Interview by NOTES FROM VIVACE
Photos by SARA PRINCE
MILCK is the brainchild of Connie K. Lim. If you’re good with palindromes and other types of word play, you might catch the connection between her given and stage names. Her breakout song “Quiet” became a Number 1 protest song when it was released in 2017.
This year, MILCK continues her activism by partnering with UN Girl Up. The organization says its mission is “expanding girls’ skills, rights, and opportunities to lead … changing the face of leadership for generations to come.”
You can also catch MILCK’s cover of The Postal Service’s track “Such Great Heights” on the new Netflix movie “Uglies.” The song is No. 42 on the Shazam 200.
US Rocker was able to exchange a Q&A with MILCK that centered around an upcoming project, her support of an all-important new bookstore and more.
NFV: You recently released the song “Oh, Mother.” I read that it is part of a larger musical project commissioned by La Jolla Playhouse. Is there any info that you can share about this musical project?
MILCK: We are currently working with La Jolla Playhouse, and they have pledged 1 million dollars to mount the production in 2026. We currently are looking to raise 1.1 million more, and are getting private donors interested. We are uniquely positioned because we don’t have a lead producer on our project yet, so it’s just us artists and the non profit theater currently shaping this project. We had Broadway icon Jodi Long as one of the leads during the NYC reading, and we couldn’t be more thrilled at the possibilities of this serio-comedy about family healing. If there are any people interested in supporting a story completely written and created by women of color, they can reach out to me at getmilck@gmail.com, and I can connect them with La Jolla Playhouse.
NFV: In early September, you helped celebrate the opening of a new bookstore in Summerland (which is just east of Santa Barbara) with an hour long acoustic concert. Are there any details about the bookstore that makes it unique?
MILCK: Two reasons why this place is unique is that firstly, it’s more than a bookstore. It is three stories high, with two of the levels dedicated to gatherings and workshops. There is also a beautiful stage set up for talks and concerts. Secondly, the bookstore is cofounded by my friend Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, former head of WME Worldwide literary, speakers, and conference divisions. She booked Oprah and Arianna Huffington’s speaking tours, and helped shepherd some of the US’ most formative books by authors like Glennon Doyle and Brene Brown. The bookstore is handpicked by her and her cofounder, beauty business and science research investor, Victoria Jackson.
NFV: I was scanning through your Youtube channel and the first thing I noticed was that you collaborated with BIIANCO, who I’ve known since the days of a band called TEMP3ST and I know many in the Los Angeles music scene are friends with them. How was that collaboration? What is the backstory for how the artists involved in the song “We Won’t Go Back” came about?
MILCK: I love Gabby! They are a force of nature! We had been messaging on IG for years trying to figure out a time to meet, and a way to collab. When one of my community based projects went viral (I took a sample of a crowd protesting in front of The Supreme Court, screaming we won’t go back, and turned it into a song, inviting my fans to write the lyrics with me.) As the project was going viral I asked them to join me in producing out the song. They took lead with production as I brought Ani Difranco and Autumn Rowe on. We ended up going to Kennedy Center to perform the song for Hillary Clinton and her organization, Vital Voices. We also performed it at The Women’s March Abortion Rally in DC.
NFV: I read in an interview that you went to UC Berkeley. You started as a pre-med and then switched to business and then switched to pre-law and finally graduated with a degree in international political economics. All four of those majors seem to be a 180 compared to music (though music is a business), but are there any concepts from those majors that helped shape your music?
MILCK: International political economies was a major centered around the question: Why is human inequality situated the way that it is now? How did we historically get to this place? These questions were already burning a hole in me as a child, so being able to understand the rise of agriculture and how the impact of going from hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural settlements was a huge “aha” moment for me. I also got to study the impact of patriarchal structures across the world, which has deeply impacted my work.
As for the business classes, lol, I took one intro to business class and quickly realized it was not my cup of tea during that time.
NFV: When fans listen to your songs, what do you hope they take away after the last notes have ended?
MILCK: I hope they feel a bit better, a bit more in their bodies, and closer to themselves, so that they can show up with more love and resilience in whatever their life is exposing them to.
Listen to the music of MILCK here:
