MILKK’s lead vocalist, Pat Kiloran, has embarked on his own solo project titled “no one likes you pat”. His second single “eighteen”, released earlier today, was written earlier this year during a production trip.
Written in the middle-east during a production trip in early 2020, the once-acoustic ballad got quickly reformed into the melodically-distorted, hard-hitting, hook-laden track, pondering the inevitability of getting older, accepting failure, and revisiting moments in life that felt less heavy.
I had a chance to chat with the artist about his musical journey and what went into making his latest song.
Thank you so much for interviewing with me! How is your week going?
Honestly, not amazing. A lot going on both personally & musically, so I’m pretty burnt out. But eventually you learn to appreciate the bad times, because they change you and refine you into a more clear version of yourself.
In three words, how would you describe your aesthetic?
“No longer trying.”
Besides working with your own band, you’ve collaborated with countless other creators in the industry, even offering your services on sites like Soundbetter. How has it been working on this solo project? Does it seem more freeing as you’re only working for yourself or is there a newfound sense of pressure?
I love working by myself. Collaborating is fun and can yield awesome results. I especially like writing and producing for other people’s projects because it lets me let go of control and my own closeness to the work and help capture someone else’s vision.
But when it comes to stuff that I’m putting out on my own, I rarely want other people involved. It’s only people I really trust and love or people who I know are going to get what I’m doing. I’m too close to my work to not allow it to reflect me as a person and artist, so it takes a lot for me to involve others in that. I kinda wanna live or die by my own voice and interpretation.
I’d love to learn more about the production of “eighteen” and how it transformed from an acoustic ballad to a distorted, hard-hitting track. What evoked this evolution?
I’m really into rap, trap, electronic music, etc. And so that influences a lot of what I do, especially rhythmically. I had written the original version of the song one morning when I was overseas. I was jet-lagged and feeling pensive, so of course I wrote this broody, moody, folksy acoustic ballad. Originally it was gonna be for my band. We tried a few production ideas on it, and nothing stuck, so we scrapped it.
I made the beat for the new version early this fall, and while I was trying to figure out melodies and lyrics, I started singing the original “eighteen.” After switching around a few things, that was that.
Would you ever release the acoustic version?
The lyrics are a lot different and so are the melodies, but I had leaked the original demo to some fans. It’s probably out in the ether somewhere.
“Eighteen” has such heavy hitting lyrics. Your second verse stuck with me the most, how people have told you you can do anything if you try but you have doubts about that. Is this outlook still the same?
I think it’s reality. I’ve been doing music for a good while, and I’ve had my successes. But I’ve had 20 times the failures. I think when someone starts out and “makes it” right away, they are automatically gonna think that all it takes it being good and trying. But when you’ve seen every side of the equation, you know that success is relative and often times random. It can be the result of years of hard work or the result of one random moment. So, the perspective I keep now is: shut your mouth, put your head down, put in the work, wait for the moments.
What are you most excited about while embarking on this solo project?
I’m just enjoying doing whatever I want, how I want to. I’m hoping for the best, but expecting nothing. And if something cool happens with it, I’ll just keep saying the stuff that matters to me.
Pat Kiloran
