MILO & OTIS

“Ars Poetica“ live @ the Tiny Soldiers Video Release Party 2/9/13

yvynyl:

Milo&Otis - Tiny Soldiers

Owen Hill - the “Otis” to Jamila Woods’ “Milo” in this alt.RnB duo - sent me this fun video they made along with the following letter:

Dear Mark,

A lot has happened since this all started. Let’s be real - this is the tale of two young Brown University graduates, facing the harsh depressed 2011 economy with nothing but a dollar and a dream (despite receiving degrees in Mathematics and Performance Studies, respectively). A Baltimore native, I had been defeated by Atlanta’s soulless and depraved pringle-cans-on-its-shoulder music market, and now felt apparently destined for the indie-rock shores of San Francisco to join the ranks of Googlites and Girls (bands and otherwise). Trusting some old east coast gritty instincts, I took a chance and headed to the Windy City to attempt some musical adventures with a freshly-graduated Milo, who was headed back home to the South Side of the city to carve out a career in poetry and playwriting. After some hesitation and an exploratory Christmas album, Milo&Otis became a real thing, and we hunkered down for the icy Chicago winter in a windowless, barely-heated rehersal room in Humboldt Park…which also happened to be my place of residence. Don’t hate too hard, yuppies - that’s all utilities included, 300+ sq ft. for $350/mo. You can make a lot of food in a microwave. And shower at the gym.

In ATL, collaborating on a song translates to 20% mediocre music making, 80%  chatting about how rich we’re all going to get and how this or that marketing plan is going to blow up the video that’s going to get made, etc etc. It was a relief to hole up in a new city, feel out some tunes, and hibernate the business end of things. But the highs and lows and questions of the last year fermented in that space, and I was starting to feel like a hypocrit. I mean, c’mon, it was the Occupy movement and I was an artist amongst artists, yet I was paying my bills by helping the rich get into better schools via tutoring. Ouch.

What do you do when all of your heroes are dead, or gone quite crazy? I mean honestly, it is one thing to look up to Michael Jordan and quite another to look up to J Dilla, Jimi Hendrix, Kanye West, Michael Jackson. Here I am, wanting to be famous and upset that it is taking so long compared to some of our Chicago contemporaries, yet my idol of rhythm and texture did not even live to see his true rise to stardom. And the man who knows he’s the man, Mr. West, can’t seem to maintain any sort of normal life or happiness.

What is it that we really want, Mark? Success, happiness, art? From here, it seems like these may be each separate pinnacles (unless you’re Beyonce). And I tell you, when I look around at my friends with the big job offers, 24-year-olds making six figures, not a single one of them is happy. And none of them is making the art he or she wanted to make, either. Life on hold: everybody is waiting and wishing, but not sure what for (enough in the savings? a promotion? inspiration?) and just letting time tick by at a job they don’t even enjoy.

John Mayer said in a great lecture at Berklee that many of his music friends thought they would “just know” when they had “made it”. But it wasn’t true; they would sell millions and still be depressed. He emphasized defining what success looks like for you before you even get started. Not a bad idea right there.

Long story short, that was the Otis that helped Milo make The Joy. We dropped the album and without looking back embarked on a 10-week, self-booked slow-motion summer tour to learn a bit more about the music and ourselves. I, the bassist-turned-instrumentalist who produced all the songs, drove every one of the 9,476 miles. Milo, a prominent spoken word poet conned into being a singer, worked crowds with her smooth voice and awkward stage presence, helping to cover the bills by selling gorgeous hand-decorated cds.

The Joy has since gone on to a teensy bit of buzz, including a rave review by The Washington Post that put us in the same sentence as Miguel and Frank Ocean. But all in all the album was slept on as we figured out the best way to visually represent the music. I guess some artists get their marketing down first, and it’s all a lot smoother (Mayer has a point). But sometimes Mark, you just gotta go with what feels right in the moment. Writing this felt right in the moment. Not sure how I feel about it now lol but anyways…my good friend and old classmate Shruti Parekh helped me make this visual encompassing the many loves of Milo…I hope you guys enjoy it and the rest of The Joy :)

With Gratitude,

~Otis

Read more Letters to YVYNYL

Post a photo of you and your #BestFriend on facebook and tag Milo & Otis! 

we just may release a song on the subject later this week…