn”.


In Conclusion
This album is obviously very inspired by The Purple One himself, evident from the Prince cover to the instruments used. And there is also a massive amount of guitar solos, screams and coo’s all over the album which give evidence to a very talented individual. The album also has themes that differ between love and fighting for yourself and against the world, but each song is laced with a whole lot of funk.

If you yourself are a Purple Funk Soldier and need a brand new fix of music that oozes funk, love and freedom, then I definitely think you should pick this album up! The album drops on April 19th 2019.

If you would like to follow Morris Mills and his future work, here are some links for you to follow:
Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp / YouTube

Some of the photos included here were captured by Sandra Selva. - https://thevioletreality.com

HOLLYWOOD PRESS CORPS — NOVEMBER 21, 2017 — Protege is an original, pop-funk-rock album by singer songwriter Morris Mills. Richly “co-inspired by Prince”, it’s reminiscent rhythms and loveable lyrics, reverently saturate these seventeen, irresistibly danceable tracks. Bracketed by Prelude Ascension, The Call and The Interlude, weaving a thematic quality throughout these soulful, rock compositions. A wellspring of creativity overflows here, deliriously seducing us, one and all, conceived, composed and recorded in Morris’s studio, in Los Angeles, January 2017.


Consumed by his deep admiration for Prince, Morris embodies an unshakeable likeness. Protege “Waste of Time” is a nod to Prince’s “When You Were Mine”, contrasted with “Ghetto Black”, all about a reality TV stars’ grittier exploits. In all there are seventeen, equally funky-sexy tracks igniting this thematic album, playable start to finish.


Morris Mills on the red carpet
Protege delivers androgynous vocals, funk-rock guitar licks, memorable keyboards, and cascading brass riffs, as in the heart-tugging ballad “Sunshine and Rain” filling the air with the synergy to move your body like you mean it!


Morris Mills
Take a listen and see for yourself just how much Protege has earned its venerated place among the Minneapolis Sound inspired music.
Tour dates are planned for spring and summer of 2018, both California and national tours. - https://hollywoodpresscorps.com

LOS ANGELES) — Thirty nine years ago Prince made his debut appearance in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota at the legendary Capri Theatre.
People from all around the world will be making their pilgrimage to Minneapolis, Minnesota for Celebration week of April 19 – April 22 to celebrate the Life and Legacy of Prince Rogers Nelson.
Morris Mills hails from Los Angeles, a Pied Piper of Funk & Roll and debuts his first Performance in Minneapolis promoting his New Album “Protégé.”
Embodying the breadth and depth of Prince’s inimitable sound: Morris’ live performance promises numerous funk-a-licious tracks of mos’ def’ danceable delirium! You’ll think you’ve gone to Purple Heaven with “Waste of Time”, a nod to Prince’s “When You Were Mine”, and the dysfunctional exploits of “Ghetto Black”! A supersonic distillation of crystalline bliss:
Morris Mills live in concert is not to be missed!
Where: The Capri Theatre Minneapolis , Minnesota When April 20th, 2018
Time 7:00pm
VIP Meet and Greet reception 6:00 pm
Website
Contact: 213-290-3805

Get your TICKETS here! - https://hollywoodpresscorps.com