It was a whirlwind 2010 for the 22-year old MillionYoung, who is known in his everyday life as Mike Diaz. After self-releasing the "Sunndreamm" e.p. for free at the end of 2009, Diaz released the"Be So True" e.p. to much critical acclaim, including an iTunes Digital Download and a 7.6 from Pitchfork. Throughout 2010, MillionYoung toured the Midwest and East Coast multiple times, including several shows during SXSW and CMJ, with Brooklyln Vegan covering his sets in NYC. MillionYoung finally hit the West Coast in December, recording sessions for KEXP, Daytrotter and Yours Truly along the way. Having spent the year developing his live show, MillionYoung now plays with a dynamic full set-up, including a bassist, drummer, and Diaz himself on keys and guitar. At the end of 2010, The Guardian UK named MillionYoung one of their best "New Bands of 2010." Now MillionYoung is ready to take on 2011 by releasing their first full-length through Old Flame/Rix Records on February 15. The Line of Best Fit wrote a great review of the album, saying "Replicants explores further and asks more questions of itself than most albums. It finds itself in dark alleys, smoke-filled dancefloors or on sun-drenched beaches. From start to finish the album progresses at a tremendous rate, assimilating styles and sounds, moving through the knee-high water created by its own wash at speed." Broward Palm Beach New Times wrote an in-depth review and interview with MillionYoung, praising, "Replicants definitely comes across as a more mature artistic statement, but it's never stodgy, retaining the loose, breezy feel of Diaz's early works. The difference lies mostly in the execution, perhaps a product of the band's growing confidence as a live entity. But Replicants also reveals a broader musical vision, with Millionyoung no longer relying exclusively on retrofitted synth sounds but also incorporating touches of classic rock, dub, and Motown into the mix." Replicants is an album of the truest form, progressing from gentle electronic jams at the beginning to full-on pop songs in the middle to a fantastic dance pop explosion near the end. It's an electronic pop record, with influences ranging from Prince and Michael Jackson to Aphex Twin and Spritualized. Replicants is a conglomeration of styles and sounds blending into one build-up of a great album. MillionYoung will be on tour for most of 2011, starting off in February by touring with The Concretes and Class Actress, hitting SXSW, and then touring Europe in the summer months. MillionYoung praise: “…It’s exactly what chillwave produced a stone's throw from South Beach ought to sound like-- a reminder that while most of these artists can only dream of an endless summer…” -Pitchfork "A recent favorite." -Fader "Forget Vitamin D pills, Mike Diaz (a.k.a. MillionYoung) may cure the winter blues once and for all." - KEXP Song of the Day "MillionYoung 's hypnagogic, late night, loping pop loops bloom in the shadows of delirious dream territories; Mike Diaz's aching, arching, always overhead vocals floating lonely above an effervescent, imagined coastal paradise of found tribal drum snippets, syrupy synth rushing and brilliantly colourful, drawn-out circular guitars that just absolutely refuse to fade or break, shading braincells in never-lived nostalgia; making stomachs shift with strange sickness in a beautiful, unshakeable way."– Transparent Blog "Replicants grows stronger as it progresses, transitioning from pop/techno fusion with an '80s dependence to a calmer, more subdued recording that remains experimentally enlightening." -Prefix “…[MillionYoung’s] tunes are a delicate blend of beach sunset and Miami night club, much more kinectic than his mellow fellow chillwavesters.” -KEXP.org
http://schedule.sxsw.com/events/event_MS11294
