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Blake Mills | |
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| Birth name | Blake Mathew Simon Mills |
| Born | (1986-09-21)September 21, 1986 (age 38) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
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| Website | blakemillsonline |
Blake Mathew Simon Mills (born September 21, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and composer based inCalifornia.[2] He is known for production and guitar work on albums and singles by many artists, includingFiona Apple,Perfume Genius,Bob Dylan,Feist,Jack Johnson,Marcus Mumford,Laura Marling,Weyes Blood,John Legend,Alabama Shakes,Beck,Conor Oberst, andBruce Hornsby; as a touring musician with artists such asLucinda Williams,Band of Horses andJenny Lewis; and his four solo albums.
Blake Mills was born inSanta Monica, California,[4] and grew up inMalibu, California. He attendedMalibu High School withTaylor Goldsmith. Mills and Goldsmith began their musical careers in a band they co-founded calledSimon Dawes. Simon Dawes released its debut EPWhat No One Hears in 2005, and its first LPCarnivore in September 2006 viaRecord Collection.[5][6] After the band broke up in 2007, Goldsmith and his younger brother, Griffin, formed the bandDawes with Simon Dawes bassistWylie Gelber, and Mills went on to serve as a touring guitarist forJenny Lewis.[7] He went on to tour withBand of Horses,[8]Cass McCombs,[9]Julian Casablancas[10][11] andLucinda Williams.[12][13] As a session musician, Mills has collaborated withConor Oberst,Kid Rock,[14]Weezer,The Avett Brothers,Paulo Nutini,[15]Norah Jones,Carlene Carter,Jesca Hoop,Dixie Chicks,Zucchero,Pink,Lana Del Rey,Dangermouse,Vulfpeck,Fiona Apple,[16]Beck,[17]Marcus Mumford,[18] Ethan Gruska,Randy Newman,[19] Diana Krall,[20]Johnathan Rice,Bruce Hornsby,Julian Casablancas,Jason Boesel,Benmont Tench,Ed Sheeran,[21]Cass McCombs,Foy Vance,The Killers,[22]Andrew Bird,John Legend,Rufus Wainwright,[23]Phoebe Bridgers, and other performers.
In 2010, Mills released his first solo LP viaRecord Collection. The original intent for the albumBlake Mills was to serve as a calling card for Mills to get session work.[24] It was touted as the album of the year by many websites and fellow musicians, despite its limited release.[25][26] 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.[27] Analog Edition Records released a Blake Mills double A side 7" in 2011, featuring the songs "Hey Lover" and "Wintersong" in 2011;[28] the former track would go on to feature in the first season of the HBO comedy seriesSilicon Valley in 2014.[29]
In January 2012, Mills appeared onConan 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.[30] Later that year, he went on to co-produceJesca Hoop's albumThe House that Jack Built,[31][32] producedSara Watkins' albumSun Midnight Sun,[33] wrote and produced "Sad Dream" onSky Ferreira's EPGhost. Mills was featured on electric slide guitar on the track '"Go Home" from the 2013 debut album from the groupLucius.[34] For the compilation albumJust Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac, he co-produced and played withBilly Gibbons andMatt Sweeney on the track "Oh Well".[35] Mills also served as the opening act and guitarist forFiona Apple during her 2012 tour through North America.[36][37] 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 recordedHeigh Ho at the legendaryOcean Way Recording studios in a room built for Frank Sinatra.[38] He also producedthe sophomore release fromAlabama Shakes. Recording took place atSound Emporium in Nashville, a studio originally built for Sun Records house producer"Cowboy" Jack Clement.
In 2015 Mills was nominated for aGrammy in the category ofProducer of the Year, Non-Classical for his work onAlabama Shakes breakthrough albumSound & Color.[39]
Mills' producer credits in 2016 and 2017 include the albumsWe're All Gonna Die from former bandmatesDawes,[40]Darkness and Light byJohn Legend,[41]Semper Femina byLaura Marling,[42]Eternally Even byJim James[43] andNo Shape byPerfume Genius.[44] In 2016 he performed guitar and various other instruments onAndrew Bird's albumAre You Serious. In 2017, Mills took part inRandy Newman'sDark Matter as a guitarist.
In November 2018, Mills quietly released an almost-entirely-instrumental EP entitledLook on his own label imprint New Deal Music.[45] The album was created almost entirely usingRoland guitar synthesizers from the 1970s with collaboration from saxophonistSam Gendel, singerNatalie Mering ofWeyes 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 byColin Stetson, Canadian-American saxophonist, multireedist, and composer based in Montreal, for the short-lived dramatic television seriesThe First.
On December 5, 2019, Mills teased a clip of "Summer All Over" via anNPR piece by Grayson Haver Currin titled "Songs in an Emergency"[46] that centers around the urgency of climate change. It is a piano-based ballad musing on theMalibu fires of 2018 and co-written withCass 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 titledMutable Set released in 2020[47] 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 onBob Dylan's albumRough and Rowdy Ways.[48]
In 2021 Blake and bassistPino Palladino released their collaborative albumNotes with Attachments onjazz labelImpulse! 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.[49]
Released on September 16, 2022, Mills produced and co-wrote the Marcus Mumford album,Self-Titled.[50]
Released March 3, 2023, Blake Mills composed, performed, and produced all songs on the albumAurora[51] for the North American musical drama streaming television miniseriesDaisy Jones & The Six.
On June 10, 2023, Mills appeared withJoni Mitchell at her first ticketed concert in over two decades atThe Gorge Amphitheatre, playing Mitchell's own guitar and accompanying her on "Amelia."[52][53] The next month, his albumJelly Road, co-written with Chris Weisman, was released on New Deal/Verve.[54]
From time to time Mills hosts invite-only musical performances at Mollusk Surf Shop[55] inVenice, California. In previous shows Mills has been accompanied by musicians includingJackson 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.
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