Feet on the ground and focus on the horizon, we had a chat with the amazing & talented Skylar Mills. She found her home at the Dutch imprint Lessismore but nonetheless leaves the future open. Answering questings during Christmas cooking and putting together a guest mix a little after this is pretty nice we would say.
Sit back, turn up that volume and enjoy the read and ride with Skylar Mills. (Mix can be found near the end of the interview.)
Connect with Skylar Mills on Instagram
Hello, hope all is well?
Hello, thanks for having me at your nice platform. I am doing this interview while doing some x-mas cooking!
Let’s do a little retrospective as the year is coming to an end. How was 2019 for you?
For me, 2019 was a busy year, planning ahead and working towards 2020. I am working on a big complex project involving some music of mine so the year went by fast!
What is the highlight of the year for you?
I saved my highlight for 2020! And going to end 2019 with some nice rest!
We had a chat with Sharam Jey recently and we’ve noticed you have a release on his Bunny Tiger label. How did that work out?
Yeah, the release on Bunny Tiger was a big honour. It is a big and very nice versatile label and I was really glad they picked up my demo. The release is a bit softer than I would play in general but it is more of a reflection if I would build a set in a nice sunny place!
In a recent interview with Progressive Astronaut, you mention ‘a native sound like my native roots’. Let’s dive a little deeper and tell us about the sounds or people that influenced you as an artist or as a person.
I grew up on the border of Holland and Belgium with a mixed ethnic background. So, I would say my influence in music, therefore, is versatile and is a mix of my background combined with a mix of both Belgium styles and Dutch styles. From the Belgium side, I really like the old electronic music coming from the classic Belgium clubs like La Rocca, Zillion (I put one Zillion track in my mix), etc. And on the Dutch side I like old skool with Dark Raver as the biggest influences.
So do you think that the kind of music you grew up listening to affects the taste of music you develop today? How can we see that translate into your style now?
Totally, I was brainwashed into doing this at a young age. At that time I disliked the sound I like nowadays. Very strange how life can turn from hate to love, but in my case it did. I love the sound I hated when I was a young girl. But I translated it into something of my own. My style is a bit slower and more techno minded than the sound that affected my taste. I develop it hopefully to something real and more sophisticated and somewhere in between the past and present.
Let’s talk about cultural differences. Which of these inspire you the most when creating music? If any?
I think this is pretty hard to say because I only know the culture subconsciously because I was not taught the native language, customs and rituals. But looking back I can see I was brought up different than other children in my neighbourhood. I think my music sounds free of a framework and hopefully people will like this.
Let’s go back in time. How did you cross the aisle from being a dancer to DJing? What was the spark that set the fire?
I was a dancer who taught small children to dance. Srry to break the image of me as an exotic dancer. Where the spark started is hard to say, but as I said in an earlier interview the seeds were planted when I was very young. But it took a while to see that I could switch to the other side. Lessismore gave me support and gave me the inside that you should not think about it and just. Trust your instinct.
Trust your instinct.
Is getting out from behind the booth and dancing on the floor still something you consider essential for the growth of DJs?
I have been on the dancefloor for so long and I think now is time to get behind the booth and stay there for a couple of years. Maybe I will feel different about this after a while, but lets stick to this and see how it works out.
You seem to be a family person. Is this also what you look for in a record label? Being part of something that is there to support you? What do you look for in a record label?
I am family minded and being a girl, and not that technical, a label who helps me a bit is always a big plus. Doing music is not easy, so getting feedback from a label helps me to finish tracks or do new things.
Home is lessismore. What can we expect from you on the label in the near future?
Lessismore is my home where I have the possibility to experiment and do my thing, make mistakes and find my road to who knows were.
Make mistakes and find my road to who knows were.
I am doing a couple of remixes and some releases on Lessismore in the beginning of 2020. On the “Return To Cybertron series” you will find a combination of Techno / Trance and Electro. But I am doing some more oldskoolish minimalistic tracks on the In “For A Penny In For A Pound” series. I also have a “Highly Illegal series”. On a soundcloud page people can download some illegal things I am doing and which I also incorporated in the DJ mix I made for you.
Track list:
01. Anthony Rother – Protektor
02. Recondite – Fiery
03. Nagaski – Scorpio Rising
04. Portishead & ABBA – SOS (Skylar Mills Remix)
05. Joey Beltram – Striking Distance
06. Philus – Unknown
07. Skylar Mills – Trainstations To Mars
08. Skylar Mills – Reese Project Experiment
09. Skylar Mills – Highly Illegal part 09
10. Skylar Mills – Waiting For The Sun (Dub Mix)
11. Skylar Mills – Waiting For The Sun (Original Mix)
12. Skylar Mills – Ghost Town
13. Skylar Mills – Cinema Direct
14. Skylar Mills – Breaking Through Evil Clouds
15. Skylar Mills – Highly Illegal part 08
16. Skylar Mills – Losing Bad Behavior
17. Skylar Mills – Highly Illegal part 07
18. Skylar Mills – Highly Illegal part 08
19. Alexis Tyrel – Rules Of Reality (Skylar Mills Dub Remix)
20. Alexis Tyrel – Rules Of Reality (Skylar Mills Remix)
What was your biggest accomplishment & best moment to date & where do you see yourself going this current year, any big plans or you just going with it?
No big accomplishments yet, I just started out so I would hope the best is still to come. I have some big things planned and hopefully, I can tell you more on this in the first part of 2020. I do not wanna jinx it, but I think it is something special.
Please recommend two DJs to our readers which you feel deserve their attention. Who should be on our radar music-wise — who is getting you really excited?
Predator is an electro artist on Lessismore which is an obscure electro producer, who kills it in the studio and who is remixing a track called “Dirty Low Recovery” which will be released on Lessismore.
Noes is a local techno legend, who has been delivering quality techno for decades. He is a bit underappreciated but a true hero of the region who played with all the big international legends.
Maybe see you in Eindhoven on March 14 for the next edition of “Follow the white rabbit“
Yeah that would be nice, hit me up for the crew and artist dinner of the back stage party we are troughing, would nice to have a face to the questions.
Thank you so much!